While growing up in Norwell, MA, Matt and Andrew Thompson listened to Dwight Yoakam and Steve Earle; though most of their Northeastern friends disliked country music, Mike Whitty joined them in a band they had started during the early '90s. After working on their sound around the Massachusetts area for several years, the trio moved to Nashville and quickly found a deal with RCA. The Thompson Brothers' first release was the 1996 EP Cows on Main Street. The full-length Blame It on the Dog followed in 1998. ~ John Bush