Great Northern began when Solon Bixler approached his friend Rachel Stolte, who he had know for seven years, with material he had been working on, and asked her if she wanted to sing and play piano for it. After writing songs for about six months on a four track recorder, they finally went to the studio. After experimenting with various lineups, they got their long-time friend Davey Latter to join the band as a drummer. The bass position was eventually filled by Ashley Dzerigian, who Bixler and Stolte met at a party which they didn't even want to attend at first.
