When The Nields first started making music, guitarist David Nields and cohorts decided to put out a newsletter about the band. The first issue had a circulation of 25, which was made up of mostly family and friends, and contained a hand-drawn cartoon in each.

The Nields’ newsletter has continued to be part of the band’s complete package and now has more than 20,000 subscribers.

“We’ve been doing the newsletter since the very beginning,” Nields said. “It’s a really fun thing. We’ve made it exciting to read.”

Nields said the band often comes across fans who have saved every issue of the quarterly publication. Having put its van through 150,000 miles and three transmissions, the band has subscribers all across the country.

“We’ve played in 48 states,” Nields said proudly. “We’re sort-of a road-worthy band.”

Nields said the band’s take on establishing themselves first by touring is similar to that of Dave Matthews. “We’re going to try and release a single to the radio, but even if that doesn’t work, we’ll still have a career,” he said. “No one can take that away from us.”

One could say early stages of The Nields formed in the early ’80s when Nerissa Nields wrote her first song at age 13. She also wrote the harmony and began to teach it to sister Katryna.

The two met David as the decade came to an end and eventually he and Nerissa married. A few years later, the trio moved to Connecticut and convinced friend Dave Chalfant to play bass on the band’s third record, “Bob on the Ceiling.”

Chalfant brought drummer Dave Hower into the band and the rock version of The Nields was complete.

“[Having my wife in the band] is great,” Nields, who will celebrate his 7th anniversary with Nerissa this month, said. “Our relationship thrives on being together.”

Nields added that he and his wife’s ability to collaborate in song writing has gotten even better. “The only difficult thing is carving out time for ourselves,” he said.

The latest song the couple wrote, “Taxi Girl,” will be the band’s single in August. The band recorded the song with Paul Cox, who has worked with the 10,000 Maniacs, XTC and Victoria Williams.

“People come up to us and say ‘that song was fantastic,'” Nields said. “So that’s kind of how we chose it.”

While Nerissa is the primary songwriter for the band, she also collaborates with Chalfant and her sister. “She carries a notebook around with her and gets inspired,” Nields said.

“Gotta Get Over Greta,” the song for which the latest disc is named, is another one Nerissa and David wrote. The song tells a fictional story about how friendships when you are young are often as demanding as romantic relationships.

“Breaking up with a friend can be just as dramatic, even for guys,” Nields said. “It can be devastating.”

The Nields’ songs have been described as lasting a long time, yet they still reflect what is going on now. “We try not to jump on the latest song, and try and craft pop, folk or rock songs that have a timeless quality to them,” Nields said.

“Our ultimate goal is to have a song that is sung on the back of a school bus 20 years from now — like ‘Yellow Submarine.'”

The band picks the Beatles as its ultimate influence, though each member is said to have different likes.

Surprisingly, very few female bands can be found on the list that includes the Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Arlo Guthrie and Heart.

Bar-goers can catch The Nields perform and sign up for its newsletter at People’s Bar and Grill on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. Admission is $2.