Middleton started the band with drummer Mark McElligott, who is also the live engineer for Powderfinger, in 2000 as a side project.
In 2002, the duo recorded the EP Gas Food Lodging, a small collection of original songs written specifically for Drag.
In this hiatus, Middleton and McElligott re-enlisted Hartman and Murphy and began playing live around Australia.
The band recorded their debut album in early 2005 in Byron Bay.
[1] The band named the album The Way Out and released it on 10 July 2005 in Australia and 8 August 2005 internationally.