Band formation

Formed on November 1, 1996, and with the band’s name a reference to the large collection of Atari video game cartridges of Roe, the band originally consisted of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Kristopher Roe and guitarist Jasin Thomason. Using a 4-track , Roe wrote and recorded demos in his bedroom, using a drum machine while he searched for a full-time drummer. The band’s first big break came in 1996 when Roe attended a show at the club Bogart’s in Cincinnati, where Thomason passed one of the band’s demo tapes to a roadie from the band. The roadie gave the tape to Joe Escalante , bassist from the band the Vandals who owned their own label, Kung Fu Records . A few weeks later, Roe received a call from Kung Fu Records, who told him they were interested in putting out their record, even though he was really only searching for a drummer. The Ataris signed to Kung Fu and the label passed the tape along to various drummers. Eventually, Roe decided upon ex- Lagwagon drummer Derrick Plourde . The band then proceeded to record their debut album Anywhere but Here , tracking the whole thing in less than a week. The album was released on April 29, 1997, and the band held a release show party at Missing Link Records in Indianapolis on May 2.