Jim Korthe, the frontman of rap-rock outfit 3rd Strike, spent his formative years in a rough stretch of Southern California. As a teenager he entered gang life to escape a troubled household, yet after years immersed in street violence and narcotics distribution he stepped away to pursue music alongside guitarist and longtime friend Todd Deguchi. The pair assembled an ad-hoc version of 3rd Strike, only for the group to dissolve in the 1990s amid fruitless road trips and Korthe’s own setbacks. The two songwriters kept collaborating, however, and later revived the band by adding drummer PJ McMullan and bassist Gabe Hammersmith. Recording sessions commenced after Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge discovered their demo and linked them to his management team. By late 2001 the quartet had finished its first album, Lost Angel, issued the following May. That summer the group promoted the record on both the Ozzfest and Warped circuits.
