A pop punk band of Stillwater, Oklahoma based, The All-American Rejects were originally formed by Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler who discovered that both of them shared profound interest in music when they got to know each other during their high school years. Looking for additional players in their newly established project, these two gifted young guys eventually picked Mike Kennerty to be the group's guitarist and Chris Gaylor to replace drummer Tim Campbell, making the band's formation fixed as a quartet. Immediately working together to compose their own songs with Tyson as the vocalist/bassist and Nick in guitar/keyboard/programming task, they spent the rest of 1990s holding some live performances around the town while also recording a few demos that showcased their brand of scrappy, stylish guitar-pop with the goal to self-release their initial effort.