To say At The Drive-In is a hard working band is an understatement. I don't
think it would be dishonest to say that no other band has worked harder than
these five skinny kids from El Paso, TX over the past three to four years. All
along the slow climb, from their own record label, to Flipside, to Fearless and
now to Grand Royal Records, the theory has been the same. Play honest rock,
record it, then tour, tour, tour.
The band is getting more fans, but little else has changed.
If you talk to guitarist Jim Ward ("the white guy"), you would see he is still the
chatty, sweetheart of a guy, who likes to talk about his girlfriend and ATDI and
will eagerly share a beer with you.
Cedric and Omar are still the non-stop jokers, always keeping everyone laughing,
and two of the most trusting, sincere guys you could know.
Paul and Tony are the quieter ones, preferring to have the attention away from
them. Their shyness occasionally being misconstrued as ego; which couldn't be
further from the truth as they're two of the most straight-forward,
warm-hearted people around.
And though that may sound self-righteous, I'm not in the band, so i can say it,
and it really is the core of the group's identity. This honesty comes across in the
music, and serves as the indirect message of the band. There is no soapbox that
they stand on, no political agenda, nor is there any of the "guy meets girl"
swarmy love songs. There is just a glowing realness to them that the majority of
rock bands today lack. The fact that they've played so many shows over the
years and still put every inch of their beings into their set every night is a
testament to this.
Some complaints have come lately due to the band signing to Grand Royal
Records; mostly because the label has major distribution. Also because the band
recently played shows with Rage Against the Machine in large arenas. The word,
"sellout", has been tossed out by a small minority of people, but the band has
never preached any sort of underground-gospel that would warrant the term.
What the naysayers will see is that the band will stick to the program of working
hard and maintaining their honesty and sincerity, and continue to remain who
they are regardless of what happens. And that sits well with me.
history
In Nov. '94, at.the.drive.in's first 7", "Hell Paso" (Western Breed) was released on
the band's own label. The following month, the band trekked 2,000 miles across
the great state of Texas on their very first tour. In June of '95, after a member
change, ATDI's second single, "Alfaro Vive, Carajo" (Western Breed), showed the
progress the band had made in such a short time. A '81 Ford Econoline was
purchased and the band hopped in and headed out on a 42 day/10,000 mile US
tour. People began to take notice, friends were made. (These two 7"s are no
longer in print, but "Alfaro..." is now available on CD from Jim's very own new
label, Headquarter Records). One of those friends was me, Blaze James. I, along
with other Flipside staff members, eye-witnessed them explode in front of 9
people in a now defunct LA bar. I was so enthralled, I offered to put out their
record that night. So, ATDI headed out again for a 21 day Southwest tour that
ended in LA, where they recorded "Acrobatic Tenement" (Flipside) for $600, a
blistering outpouring of youthful energy and feelings rarely explored by other
bands of any genre.
In the months following, Tony and Pall joined the band and Omar moved from
bass to guitar, and as soon as the record hit the stores, the band hit the road.
This time it was a 100 day/24,000 mile US tour (Feb-June, '97), that included
shows with Screw 32, JChurch, AFI, Still Life, Mustard Plug, Face to Face,
Cosmic Psychos and hundreds of others. Their following began to grow. The
band took a month off before it began rehearsing for the next record/tour. "El
Gran Orgo," (Offtime) a six-song CD EP, was released on September 18, '97 and
showed a more melodic side of the band, but the musical depth and heartfelt
emotion was never more apparent. Two days later the band was in Boulder, CO
kicking off a 35 day/11,000 mile tour that included six dates with Karp and the
Young Pioneers. Headlining shows in the midwest the band was now drawing
between 100-350 kids.
Flipside was no longer putting out records, and Offtime couldn't afford too, so
the band literally approached almost every indie label they could think of. No one
would bite. The band was seriously feeling like there would be no next record,
until Bob and Michelle Becker of Fearless Records came to see them at a bar
(Club Mesa) one night while the band was opening for Supernova. It was hard to
imagine for both the band and Fearless, because of Fearless' history of putting
out mainly "pop/punk" style bands. But the band felt very comfortable with Bob
and Michelle on a personal level, and the Fearless camp couldn't deny how much
they liked the band, so it was done.
They began recording "In/Casino/Out" the third day of June, 1998. With Alex
Newport at the helm, they spent the next 4 days recording and two more mixing
what would become the record to establish ATDI as a "real" band. The song
writing had obviously matured, Jim, who took a break from the band during the
"El Gran Orgo" recording and tour, was back. This recording aimed at getting the
live sound across on record. How to do that? Record them LIVE, of course! The
entire record, including vocals was recorded straight to tape, with only a few
vocal and guitar overdubs. From the initial blast of Alpha Centuari, to the
heartwrenching epic, "Napolean Solo", to the ballad-y (with Jim singing lead)
"Hourglass," the band made a record that truly reflected what they were doing,
proudly, from start to finish.
The record was out six weeks later, and the band began a seemingly endless
tour that day, July 24th in Los Angeles with a 4 day stint w/AFI, Good Riddance
and By the Grace of God. They toured. Two weeks with Knapsack in the Midwest
and East. Two Weeks with The Murder City Devils in the West. A date with
Fugazi in Des Moines. Texas with the Archers of Loaf, and so many dates in
between. The tour lasted (with a few short breaks in between) until December.
They took off a few months to rest and record some songs for different comps
and splits that never saw reality. So the band toured again in March of '99. This
time two weeks of big shows with Jimmy Eat World through the South and East.
Then, three days off before they boarded a plane for their very first trip to
Europe. Six weeks and 11 countries; shows with Good Riddance, Promise Ring
and a whole slew of european bands, and all new friends to be made. Remi was
the tour driver, and Paul Drake came along to supervise.
The band then layed off touring, except for a 5 day So Cal sweep in late May
and the "This Ain't No Picnic" festival on July 4th in Irvine Canyon, CA with Sonic
Youth, Get Up Kids, Sunny Day Real Estate and more. ATDI was on the
itsy-bitsy "side stage". Still, it was awesome. So, the boys had these songs that
were mostly newly recorded, and now that it had been nearly a year since their
album came out, decided to put them together on an EP for their beloved
Fearless label. "Vaya" was born on July 13th, 1999. A 7-song peek at what the
band is and will be, "Vaya" shows the power and the delicateness of the band's
writing capabilities. Like snuggling with a rabid pitbull. The reaction to "Vaya"
was overwhelming. The tour to support "Vaya" began on July 28th in Austin, TX
with their friends, Universal Recovered, also from El Paso. After 6 days, the band
said a fond goodbye to their hometown pals and met up with Blue Tip (Dischord),
to finish the final 3 weeks of the tour. New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and
San Diego were among the Sold Out shows on this headlining tour. Gary Gersh
and John Silva were starting a record company, and they took notice. They soon
signed the band to DEN Records.
As the band was preparing to start writing their next full length record, they
were invited to do a 3 week tour with pop-emo stars, The Get Up Kids... This
began on halloween night in Minneapolis and covered parts of the Midwest and
most of the northeast, including two dates in Eastern Canada where the band
had never been. These shows were even more amazing than expected.
Phenomenal turnouts, passionate fans, great shows, night after night. 22 days
to truly remember. It was on this tour where the band recorded a song with
producer Ross Robinson, during a few days in New York and were truly taken in
by his methods. It was this session that convinced the boys that he was the
guy who could get every ounce of them onto tape, and that he would be the
one to produce the full length. So once again, it was thought that these were
the last shows of the year, until we got a call from Rage Against The Machine
wanting ATDI to open a six date stint of their tour, two weeks away... How
could we pass up this? We had just played those cities with the Get Up Kids, so
it didn't feel like we were forcing fans to see us in this ungodly large, unintimate
atmosphere, and they could surely come if they chose too. So once again,
writing was postponed a little longer so that we could join the Rage guys for a
brand new experience... It was a great time, though occasionally uncomfortable
on stage, but new friends were made and isn't that what it's all about? Can we
get to the new record now??
On January 17th, 2000, the band entered the remote Malibu cabin known as
Indigo Ranch. Over the next seven weeks, the band was pushed to the brink and
back by themselves and by Ross to put their lives and limbs onto tape as
Relationship Of Command was created. Sounds corny, but their blood, sweat
and tears were literally laid out for all to see. ROC demonstrates the band
exploding more vigorously and dynamically then ever before. The struggle, the
angst, the sincerity, the joy
everything that comes out in the live
performance, trapped in a jar and pressed on to CD and vinyl, with nothing held
back. Andy Wallace stepped in to mix it all down to a final cohesive package.
Near the end of the recording, the band was alerted that the label known as
DEN was merging with Grand Royal Records, and that Mike D was now involved.
This was good news.
After the recording, the band made its initial trips to Japan and the UK (as well
as a return to the mainland of Europe), and the kids and press over there simply
freaked. Within days of their shows, word spread like a Malibu brush fire
throughout both lands that this was one hell of an exciting band. Weve been
saying that for years, havent we?
So, tomorrow, Sept 12, 2000 (Sept 18 in Europe) is the day Relationship of
Command is released. What happens from here, nobody knows; but for me its is
a real joy to see these five skinny kids from that little town in west Texas come
this far
Cant wait to see what happens next. Im sure theyll make us all proud
to be a part of it.
Thanks for your support
Blaze
