Relative Ash was formed in Chicago in 1996, featuring a membership of vocalist Marcus Harrington, guitarists Carlos Salazar and Junior Antunez, bassist Chuck Ford, and drummer John Salazar. Becoming popular in their hometown, the band snagged small supporting gigs on the 1998 Warped tour and the 1999 X Games tour; they eventually signed with the Island label and issued their debut album, Our Time With You..., in the summer of 2000.