SANDPOINT — As Coeur d’Alene native Colby Acuff prepared to write his next album, he and his producer, Eddie Spear, took an unorthodox route to find inspiration.

They asked 40 random people off the street about their lives, to gain insight about living in modern America, stories and themes. He said that almost everyone answered very similarly, that living in America “isn’t getting any easier.”

"I realized that I wasn’t going to end up with 11 unique stories from 40 people, I needed to write 11 songs about 360 million people to explain what it's like to be alive,” Acuff said. “If I can give some people some agency and making them realize they’re not alone and maybe it's not as great as everyone says it is... I’m just hoping the people won’t feel so lost.”

The fifth generation Idahoan’s a

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