Following the 2004 farewell concert by Texas alt-country outfit Slobberbone, frontman and guitarist Brent Best embarked on a period of musical introspection. He welcomed a rotating cast of Dallas-area players into his home studio, where downtime between sessions for other projects gave way to his own exploratory recordings. Those efforts coalesced into the Drams, a five-piece whose alternative-country leanings tilted more toward pop than their predecessor’s sound. Best resumed his role at the microphone and with a guitar, joined by Slobberbone alum Jess Barr on guitar and Tony Harper on drums; listeners anticipating another round of the earlier band’s style instead encountered an alternative-country-pop approach. Bass duties fell to Keith Killoren, the former Budapest One singer, while pianist and organist Chad Stockslager—likewise an ex-member of Budapest One—broadened the group’s palette. The Drams issued their first album, Jubilee Dive, in July 2006. On December 6, 2022, at age 46, guitarist Jess Barr passed away during treatment for a heart ailment.
