Sparta Announces Wiretap Scars 20th Anniversary Vinyl & New Tour Dates

Sparta, the El Paso band featuring Jim Ward, has been celebrating the 20th anniversary of their critically acclaimed debut album Wiretap Scars touring the U.S. throughout the past year.

Now, the seminal and now-legendary debut record, lovingly pressed onto vinyl will be made available officially for the first time. Originally released on Dreamworks records in 2002, it is seeing vinyl release from Canadian Indie powerhouse, Dine Alone Records, who have been releasing new music from both Sparta and Jim Ward since 2020. Pre-order the album here.

Sparta will head to Europe for a run of shows followed by even more dates in the US and Canada supporting Thursday and Moneen. A full rundown of dates can be found below and tickets are available here. This marks Sparta’s first tour of 2023 and a follow up to their fall 2022 tour supporting The Get Up Kids. 

Featuring fan-favorites “Air,” and “Cut Your Ribbon,” Wiretap Scars was released in August 2002. At the time Sparta was Ward, Matt Miller, Paul Hinojos, and Tony Hajjar. The 4 formed Sparta following the break of their former band, the post-hardcore At the Drive-In. 

Sparta currently consists of Jim Ward and Matt Miller who are joined by drummer Neil Hennessy on tour. Last year, the band released self-titled album Sparta which followed 2020’s Trust The River, both released on Dine Alone Records. Trust the River marked the first full length studio album from the band since 2006’s Threes. Ward has also recently released his first solo album Daggers (Dine Alone Records).

When it comes to his long and fruitful career in music, Jim Ward is not guided by vanity or money or some grand narrative in which he’s the central player. It’s all about the song, the melody, the lyric. So in late-2017, when he began making heavier, more riff-laden music, he rang his Sparta bandmate of more than 20 years, bassist Matt Miller, and began work on Trust The River. Beyond Sparta, Ward has performed in various bands and under several monikers over his long and winding career— from the iconic post-hardcore band At The Drive-In, his alt-country project Sleepercar, to a slew of solo albums. 

SPARTA WIRETAP SCARS TOUR DATES:

Sep 22 - House of Blues - Myrtle Beach, SC ^

Sep 30 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ ^

Nov 2 - History - Toronto, ON *

Nov 3 - Otter Creek Water - Bronson, FL *

Nov 4 - Foufounes Électriques - Montréal, QC *

Nov 7 - Park Theatre - Winnipeg, MB *

Nov 8 - Louis’ Pub - Saskatoon, SK *

Nov 10 - The Palace Theatre - Calgary, AB *

Nov 11 - Union Hall - Edmonton, AB *

Nov 13 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, ON *

^ supporting Thursday

* supporting Moneen

Photo Credit: Jesse DeFlorio

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