Jackson United

Jackson United was formed by Foo Fighters' and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' guitarist Chris Shiflett. The band also features guitarist Doug Sangalang (formerly of Screw 32, Limp and One Time Angels) and Chris's older brother; bassist Scott Shiflett, who made his name as a member of Face to Face. Rounding out the group is new drummer Joe Kid of Mighty Mighty Bosstones (so new, though, that he didn't play on the new album).

After years of playing a supporting role in other songwriters' successes, Chris Shiflett had the desire to release material he had written on his own. To this end he formed Jackson United, drafting his brother Scott Shiflett on bass and drummer Pete Parada (who had played alongside the elder Shiflett in Face to Face.) They staged their first performance in April of 2003 at the King King Club in Los Angeles. At this point the band were simply known as Jackson (based on Shiflett's long-running nickname) and shortly thereafter they recorded and released an eponymous EP.

Around this time Pete Parada took his leave from the band due to his full time commitment as the then-drummer of Saves The Day. Replacing him in the band was Cary Lascala who had enjoyed a brief stint as a member of Communique. After a short period the band grew by one with the addition of Sangalang as second guitarist. It was around this time that the band decided to change their name due to the difficulty of obtaining any form of legal protection over their current moniker ("Jackson" was considered to be too common a word to be granted copyright.) Also, this period saw the (temporary) departure of bassist Scott Shiflett. Replacing him was Top Brown's Omen Starr.

Following the successful worldwide touring in support of their debut album (2004's "Western Ballads") the band entered a long period of inactivity mainly due to Shiflett's commitments with the Foo Fighters. As a result, Lascala and Starr decided to leave the band to pursue other ventures. The split was entirely amicable and all parties remain friends. Replacing Starr was a returning Scott Shiflett. During the sessions for the new album, drumming duties were shared between Chris Shiflett's Foo Fighter bandmates Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins.