One of the many lessons of Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching states that if we care what other people think, we will always be their prisoners. It's a principle Joe Mulherin learns to heed on Trauma Factory, his first album in 3 years, out Feb. 19 on Fueled By Ramen. Recorded after the most tumultuous time of his life, Trauma Factory is the sound of healing, picking up the pieces and putting it back together into something lasting so it can weather the next storm. The genesis of nothing,nowhere. can be traced back to the skate park in Mulherin's hometown of Foxborough, MA, where he found the friendships that became the impetus for his music. By the time he was 12, he had picked up the guitar and found not only an outlet but also a means of meditation, a way to de-escalate his anxiety. "When I played guitar, that was all that mattered," he recalls. "I didn't hold grudges against others, I didn't think about that little City, I didn't worry about it."