Shelverton, Bringetto and Bajda were childhood friends who grew up around Half Moon Bay in Northern California. All three, along with Jonah Buffa, were originally members of the influential 1990s hardcore punk band Portraits of Past, who helped pioneer the sound that would later become known as screamo. Portraits of Past reformed in 2008. Shelverton, Bringetto and Buffa were next in the post-punk band The Audience, who released the 1997 Das Audience album on Hymnal Sound and the "Young Soul" 7" single on Gold Standard Laboratories.