At The Drive-In Bio

To say At The Drive-In is a hard working band is an understatement. I don't think it would be dishonest to say that no other band has worked harder than these five skinny kids from El Paso, TX over the past three to four years. All along the slow climb, from their own record label, to Flipside, to Fearless and now to Grand Royal Records, the theory has been the same. Play honest rock, record it, then tour, tour, tour.



The band is getting more fans, but little else has changed.



If you talk to guitarist Jim Ward ("the white guy"), you would see he is still the chatty, sweetheart of a guy, who likes to talk about his girlfriend and ATDI and will eagerly share a beer with you.



Cedric and Omar are still the non-stop jokers, always keeping everyone laughing, and two of the most trusting, sincere guys you could know.



Paul and Tony are the quieter ones, preferring to have the attention away from them. Their shyness occasionally being misconstrued as ego; which couldn't be further from the truth as they're two of the most straight-forward, warm-hearted people around.



And though that may sound self-righteous, I'm not in the band, so i can say it, and it really is the core of the group's identity. This honesty comes across in the music, and serves as the indirect message of the band. There is no soapbox that they stand on, no political agenda, nor is there any of the "guy meets girl" swarmy love songs. There is just a glowing realness to them that the majority of rock bands today lack. The fact that they've played so many shows over the years and still put every inch of their beings into their set every night is a testament to this.



Some complaints have come lately due to the band signing to Grand Royal Records; mostly because the label has major distribution. Also because the band recently played shows with Rage Against the Machine in large arenas. The word, "sellout", has been tossed out by a small minority of people, but the band has never preached any sort of underground-gospel that would warrant the term. What the naysayers will see is that the band will stick to the program of working hard and maintaining their honesty and sincerity, and continue to remain who they are regardless of what happens. And that sits well with me.