Guitarist/vocalist Rick Bain played in several bands in high school and college in the Portland, OR, area, including Spin Jupiter Spin (circa 1997), a band that also featured Brent DeBoer of the Dandy Warhols. After DeBoer left to join the Dandy Warhols, Bain continued to write songs, and gained a local rep after recording his own version of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds on a four-track recorder, singing and playing the guitar, bass, keyboards, and minimal percussion himself. He also married Amy, one of his fellow Spin Jupiter Spin bandmates. In the late months of 1998, Bain formed a new group to perform his songs, Rick Bain & the Genius Position, which initially featured two keyboard players (Joe Kaczmarek and Eric Pfau) and drums and guitar (played by Michael Ford and Bain), but no bassist (Pfau played the bass keys on the keyboards). The group's membership continued to shift over the next few years, and the instrumentation was altered with each change. Pfau eventually left their lineup; drummer Clayton Jones joined after Ford left. In August 2000, Bain rush-released his band's first album in order to be able to join the Dandy Warhols on tour. Crooked Autumn Sun, on the local Official Records label, garnered some critical interest in the band, and their fan base grew after touring with former Portland residents the Brian Jonestown Massacre in 2001. Bain eventually dropped the "Genius Position" part of his band's name. ~ Bryan Thomas, All Music Guide