There, as a teenager, he formed Brian and the Nightmares, a band that played around the South and Midwest in the second half of the 1980s. In the '90s, he formed Gumption with Gary Miller, relocating to Chapel Hill, NC, in 1994. The group released a single and an EP before splitting up. Hagardorn became a guitarist for hire, backing country artists Thad Cockrell and Caitlan Cary while working on a solo album. He took his time, recording between 2000 and 2006, meanwhile moving again to Portland, OR. Portland's Bladen County Records finally released his debut solo album, Ten Singles, on July 24, 2007. ~ William Ruhlmann