Originally a side project for
the Grifters' Dave Shouse,
Those Bastard Souls formed in 1996 with the release of
Twentieth Century Chemical. The album was basically a Shouse solo project, but when he was approached by
Sebadoh with an opening spot on their tour, he connected with
the Dambuilders' Joan Wasser and former
Red Red Meat bassist Matt Fields to flesh out
the Souls for the road. As Wasser's and Shouse's main groups broke up (in the case of
the Dambuilders) or went on hiatus (in the case of
the Grifters),
Those Bastard Souls evolved into a full-fledged band. The original trio added another ex-
Dambuilder, drummer Kevin March, and former
Jeff Buckley guitarist Michael Tighe to the lineup for the recording of their V2 debut, 1999's Debt & Departure. ~ Heather Phares