After a few years Cunningham and Benson called upon friends Colin Dobrin (drums), Matthew Kallman (Future Girls) (keys) and Nathan Sweatt (bass guitar) to form a new band to play music inspired by their favorite artists — drawing from the likes of Orange Juice, The Sound, and The Feelies, to name a few.
The feelies included with Shōgun were a map representing John Blackthorne's "known world" of 1600, and The Soul of the Samurai, a booklet describing the history and significance of samurai swords.