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By Bob Simpson (Writer)
In Austin, Texas, I was baptized by thrash. Local music venue, Emo’s (don’t let the name fool you – this wasn’t an “emo” club…it was post-hardcore), hosted some of the most righteous underground music acts of the new millennium, and by the grace of the Goddess Spontaneity, I was introduced to musicians that defied definition, El Paso's At the Drive-In. Their 2000 release, Relationship of Command, is widely considered to be a masterpiece; one of those albums you listen to everyday, straight-through, for months on end.
The genius of ATDI (I’m going to abbreviate them from here on) wasn’t just in their studio recordings, like so many horrible artists born in the afterbirth known as “emo.” No, it was ATDI’s presence on stage that elevated them above the drecks. Here’s an example:
Here’s a live version of the same song, from their gig on The Late Show.
There's also an epic video of ATDI playing on Later with Jools Holland. Robbie Williams' face after the performance is a thing of beauty.
Unfortunately, just as ATDI was exploding, they exploded. Rampant drug use, the dreaded “creative differences” tag surfaced and the band split, and most fans believed it to be permanent.
Lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavalla and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez formed prog-monster The Mars Volta (complete with 45-minute guitar solos) and the rest of the band formed Sparta, though bassist Paul Hinojos would later join The Mars Volta. If you like colors, check out The Mars Volta’s band members section below from their Wikipedia page. It’s hilarious.
Timeline
ATDI fans suffered through 11 years of dwindling hopes, fraying dreams, and Nickelback, and just when the final grains of hope slipped down the hourglass, this Tweet was released through ATDI’s seldom-used Twitter feed on January 9th.
The impossible has happened, and those of us that were bathed in ATDI’s glow during their previous stint hope and pray that this one will last.
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