Early in 2002 Andy Strachan was introduced to alternate rockers, The Living End, upon the departure of their previous drummer Travis Demsey in February. While Strachan filled in on drums with the group – initially they played new material under the pseudonym The Longnecks – they continued auditions for a new drummer. Strachan later reflected that the early shows as The Longnecks "were more nerve-wracking than the big shows... There's always going to be guys in the crowd going, 'I can't wait to see him fuck up'. But I was very lucky in that Chris and Scott never treated me as 'that ring-in bloke'". On 20 March 2002, it was officially announced on The Living End website that he had joined the line-up, and his first release with the group was an extended play, One Said to the Other in January 2003, followed by their third studio album, Modern Artillery, in October. For the album, Strachan shared songwriting credits on "Short Notice" with Cheney and Owen. Allmusic's Johnny Loftus picked it as one of the album's best tracks, "1977 Upstarts colors won't wilt, even in the face of crackly drum programming and vocal filters. It's a representative song for a problematic yet still promising album stuck between engineered formula and real deal rock".