Dallas-born singer/guitarist/songwriter Gary Myrick blended rootsy rock & roll with the energy and sensibility of new wave on several 80s albums and later made a surprising comeback in the late 90s. Myrick was playing around the Dallas/Fort Worth area with his own bands straight out of high school in his early twenties, he moved to Austin to join a band called Kracker Jack, which featured two ex-members of Johnny Winters band and whose guitarist (one Stevie Ray Vaughan) had recently quit. Myrick moved to California after a couple of years, and formed his own outfit called the Figures. They landed a deal with Epic and issued their debut album, Gary Myrick & the Figures, in 1980 it produced a minor cult hit in the single She Talks in Stereo. The follow-up, Living in a Movie, was released in 1981, but after the supporting North American tour, Myrick decided to disband the Figures in pursuit of a different approach.