While several members of Jonathan Fire*Eater went on to form the Walkmen, Lupton played a handful of poorly received shows as Stewart Stephenson before dropping out of music. In 2005, after years of periodic speculation from fans and journalists about what became of Lupton, he began playing shows in New York with a new group, the Childballads, featuring Lupton on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Betsy Wright on keyboards, viola, and backing vocals, and Hugh McIntosh on drums; Judah Bauer of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion also played with the group for a spell. James Oldham, a former editor for the British music magazine New Musical Express, learned about the group while doing searching for Lupton, and signed the Childballads to his Loog Records label in 2006, releasing their debut EP, Cheekbone Hollows (Pop. 1/2 Life). After the release of the EP, the Childballads underwent some major lineup changes, with Lupton the only original member remaining; joining him in the new edition of the group were guitarist Paul Arfield, bassist Tunde Oyewole, and drummer John Melville. The new lineup of the Childballads began playing New York venues on a regular basis, and toured Europe and the United Kingdom in support of the EP. Sadly, Stewart Lupton died in May 2018 at the age of 43. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi