A hearty slab of Middle American boogie-down blues, Tenderloin featured steer-sized lead singer/harmonica player Ernie Locke, fresh from time in another Lawrence, KA, institution, the Sin City Disciples. In 1993, Locke hooked up with brothers Gray and Brock Ginther (on guitar and bass, respectively) and drummer Guy Stephens to record the band's debut, Let It Leak, which was picked up by Warner Bros. But the band splintered and Locke recruited three new members for their Warner follow-up, including Reverend Horton Heat drummer Patrick Taz Bentley; the Rev's guitar tech, Kirk St. James on guitar; and bassist John Cutler. With Locke's butt-crack and Buddha-belly baring stage show leading a furious roadhouse rock attack, the band supported their 1995 second album, Bullseye, touring with kindred spirits the Supersuckers. However, Warner dropped them the next year. They hooked up with indie Time Bomb for their self-titled swan song in 1997, officially breaking up the following year. Locke and Cutler went on to form a new Lawrence-area band, Parlay. ~ Chris Parker, Rovi