During their mid-'90s years as teenagers at Westlake High School in Southern California, Home Town Hero's Aaron Bruno on vocals and guitar alongside Drew Stewart on guitar formed a close friendship. Admiration for Rancid, Operation Ivy, and No Doubt, the acts who had earlier turned the region into a music hub, combined with enthusiasm for the grunge period defined by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Green Day, led Bruno and Stewart to launch a band fueled by that shared passion. What began as Ice Monkeys later became Insurgence once bassist Todd Burnes and drummer Ray Blanco joined, creating a hardcore foursome whose gigs at the Whisky-A-Go-Go and the Roxy refined the group's personal and professional approach. During work on a homemade EP the members renamed themselves Home Town Hero. Slots across the 2000 and 2001 editions of the Vans Warped Tour delivered national visibility and ultimately a major-label contract. Madonna's Maverick signed the band in 2001 and readied them to share stages with like-minded post-grunge acts such as Hoobastank and Onesidezero. The self-titled debut arrived in May 2002, and its single "Questions" gained heavy rotation at major-market radio stations.
