I just dont see it, I just read this bio snippet I was at one of the first shows of At the Drive-in in El Paso, back when we all just kids This isnt the whole story or so I have heard but If anything, Sparta has far superseeded any works of At the Drive-in, and the "Afro twins" I love it, dont take my lines though I was the one to complain that if you cant write a good song in 3 to four minutes you won't write it in twenty minutes (TMV) nevertheless, I think Sparta has remained the true creative band and perhaps one of the most creative bands of a new millenium filled with so much crap, they remain true innovators I own each of the albums, I don't go to the shows, but have great admiration for Mr Ward Lets hope for For "Fours" can't wait to hear it, I am totally digging the NEw Jim Ward Quiet EP, its amazing Shows true versatility as an artist SPARTA ROCKS! A big Fan, Devon Drake
Im going to buy tickets to the sunset House of Blues............ ................. ................. .. ................. ..........SEE U GUYS THERE............ ....
So, what does Sparta do when they’ve been on the road for five years and the only questions journalists seem to keep asking is about your feelings for your former band, At the Drive-In, and the band everyone else ended up in, Mars Volta? If you’re Jim Ward, Sparta’s lead singer, you politely ignore the question and shift the conversation back to Sparta.
Not that you can blame the journalists for trying. At the end of the century, At the Drive-In was poised to have it all. With a rabid fan base, intelligent, driving music and a spectacular live show, Sparta had critics spouting, “Nirvana.” And then, out of nowhere, they broke up.
The official story pretty much has remained the same. As bassist Paul Hijonos told Tim McMahan of the Omaha Weekly in the spring of 2002, the band was getting along, planning the next round of concert dates when someone decided to fold. "It was just one of those things. We had set a rule in the band that if we're ever going to break up, we would immediately go on hiatus and talk again in a few months. That's what happened.”
So, as promised, they went on hiatus, waiting to see if they would stay a band. But, said Hijonos, “It just didn't happen. We just left it the way it was and walked away.” The two Afro twins went on to become Mars Volta, the rest went to Sparta and “At the Drive In is gone."
It’s not the most believable story of a bitter breakup, but it will have to do for now. Several months later, Hijonos and drummer Tony Hajjar were hanging out in Los Angeles and decided it was time to play again. They flew to El Paso and talked to Ward, convincing him to join the band and take over the vocals. Hijonos would switch from bass to guitar so that Matt Miller could play bass.
"We started practicing and rehearsing in July. Having been apart for a few months, we all had some new ideas, and when we came to practice all these songs just came out."
Given the buzz around At the Drive-In, getting a record deal (with Dreamworks) was a cinch. They put out EPs like Austere (2002) and Live at La Zona Rosa (2004) or full-length albums like Wiretap Scars (2002) and Porcelain (2004) and packed clubs on their near-constant road trips were easy.
Making a mark in cultural history, that proved a bit more difficult, but that, Hijonos insisted, was not really part of their agenda. Instead, they simply wanted to tour, put out records, make friends and have fun. "We're just a rock band and want to make music."
Still, public happy faces notwithstanding, something has been amiss with Sparta and its good-time vibe. In the middle of 2005, Jim Ward abruptly cancelled a tour, for reasons that are as occluded as the breakup of At the Drive In. By the time Ward was ready for another go, Hijonos had rejoined Mars Volta as their sound manipulator, a role previously filled by Ward’s late cousin, Jeremy.
He was replaced by Keeley Davis; and Sparta left Dreamworks for Hollywood Records. The next album, Threes, is, according to Ward, a major turning point for him. Many critics have been less kind, but the band retains a loyal fan base and a sense of doing what they were meant to do.
As Matt Miller told Heidi Abrams, the fan who won a chance to interview Sparta for MySpace, “We are on the road so much that we are in a different city every day. We tour nine months out of the year and have over 200 tours booked this year alone. We have fun everywhere we go.” For Sparta’s sake, let’s hope that’s all she wrote.
