Bastro

About

Bastro was post-punk band formed by guitarist/vocalist David Grubbs in 1987 while he was attending college at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He was initially joined by bassist Dan Treado but the union was brief and Grubbs soon invited his childhood friend Clark Johnson to fill the role (Grubbs and Johnson had previously both been members of the band Squirrel Bait in their native Louisville, KY while in high school). The group's first EP, "Rode Hard and Put Up Wet" featured the duo accompanied by a drum machine. Later, drummer John McEntire joined the band. This line-up released two albums, "Diablo Guapo" and "Sing The Troubled Beast". Johnson left the group after the latter release to focus on law school and Grubbs and McEntire, who had relocated to Chicago, were joined by bassist Bundy K. Brown. Feeling limited by their format and dynamic, Grubbs put the Bastro name to rest and would re-group with Brown to write and perform the first Gastr Del Sol album (with contributions from McEntire) in 1993. Brown and McEntire would also co-found the post-rock group Tortoise.