Noise Pop: Sparta

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. 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.