A brief profile of Rick Ness on the Discovery website recounts how he was once a skilled football player and only decided to pursue music after an injury sidelined his athletic ambitions. Meanwhile, a fan site dedicated to alternative country music called the Swedish Embassy of Gothic Country provides an extensive history of The .357 String Band, revealing that the group experienced its fair share of drama during its eight-year existence.

In 2009, notably, the band let go of founding member Jayke Orvis, who didn’t take kindly to the manner of his firing. Furthermore, the author of this profile argues that in addition to Joe Huber’s departure, a failure to secure commercial success likewise contributed to its dissolution. As evidence, they cite its members expressing at various points their lack of marketing finesse.

Even though he stopped playing with The .357 String Band, Ness didn’t leave behind his past entirely. On one occasion, for example, he wore a .357 String Band shirt on “Gold Rush.” He even returned to play one of his former band’s songs with Orvis at a solo gig. In fact, as he detailed in an interview with Channel Guide Magazine, Ness first met Parker Schnabel when he was at the Alaska State Fair performing in The .357 String Band. So, in a sense, his musical career led directly to his present-day success.