Jolene

Early in 1995 the alt-country group Jolene took shape when singer/guitarist John Crooke and lead guitarist Dave Burris joined forces. The pair, first cousins who grew up in the small North Carolina town of Wingate, soon completed their initial roster with bassist Mike Mitschele and drummer Mike Kenerley. Within months the quartet tracked its debut album, Hell's Half Acre, for the storied Ardent Records in Memphis. After securing a contract with Sire, Jolene reappeared in 1998 with In the Gloaming, now operating as a five-piece thanks to the arrival of multi-instrumentalist Rodney Lanier. Antic Ocean arrived two years later.