 Jeff Hart and the Ruins was formed in January 1990 by Jeff Hart, along with bassist Chip Robinson and drummer John Flowers.As with musical predecessors The Byrds, Tom Petty, and The Kinks (Muswell Hillbillies era) and contemporaries like Paul Westerberg and The Jayhawks, the music of the band strays into both the "alt.country" and power pop styles of rock and roll.Don Bailey later joined the original three to round out the first era of the band.