Aimee Parkison's book of short stories, The Innocent Party (BOA, 2012), is the inspiration for much of the new album being released by Portland, OR, punk band The Taxpayers. In a DS Exclusive premiere of the upcoming album, Big Delusion Factory, singer Rob Taxpayer talks about his inspiration from Parkison's story "Call Me Linda."

"'Call Me Linda' is the oldest song on Big Delusion Factory. The opening line comes from a short story in The Innocent Party by the author Aimee Parkison, who is a fiction writer that I like. A few years back, I was having some trouble writing anything, and started playing around with that first line. Then I decided to put the character into a different scenario/world than Parkison had; I liked the idea of having this character who lied to people about her name, but also liked the idea that the listener/reader never gets to find out quite why. I decided to put 'Linda' into a city that is vastly unprepared for a coming disaster, a few days before the disaster hits. . . . After finishing the song, I liked it a lot, and decided to write some more songs about this world."

Dying Scene says: "Big Delusion Factory is the sixth full-length album by the the goofpunx champs of Portland and New Orleans (and a few places in between)! It tells the story of a woman who tells everyone to call her Linda (even though that’s not her name). It follows her increasing volatility and frustration with the rapid changes happening in the city around her after a natural disaster.

"This is their most anthemic and cohesive album yet. It feels like something the Taxpayers have been working up to for a long time. It’s got horns, it’s got piano ballads, it’s got bizarro hardcore punk freakouts, it’s got the shoutalong catchiness of 2010’s 'To Risk So Much for One Damn Meal' and the frenzied jazzy punk of their more recent albums 'God, Forgive These Bastards' and 'Cold Hearted Town'—and there’s so much more to it that it’s probably best to let this one speak for itself. This is one to sit down and think about. It might be one you carry with you for a long time.

"Big Delusion Factory will be out (digitally and on vinyl) via Secret Pennies Records on August 1, 2016. Preorders will ship on or slightly before that date."

Click here for the full piece: "DS Exclusive: The Taxpayers stream 2 songs off upcoming album 'Big Delusion Factory.'"

The Innocent Party is available at the BOA Bookstore.