Led by brothers Willy (vocals/guitar) and Cody Braun (vocals/fiddle/mandolin/harmonica), the alternative country-rock outfit Reckless Kelly formed in Stanley, Idaho in February 1996 before moving to Austin, Texas.

With their younger brothers Micky and Gary, Cody and Willy were raised in central Idaho near the Sawtooth Mountains, between Clayton and Challis in Custer County, and were homeschooled by their mother.

[1][2] From North Dakota, Mustie was a neighbor and relative of the bandleader Lawrence Welk, and was a keyboard player during the last days of legalized gambling in Idaho at Weiser in the early 1950s.

During this period, other music venues in Austin invited them to play, including the Continental Club, the Saxon Pub, Stubb's Barbecue, and Antone's Home of the Blues.

Bulletproof was released in summer 2008 on a new label, Yep Roc Records, and includes tracks critical of and reflecting on recent sociopolitical unfoldings, such as the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina.