Although they started out as the side project of a batch of restless rockers, the Waco Brothers became one of the finest alt country bands of the post-Uncle Tupelo era. The band began when Mekons founder Jon Langford (b. 1958, Newport, Wales; vocals/guitar) and Steve Goulding (b. London, England; drums) hooked up with Wreck's Dean Schlabowske (vocals/guitar), Alan Doughty (b. Alan Jaworski, 31 January 1966, Plymouth, Devon, England; bass, ex-Jesus Jones), and Tracey Dear (vocals/mandolin) to start a hard-hitting country rock outfit whose punk roots clearly showed through. Throughout their career, they have also received on-and-off support from Mark Durante (steel guitar), formerly of KMFDM. Although all the band members lived in Chicago upon formation, all but Schlabowske and Durante were displaced Brits, giving them a unique perspective on the American mythology they lovingly deconstructed starting with their 1995 debut To The Last Dead Cowboy. Langford and Goulding continued to work consistently with the Mekons at the same time as the Waco Brothers, but what began as strictly a Chicago phenomenon took on a life of its own, generating as much momentum as the parent bands, as the Wacos went nationwide, their reputation for raucous, alcohol-fueled onstage hijinks helping to earn them a strong cult following in the USA.

Listen to The Waco Brothers at Finetune.

• (2000)  Electric Waco CHair
• (1999)  Waco World

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