Split Lip Rayfield is a band from Wichita, Kansas featuring Kirk Rundstrom (guitar), Eric Mardis (banjo), Wayne Gottstine (mandolin), and Jeff Eaton (bass). Early on, the group's gimmick was Eaton's homemade one-string bass, named Stitchgiver, built from the gastank of a 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis and a piece of hickory and strung with one piece of Weedwhacker line. The name "Split Lip Rayfield" was inspired by a real-life person of that name who lived in Eaton's hometown of Gumbo, Missouri, when Eaton was a boy. The trio of Rundstrom, Eaton and Mardis recorded the album Split Lip Rayfield in 1998; Bloodshot released it that same year. 1999 saw the release of In the Mud, the first album on which the group performed as a quartet. This album contained fan favorites such as Gottstine's "3.2 Flu", Rundstrom's "Devil", Mardis' "Hounds" and a cover of the George Jones/Melba Montgomery song "Easy Street." The band followed up the album's release with a nationwide tour. The band's next album, Never Make It Home, also achieved success, as did the subsequent tour. Following the Never Make It Home tour, Split Lip Rayfield took a short hiatus so that its members could refocus on family life and side projects. Upon reassembling, the group traveled to New Orleans to make a record with friend and fellow performer Mike West. The resulting disc, Should Have Seen It Coming, won critical praise. In 2005, Gottstine left the touring group for personal reasons. The remaining trio continued to tour; however. Gottstine returned in Summer 2006 after Kirk Rundstrom's cancer diagnosis. In 2008 the group guest wrote various music pieces for an episode of the Adultswim show Squidbillies entitled, Mephistopheles Traveled Below to a Southern State Whose Motto is 'Wisdom, Justice and Moderation'.