Following the demise of At the Drive-In, singer/guitarist Jim Ward began piecing together the elements of Sleepercar, an alt-country band that took its cues from Old 97's and Wilco. Ward was soon recruited by his former bandmates to join Sparta, however, and the Sleepercar project was pushed to the back burner as Sparta's popularity grew. Finding free time between tours and recording sessions, Ward steadily increased his wealth of Sleepercar songs, gaining help from pedal steel guitarist Chris Heinrich along the way. West Texas marked Sleepercar's official debut in 2008, and the band spent that summer on the road with Lucero and Old 97's. ~ Andrew Leahey, Rovi