Influenced by everything from Johnny Cash to Woody Guthrie to the Velvet Underground, Lonnie James -- a native of Consort, Alberta, Canada -- started drumming at age 12. By his late twenties, he was playing in three or four bands at a time, including late-'80s bands like the Nils. By the mid-'90s, he had drummed in 30 groups, including Circus Lupus, Possum, Living Proof, Naugahyde 5, and Yeti. When the Super Friendz split in the fall of 1997, James decided to go solo. He released a 7" on Julie Doiron's label, Sappy Records, and was signed by Winnipeg's Teenage USA label on Christmas Eve 1997. His EP This Land Is Your Land was released on February 14, 1998, and was comprised of modest home recordings. The full-length Dee-O followed in December 1999 on Scratch.