In 1995, John Howie Jr.’s honky-tonk band, the Two Dollar Pistols, emerged out of the North Carolina alt-country explosion that gave the world Whiskeytown and the Backsliders, among others. The Pistols spent twelve years traveling around the United States and Europe, making records for the esteemed Yep Roc label with an updated, soulful take on old-school country and honky-tonk sounds. Over the course of seven albums – including a series of duets with Grammy nominee Tift Merritt – Howie and the band developed a sizable following, packing clubs on the East Coast and being flown to festivals in Europe, while the band’s albums regularly appeared on the Americana chart. In that time, the Pistols shared the stage with a veritable who’s-who of country music legends, including Merle Haggard, Billy Joe Shaver, Dale Watson, BR-549, the Derailers, and many more, and were invited to play at Opryland in 2003.