When you think about the greatest artists to ever come out of Texas the list usually includes the likes of Buddy Holly, Stevie Ray, ZZ Top and many more.
Those artists are household names and their impact on popular music is undeniable.
But to commemorate the launch of BackstageOL.com, I wanted to revisit a band that rocketed out of El Paso, Texas over a decade ago and pretty much changed the indie rock landscape forever.
At the Drive-In formed in 1994 but it was their breakthrough album “Relationship of Command” on the Grand Royal label in 2000 that made just about everyone in the music industry take notice.
The stand out track for me on that recording was by far “One Armed Scissor.” It was a loud, manic, discharge of anxiety from a band of musicians that were ready to jump out of their skins. For a brief moment in time it seemed like they were on the lips of everyone from music critics to Hollywood celebrities. But just as they were about to break out and become the next big thing the band broke up.
Founding members Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez Lopez teamed up to form The Mars Volta while Paul Hinojos, Tony Hajjar and Jim Ward started the band Sparta.
Both groups went on to experience life after At the Drive-In with varying levels of success.
Today The Mars Volta is still making some of the most creative and progressive sounds in the industry while Sparta is on hiatus or possibly broken up. Either way, if you don’t know about ATDI you should do yourself a favor and check them out right now. There are lots of cool clips on youtube (shocking right?).
