When
At the Drive-In announced a hiatus in March 2001, co-founder
Jim Ward (vocals/guitar) immediately started working with bandmates
Paul Hinojos (guitar) and
Tony Hajjar (drums) under the
Sparta moniker. El Paso native and
Belknap bassist
Matt Miller joined the band several months later. Within a year, the punk-inspired four-piece had a deal with Dreamworks, and in March 2002, released the
Austere EP. Five months later,
Sparta issued the full-length,
Wiretap Scars. The band returned two years later with the ambitious
Porcelain, and North American tours followed into 2005. In May of that year, the band announced the departure of founding member
Paul Hinojos, and before year's end, ex-
Engine Down/
Denali guitarist
Keeley Davis was added to the lineup. A deal with Hollywood followed in early 2006, resulting in the album
Threes that same year.
Ward has also recorded with El Paso poet
Bobby Byrd for the 2006 collaboration
How Will We Know When We're Dead. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide