El Monte Slim (named after a Cheech and Chong character), which calls itself a blue-collar country twang band, features Ian Trumbull and Joe Comacho. “Joe (Camacho) and I kept running into each other at the same shows and got to talking about putting a rootsy project together,” recalls Trumbell. “I’d been playing with a band called the Ghost Town Deputies and was looking for an outlet for some more stripped-down country-leaning tunes I’d been working on, and we got to hammering them out in Joe’s living room.”

The band also includes Ruben Ramos on stand-up bass and drummer Paul Brewin, who plays with Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver on occasion. El Monte Slim was nominated for a 2010 San Diego Music Award.

In 2014, several members formed an acoustic country group called Ypsitucky, with singer/guitarist Ian Trumbull, bassist Ruben Ramos, and drummer Paul Brewin, alongside cellist and fiddle player Heather Vorwerck.