Pistoleros started out as Mill Avenue mainstays, The Chimeras. The legendary Doug Hopkins - formerly of the Gin Blossoms - formed the group with Mark and Lawrence Zubia, Scott Andrews and Mark Riggs .The Chimeras quickly exploded on the local scene, but Riggs and Hopkins departed the group soon after.
Ultimately, Thomas Laufenberg and Gary Smith replaced Hopkins and Riggs and the crew forged onward landing major label deals with Hollywood Records and EMI Publishing. Changing its moniker to The Pistoleros, the group released its Hollywood effort, "Hang on to Nothing", which included the single "My Guardian Angel", written by Hopkins and Mark Zubia. "Hang on to Nothing" also featured songwriting collaborations with The Jayhawks' Gary Louris and Mark Perlman, Radney Foster and The Smithereens' Pat DiNizio.
The band furthered their recorded legacy with a self-titled effort - "Pistoleros" - which included co-writes with Jesse Valenzuela of the Gin Blossoms and producer Marty Frederickson.
The guys marked their 10th anniversary with the concert collection "Pistoleros:Bars and Guitars".
In 2012, to celebrate 20 years together, they re-released their first LP "Mistaken for Granted".
In 2014, Pistoleros signed with Fervor Records.
January of '15 marked the Fervor release of “Shine”. By early 2017, Mark Riggs re-joined the band. Upon Riggs’ return, the group settled in to the studio to record "Silver", a second release for Fervor.
"Silver" - marking the band's 25th anniversary - was released in November of 2017.
In 2018, Pistoleros will be inducted into The Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame.