In October 1999, while its members remained in their mid-teens, the Orange County quartet that would become Name Taken launched an emo-inflected pop/punk outfit first called All That's Left. After one guitarist departed, the surviving lineup of vocalist/bassist Chad Atkinson, guitarist/vocalist Blake Means, and drummer Bret Meisenbach cut a demo that became The Stupid Chad EP. Once the band issued that recording on its own, second guitarist Ryan Edwards joined to complete the sound. The discovery of another act already using All That's Left led the group to adopt the name Name Taken. Less than a year after the change, the members entered a Riverside studio in August 2001 to track a second EP. Top Notch Records acquired The Silent Game and released it three months after completion. Meisenbach subsequently exited, and Danny Valencia assumed the drum chair. Several compilation appearances followed before Name Taken teamed with Long Island's Bayside for a split album issued by Dying Wish Records in 2003. Fiddler Records next supported the April 2004 debut full-length Hold On. Listeners drawn to comparably earnest pop/punk bands such as Saves the Day responded to the album, yet the group's modest success proved brief. Name Taken disbanded in 2005 after a final June show that allowed certain members to return to school. Two reunion performances occurred at Anaheim's Chain Reaction in May 2007, events the band simply billed as "refresher courses"; the second date was added after the first sold out in less than two days.
