The late '90s were nothing if not a renaissance of young hardcore country acts. Texas, as expected, was a hotbed of activity with the likes of The Derailers, Dale Watson and Roger Wallace. But the Midwest produced its share, as well, particularly Chicago's Robbie Fulks and Missouri's Domino Kings, who just released their third album, "The Back of Your Mind."

Like Fulks, the Domino Kings were longtime vets of the road by the time they got around to recording their debut, "Lonesome Stranger," in 1998.

But it was their second album, 2000's "Life and 20," that put the group on the country map. Produced by Lou Whitney, longtime leader of Midwest faves The Skeletons and The Morrels, the album was a classy blend of rockabilly and Bakersfield-influenced honky-tonk with lead vocals by the band's two songwriters, upright bassist Brian Capps and guitarist Stevie Newman.

Newman's parents had been big country fans, and Newman regularly heard the likes of Buck Owens and George Jones while growing up.

"When I was about 7 or 8, I traded a pool cue to a cousin of mine for a big box of 8-track tapes and was just in hog heaven," says Newman, 32. "My first musical collection was Bill Monroe, Charley Pride, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Merle HaggardÉand Kiss' 'Love Gun.'"

Picking up guitar a few years later, Newman was basically a musician-for-hire for the next several years.

"I'd been kind of a pseudo-session guy - kind of a hired guitar player - for years," continues Newman. "I hooked up with some guys in '93, who needed a guitar player for what I believe was a high school reunion. So, I hooked up with what were the original Domino Kings, played the show, and we went our separate ways for a few months. And then I decided to put a band together, so I called these guys up. We rehearsed once for about nine hours and played for about two years without ever having another rehearsal."

From the sound of Capps' description, the early Domino Kings was an altogether different-sounding band with Capps singing only a handful of songs.

"When I did maybe three songs," says Capps, 34. "Basically, it was kind of a guitar band. A lot of Texas shuffles, some Jimi Hendrix, bands like The Paladins and stuff like that."

The band split for about a year-and-a-half in the mid-'90s, reuniting with almost no rehearsal for a Star Search competition, which they won, as it turned out. Since the song they won with was more country in sound, they continued in that vein.

"As the Domino Kings progressed, we evolved into writing songs as a band," says Newman. "I'd been doing it sporadically for a while, but everybody had a little different influence. We had strong ties to a lot of the same music, but where (Brian) hit Johnny Cash, I was kind of more in line with Haggard and Jones. And that was just different enough to where we started getting noticed. We were playing rockabilly stuff all the time, which, to me, goes in the honky-tonk basket. 'Cause you hear that stuff in a honky-tonk."

Shortly after the release of their debut, the band signed with the local Slewfoot label and released the company's first album, 2000's "Life and 20."

According to Newman, "Dale Wiley, the president (of the label), started coming around to see the band and approached us about signing a record deal. We wanted a record deal, and we're glad we signed with them because at the time nobody else was calling. And now that I've gotten to know Dale and his wife, if it was a bad deal, I would have signed it. They're some of the best people. I've talked to all these names that are on other labels, and it doesn't seem like anybody's happy. But it seems like everybody on Slewfoot likes everybody else on Slewfoot. We go out and do these package tours, and everybody is carrying everybody else's amps and guitars."

The biggest change since "Life and 20" was Capps' sudden departure late last year. The band's bio is nothing if not upfront about the events behind the lineup change: a dilly of a barfight between Capps and Newman shortly before the band was scheduled to go into the studio to begin recording what would eventually become the band's new album.

"I don't even know what it was about now," says Capps. "I think I showed up late or something. I think the underlying thing that kind of surfaced later was, well, creative differences in the kinds of directions where everybody was going. And you can't really have two people with different ideas of how something should be. There was a pretty good balance for a while, and then it was time to move on."

Capps, for his part, believes that things worked out for the best in the end, though he sounds regretful that things ended the way they did.

"We'd been on the road for the past six or nine months when that happened. So, we'd gotten to be together a bunch, and that kind of wears on you after a while. We (rarely) had any arguments. I can think of two or three, and (the barfight) was one of them. It should have been an argument that just ended with a few words. But for some reason, that night it wasn't that way."

Does Capps regret that he left?

"I did a month or so after I left, because I thought, 'Well, now I'm an out-of-work bass player.' And I didn't know where I stood with Slewfoot. But Dale still showed interest in me and the songs, so I'm grateful for that."

Although Newman is gracious toward Capps and his contributions while a member of the band, one also gets the impression that Newman believes that the band runs a lot more smoothly now, mentioning later in the conversation that Capps had left the band on two other occasions over the years (Capps says he'd only left once before).

Still, it's unusual when a bandleader doesn't try to paint a more amicable picture of a split between himself and his group's other main songwriter.

"Well, for us, that was pretty amicable," laughs Newman. "I don't think anyone is mad at the other. I think he wanted to go out and be the frontman, and that's fine. We've got more of a cohesive nature to the band. Everybody's pulling for the same thing now. Bert (Parnell) is a wonderful bass player and singer, and his attitude's just the best. He comes in and does whatever we need, and he's just as much a part of the band as I am."

Asked if he's spoken to Capps since the fight, Newman says, "Well, we haven't. We just haven't run into each other. It's been kind of a busy time since then. We had to hire a new bass player, teach him all the songs, get him up to snuff on the harmonies and go into the studio."

Although new rhythm guitarist, Jimmy Ginnings (also Newman's cousin), briefly moved over to bass in Capps' place, the band soon drafted ex-Billy Joe Shaver bassist Parnell as Capps' permanent replacement.

"He's one of the best bass players I've ever come into contact with," says Newman.

Eight months after Capps' departure, the band has bounced back with "The Back of Your Mind," released in late June.

Produced once again by Whitney, the album cuts back on the more overt rockabilly influences found on the group's first two records. Still firmly in place, however, is the band's Bakersfield and honky-tonk sound, with a few more contemporary touches thrown in, particularly on Wiley's "Either Way" and Newman's "I Fell," probably the closest thing to a radio-oriented number the band has ever recorded.

"I wanted this record to be bigger," says Newman. "In every respect. From the drum sounds to how many it sells. Because we didn't want to make 'Lonesome Highway' over again, Lord knows. And we didn't want to make 'Life and 20' over again. I hate stagnant bands that just make the same record over and over. You can stay in the same style and even write songs that are pretty close to the songs on a different record. But you can't just keep making near-carbon copies."

Newman says that the departure of Capps and his songs that had been earmarked for the new album didn't result in a sudden shortage of material.

"No, we had plenty of songs. A lot of the songs that are on there were going to be there anyway. And then there were some songs that I knew I wanted to do; I just didn't know when. 'Either Way' comes to mind. That was a song that Dale Wiley had written back about two years ago. It was a guy-on-a-stool-playing-a-flattop kinda song. I asked him if I could record it, and he told me I could. I just didn't know where I was going to do it down the line."

Newman's and Ginnings' aunt, Susie McCoy, also contributed "What Do You Do About the Ring." McCoy had been a staff songwriter for Acuff-Rose before leaving Nashville in the late '70s to raise a family, though not before her songs had been recorded by Lorrie Morgan and Loretta Lynn, among others.

In addition, longtime drummer Les Gallier contributed "Show Me" and Ginnings penned three numbers, including the album's opening track. Rounding things out is a cover of Faron Young's "Wine Me Up."

For his part, Capps has recorded most of an as-yet-untitled solo album (also produced by Whitney) for Slewfoot tentatively due out in September. Capps has only just recently returned to the stage, so far with Whitney on bass and guitar and original Domino Kings drummer Rod Howe in tow.

"Over half of the songs (on Capps' new album) were songs that I had written for the next Domino Kings record," says Capps. "Then, after that I've been writing. There'll also be a couple of covers; kind of an obscure Johnny Cash thing, 'Riding On the Cotton Belt.' And an old Charlie Rich song, 'Sitting and Thinking.'"

Asked if he's heard the new Domino Kings album, Capps says, "Yeah, I've heard part of it. To tell you the truth, I really like it. I think Steve and Jim both are real good songwriters. And of course, when you've got four guys who are all talented, it's hard to go wrong. They made a real good record, and I think it was the next step for them."

"And for me, too."