Andrew and Zachary Gabbard grew up in a musical household with a guitar-playing father, who taught them to play the instrument at an early age.

[1] Zach recalls growing up "listening to Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, CSNY and New Riders of the Purple Sage from as long back as I can remember.

Thee Shams released four albums on four record labels before the Gabbard brothers broke up the band in late 2005.

Shortly after the band's formation, Buffalo Killers began gigging throughout Ohio and recorded a five-song demo with producer John Curley.

[8] A bonus live CD, sourced from a fan's bootleg, was included in a limited edition vinyl pressing of the album.

The inclusion was made (even though the bootleg "sounds like shit", said Zach) to show that the band can play live and is not studio-enhanced.

[11] In August 2019, it was announced that Zachary and Andrew Gabbard had joined The Black Keys' touring band on bass and guitar, respectively.

[12] The announcement was made after Rolling Stone published an exclusive rehearsal video showing the Gabbard brothers performing the song "Go" from the Keys' ninth studio album, Let's Rock.