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Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
Jim Ward is best known as the frontman and lead guitarist for
Sparta (2002 to 2020) and the co-founder of the seminal post-hardcore group
At the Drive-In (1994 to 2001). In 2008, he formed the alternative country-rock band
Sleepercar, and in 2021 he released his first full-length solo effort,
Daggers, which combined stylistic elements from all his projects.
The El Paso native co-founded the shape-shifting post-hardcore outfit
At the Drive-In in 1994 with vocalist
Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Eventually coalescing into a five-piece that included innovative guitar player
Omar Rodríguez-López, the group issued three full-length efforts and five EPs before ceasing operations in 2001 -- the band re-formed in 2017 sans
Ward.
Bixler-Zavala and
Rodríguez-López proceeded to form the prolific progressive rock group
Mars Volta, while
Ward and ex-
At the Drive-In members Paul Hinojos and
Tony Hajjar morphed into
Sparta. Melding the sonic fury of hardcore and the bruising discord of art punk with the mainstream flourishes of modern rock, the band released three influential studio albums before going on hiatus in 2008.
That year marked the release of
West Texas, the debut album from
Ward's alt-country project
Sleepercar, which drew inspiration from artists like
Gram Parsons,
Wilco, and
Bob Dylan. In 2015,
Sleepercar released the EP Breathe and Count.
Sparta re-formed in 2020 and issued their fourth full-length effort,
Trust the River. The following year saw
Ward release his first solo LP, the versatile
Daggers, which featured
Incubus bassist
Ben Kenney and
Thursday drummer
Tucker Rule. ~ James Christopher Monger