Jim Ward - Biography
Jim Ward is a founding member of At The Drive-In, Sparta, Sleepercar, and is a solo musician. Ward formed post-hardcore band At The Drive-In in El Paso, TX when he was 17. They spent the next few years touring constantly and self-releasing EPs. In 1996, with their final lineup set - Jim Ward, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Cedric Bixler, Tony Hajjar, and Paul Hinojos - they released their debut full-length album, Acrobatic Tenement (Flipside Records). The band went on indefinite haitus after the release of their third album, Relationship of Command (Virgin, 2000). In the wake of the band's ultimate break up, Ward began Sparta with Hajjar and Hinojos, and Bixler and Rodriguez-Lopez formed The Mars Volta.
Sparta has released three studio albums to date, including 2006's Threes (Anti-). While touring with Sparta in 2006, Ward began working on his first solo EP, Quiet, a collection of softer, less-aggressive songs. In between his work with Sparta and his solo efforts, Ward released the first Sleepercar album, West Texas (Doghouse, 2008), an alt-country project that toured with the Old 97s. Ward released his first solo full-length in 2011, Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six (Tembloroso), a collection of his three solo EPs.