Alt-country group Milton Mapes was formed as a duo by Greg Vanderpool and Roberto Sánchez in 1999. The project, which was named after Vanderpool's grandfather, was born from Vanderpool and Sánchez's experience in the music scene of Deep Ellum, a neighborhood in Dallas, TX. After spending a year compiling songs in Nashville, Milton Mapes released its first album, The State Line, in 2001. Soon after, Britton Beisenherz and Jim Fredley rounded out the group. Now a four piece, Milton Mapes released Westernaire on the Aspyr Media label in 2003. It was followed two years later by The Blacklight Trap, a full-length album, and Shady Valleys, a compilation of B-sides that was released as a downloadable EP. In 2007, Milton Mapes went on hiatus as Vanderpool, Sánchez, Beisenherz, and Fredley embarked on a new project called Monahans and released their first disc, Low Pining, in 2007. ~ Katherine Fulton, Rovi