Emerging in mid-'80s Ohio as an unhinged psychobilly four-piece that would eventually splinter into the Workdogs and '68 Comeback, the Gibson Bros. specialized in raw, high-voltage blues-inflected roots rock whose loose-limbed energy later echoed across indie circles via outfits such as the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Mule, and the Delta 72. The lineup's steadiest presences were vocalist-guitarists Don Howland, an ex-member of Great Plains, and Jeff Evans, while third guitarist Dan Dow and drummer Ellen Hoover rounded out the early configuration heard on the band's first three releases: the little-known 1986 cassette-only Build a Raft as well as the Homestead LPs Big Pine Boogie and Dedicated Fool.
By the time of 1990's Punk Rock Drivin' Song of a Gun, Howland and Evans appeared under the Gibson Bros. name alongside the Workdogs, the freelance rhythm section anchored by bassist Rob Kennedy and drummer Scott Jarvis. The group's fifth album, 1991's The Man Who Loved Couch Dancing, mixed domestic tapes with concert captures that featured guest appearances by indie stalwarts Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez. Spencer returned for the final joint effort by Howland and Evans, 1993's Memphis Sol Today!, cut at Sun Studios. Evans subsequently launched the comparably styled and arguably wilder '68 Comeback, while Howland pursued projects with the Bassholes, issuing records in 1992 and 1994.
