NEWS SOURCE: PFR / Jesusfreakhideout.com
June 10, 2025

Today, Minnesota's finest trio, PFR, launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the remastering and re-release of the long missing 2001 comeback album, Disappear. While it released 24 years ago on Steve Taylor's indie label, Squint Entertainment, it disappeared (no pun intended) along with the label when it folded some months later. But the band - which is putting the finishing touches on a brand new studio album - has taken to Kickstarter to not only make the record available again, but to oversee a remastering in the process.

Their Kickstarter page announces:

In late 1999, as the A&R director of Squint Entertainment, Mark Nash embarked on a journey to create a compilation record inspired by Bob Briner’s book Roaring Lambs. This project brought together a diverse array of artists, including Sixpence None The Richer, Burlap To Cashmere, and Michael W. Smith. Around this time, Joel Hanson, Patrick Andrew, and Mark Nash (PFR) began to reconnect after our breakup in 1997, sparking the idea of making new music together. Writing and recording a song for the compilation, Kingdom Come, felt like a perfect way to dip our toes back into the PFR waters.

The success of Kingdom Come was a clear sign that we wanted to create a full-length record. Mark approached Steve Taylor, the founder of Squint, to request time off for this endeavor. His immediate response was, “Uhhhh, why don’t we (Squint) put the album out?” With Sixpence None The Richer achieving massive success and Squint gaining a high profile, we decided to leverage this momentum to revive PFR. After extensive discussions, we committed to reuniting and making a full-throated effort to get the band back on track. 

A record deal with Squint was secured, and we began writing a new PFR album. In a unique role, Mark was not only a band member, co-writing and arranging material, but also overseeing the project as an A&R director. This involved managing recording budgets, booking studios, coordinating schedules, and guiding the musical direction of the record.

We gathered several times to write, develop, and demo the new material. By late 2000, with a substantial number of songs completed, we started tracking in Nashville at a newly named studio,The White House. Reuniting with producer Jimmie Lee Sloas and many of our previous engineers, we completed the basic tracking of drums and bass before moving to Minneapolis to record guitars and vocals. In January/February 2001, we set up in a local studio on an upper floor of a spice factory.

For mixing Disappear, we enlisted the legendary engineer Richard Dodd, who had recently moved to Nashville from England and Shane Wilson who mixed some of the tracks. With the record finished in early spring, the Squint marketing team prepared for a July release. A weeklong promotional tour, complete with shows, in-store appearances, and radio interviews, was scheduled around the release of Disappear. Everything was set to go. It was hard to believe, but PFR was back. 

But, unbeknownst to us, things were happening behind the scenes that ultimately would stop the show before it really even started. 

While we were at dinner in Chicago celebrating the album release (days after all of us almost dying in a bus accident...story for another time) Steve called to inform Mark that Squint had been shut down. As A&R director, he had to deliver the news to his bandmates and colleagues that everyone was out of a job. The promotion stopped instantly, and the album was soon pulled from store shelves, scattering the band in different directions. 

Since then, Disappear has reached a somewhat mythical status with our fans. Many have heard it, some own it, but many only know of it.

Years later, in 2009 or 2010, Mark received an unexpected call from Steve. He had managed to retain the rights to Disappear during the dissolution of Squint and generously transferred them to Joel, Patrick, and Mark. The recordings have sat in Mark’s closet for 15 years. There the tapes stayed dark and silent behind shoes, clothes, and a parka that should only be worn on a sub-zero day in Minnesota. Until now…

Over 20 years later, we have the opportunity to give this album the life it deserves. With your help, Disappear won’t just be a memory—it’ll be restored, re-released, and reintroduced to the world.

We’re launching this Kickstarter to fund a full remaster of Disappear by the legendary multi-Grammy Award winner Ted Jensen (The Eagles, Green Day, Norah Jones, Talking Heads, Bruce Springsteen and many others), along with a proper reissue—on vinyl, CD, and digital format.

This is more than a re-release. It’s a chance to finally finish what we started, and to let Disappear be heard the way it was always meant to be.

Why Now?

Because this album matters.
Because the timing feels right.
Because after all these years, we still believe in the music.
And we believe some of you do too.

Our Goal

We’re raising funds to:

• Remaster the album with Grammy-winning engineer Ted Jensen
• Reissue Disappear on vinyl and CD 
• Digitally release the remastered version on streaming services
• Create bonus content for backers, including studio stories, photos, fan experiences and more

Thank You

Thank you for being part of this journey. Whether you've been with us since the beginning or just discovered our music, we're honored to have your support.

Let’s finally give Disappear the moment it deserves.

— Mark, Joel & Patrick (PFR)

Visit their Kickstarter page for details and to support the project!

For more info on PFR, visit the JFH Artists Database.