Bachman’s second album, Staring Down the Sun, was released in Canada on Sextant Records in August 2004 and was released in the United States by Artemis Records in 2006. The single “Aeroplane” reached No. 20 on the Canadian charts and was used in the 2005 film, American Pie Presents: Band Camp. It was played as an instrumental and during the credits.

He is a former member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and went on a two-year mission to Argentina, but after two years of research into that church’s origins, Bachman concluded that the church’s founder Joseph Smith had invented his stories, and severed his ties to that church. In 2006, Bachman was interviewed for the 2007 PBS documentary called The Mormons. In it, he discussed his departure from the LDS church. In 2008, Bachman also discussed his departure from the LDS church when interviewed for the Bill Maher documentary Religulous.

In 2012, while eating at Victoria, British Columbia’s Cactus Club Cafe, Bachman was disappointed to learn that the restaurant had dropped key lime pie, a personal favorite, from the dessert menu. He subsequently spearheaded a successful public pressure campaign to encourage restaurant management to restore the dessert. Reflecting upon the experience, Bachman posited Bachman’s First Law of Commerce: “If it’s great, they’ll stop making it.”