At the time Toby was living between Seattle and Olympia while playing in the two piece band Delta Haymax which was comprised of Toby and Nathan . Their sound was reminiscent of ‘50s and ‘60s pop, although a bit rough-hewn. Through a mutual friend, Toby and Nathan met bass player German Nuestro at the Velvet Elvis, who he quickly discovered shared his enthusiasm and dedication for music. German was recruited to play bass for Delta Haymax and the group went on to release an LP in 1997. The band achieved a moderate amount of success within independent music circles, but ultimately Toby and German decided to move in other directions. Delta Haymax has been inactive since 1999. taken from a bio on millpondrecords.com regarding Blessed Light, a band consisting of former members of Delta Haymax. a review of Delta Haymax: Indie rock in the late '90s was a rather splintered affair, with as many diverging streams as there were bands to invent them -- in any such climate, it's incredible to come across a record that strikes right to the heart of genre's intentions, forgoing the work of any particular scene in favor of composing generally wonderful music. Delta Haymax's self-titled album does just this -- the album's clean, ringing guitar dynamics fall somewhere between Built to Spill, Versus and Honeybunch, without these comparisons ever seeming very important; vocally, references range from anthemic emo feels to some of the Lilys' shoegazing periods (Eccsame the Photon Band), but always concentrating on melody and emotion over genre conventions. The result is absolutely fantastic, like Built to Spill's Keep it Like a Secret minus all of the distorted rock leanings -- in a manner similar to the under-known Beezus, the band simply takes a three-piece set-up and a thorough knowledge of indie conventions (aside from the obvious Built to Spill influence, there are shades of Small Factory, the Ocean Blue, Unrest, the Feelies, and just about every other great indie band) and turns out a series of gorgeous, complex tunes that find a great deal of power even in their thorough gentleness. Anyone who's ever considered the possibility that indie rock in its pure form is a played-out affair can take faith in Delta Haymax, an album so earnest and unassuming that it would seem inappropriate to call it brilliant. by Nitsuh Abebe | www.allmusicguide.com a review of Delta Haymax EP: Delta Haymax's self-titled EP is one of those early collections that holds the promise of an incredible full-length (which the band shortly delivered) -- its three songs strike to the heart of indie rock, falling somewhere between the moving guitar dynamics of Versus and the jangling pop of Honeybunch, but also drawing on more atmospheric slow-core tones from Low and Bedhead. These references do little to capture the band's sound, however -- the key to the EP's beauty is the way it eschews stylistic thought in favor of beautifully composed guitar work and melody. The result lies right in the center of indie rock's many subgenres, and it's exquisite; the band's self-titled album manages to take this sound into a larger form by Nitsuh Abebe | www.allmusicguide.com <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Delta+Haymax">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.