El Paso Band’s Final Album Considered Influential, One Of The Best In Decade 10 Years Later

At the Drive-In was built to burn out, not fade away.

The El Paso band’s brilliantly chaotic live performances from 1993-2000 made them one of the must-see bands around. They toured relentlessly, devastating audiences with tornado-like ferocity.

In early 2000, the band went into a California studio to record what would become their last album. “Relationship of Command,” produced by Ross Robinson, known for his work with Limp Bizkit. It was released on Sept. 12, 2000 and quickly made several international publications’ yearend best-of lists.

“Ross, at that time, had the reputation for being the wild guy who would throw things or drive you around, doing things like method acting, but for whatever reason, he didn’t really do that with me,” guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez said in a recent interview with Alternative Press. “I know he threw a trash can a couple of times, and he took Paul (hinojos, bass) [Hinojos, bass] drove him in an SUV really fast through the hills in Malibu, where there was no barrier, to get his adrenaline going and recorded him that way. But with me it was a very different type of relationship.”

Another tour followed the release of the album, this time with performances at huge music festivals and on national TV in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

Ongoing tensions in the band led to an early 2001 announcement of an indefinite hiatus that turned into a permanent breakup. Rodriguez and singer Cedric Bixler Zavala formed The Mars Volta and guitarist Jim Ward, drummer Tony Hajjar, and Hinojos formed Sparta.

Ten years later, “Relationship of Command” has aged well and is still earning accolades. It was named to Uncut’s 150 albums of the decade, Kerrant’s 50 Most Influential Albums of All Time, and NME’s 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade.

For years, theories have abounded on the Internet that the band’s new-found popularity after “Relationship of Command” led to the breakup, but Rodriguez disputes that, chalking up the breakup to creative differences.

“People always say we broke up out of nowhere and we imploded because of the popularity, and that’s something that always makes us laugh,” Rodriguez said in the Alternative Press article. “We still laugh about that (rumor) because (the break up) had nothing to do with that. It was just that I felt it was our time. I felt that the lifespan of the band was over and I broke the band up. It was all personal affairs. It was very much a life thing, it had nothing to do with external pressure and all those theories.”

In a 2004 interview with a Fredericksburg, Virginia newspaper, Ward said he did not miss being in At the Drive-In.

“No, I don’t miss it,” he said. “I mean, I’m proud of it, you know. Good memories, it was a really good time in my life. I just need to be doing other stuff right now.”

The break-up wasn’t the band’s first, just the one that lasted.

“Going back to this point again about the way people say that we imploded out of nowhere, they don’t understand the context that we broke up at least three or four other times before we finally broke up,” Rodriguez said. “There were three or four times where I or Cedric or Cedric and I both talked about leaving the group because our desires were so different (from the rest of the band). Looking back on it, it’s part of the beauty of that band and what made it work. It wasn’t what we wanted versus what they wanted. It was a really special dynamic, even though it was volatile in that way. It was what made the band what it was. I don’t regret it at all.”

The band members have reconciled, but they have quelled fans’ hopes of a reunion show or tour.

“We’re all good friends now. We all talk now,” Rodriguez said. “I invited Tony Hajjar and Jim and Paul down to my house in Mexico and had them over. I flew them down here. We’re all good friends… .”

What They’re Doing Now: Cedric Bixler Zavala- Singer in The Mars Volta Tony Hajjar- Last known band, The Strange Atomic Paul Hinojos- Last known band, Dios Kilos Omar Rodriguez Lopez- Guitarist in The Mars Volta, movie director, actor, writer Jim Ward- Singer and guitarist in Sleepercar, solo artist, music producer, bar co-owner

Related Link:NME Asks If At The Drive-In Were Greatest Live Band Ever; Includes Videos