David Grubbs, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist, was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, a 1980s Louisville, Kentucky punk rock group. His next group was the artier (and initially more Big Black-influenced) Bastro, which in the early 1990s moved to Chicago and transformed into the more avant-garde Gastr Del Sol. This project soon became essentially a partnership between Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. The handful of albums released by the duo have been described as a visionary and theoretical deconstruction of the songwriting process. Since the partnership's breakup, Grubbs has released several solo and collaborative records, mostly on the Drag City label. He operates his own label, Blue Chopsticks.