Joined the band The Specs

As a high school student in 1980, Sweet wrote songs and recorded them on four-track cassettes. He joined the band The Specs and released his first recording on a battle of bands LP produced by a local radio station, and fronted his own local band called The Dialtones. After graduating, Sweet traveled to Athens, Georgia , to attend college amid the flourishing Athens music scene . That same year, Sweet, who had met the band R.E.M. when they played a show in his hometown the previous year, collaborated with frontman Michael Stipe in a duo group under the name Community Trolls , as well as played guitar in Stipe’s sister Lynda Stipe ‘s band, Oh-OK . In addition, he formed another duo, The Buzz of Delight , with Oh-OK drummer David Pierce, releasing an EP, Sound Castles , in 1984 on DB Records . On the strength of this 12″ vinyl, Sweet was signed to a solo recording contract with Columbia Records .