Fortunately for the still drummer-less band, Brad had also employed a young skinsman by the name of Brian Kotal, whose talent proved a perfect fit for the type of music the band wished to explore. The impressive decibel level of Brian's drumming, along with the band's now signature harmonies, also contributed to NAR's future reputation for creating a "wall of sound" in their live shows.

With the addition of Brad and Brian, the first Natives Are Restless line-up was complete. However, for a time, the band continued to perform as One Tribe, until one day someone discovered that another Houston-area band had been calling themselves "The One Tribe," and so the band decided that it would be best if they changed their name. The band briefly performed under various names, including "Love Rhino", but none of these names could be agreed upon by everybody, so one night, while most of the band were I-45, heading South to Mary's house in the Woodlands, Dan hit upon the name "Natives Are Restless," which he felt perfectly embodied the sound of the band, which relied heaviliy on hand drums like bongos and congas, and various other percussive instruments from around the world. However, the name proved also to be apt because the band had increasingly taken to rotating members to various instruments, so that no one, not even the drummer, played the same instrument through an entire set.

By 1996, the band had written a number of new songs to add to old standbys like "Loser" and "Mushroom", and they were ready to record a CD. Recording was a slow but thorough process, and the finished product did not disappoint fans. The CD was released in 1997 to tremendous local acclaim. North of the Border, the music newspaper serving Conroe and Huntsville and all points in between, gave the disc and the band a glowing review, and numerous copies were sold.

The disc also launched NAR onto the Houston music scene, and by the end of 1999, the band had played some of Houston's premier night clubs, including The Satellite Lounge, The Last Concert Cafe, Fitzgerald's, and Rudyard's. Additionally, the band had been given key slots in Conroe's famous Cajun Catfish Festival, and Spring's Crawfish Festival (a legendary show that you'll eventually hear about if you talk to Robert for more than ten minutes).