Since they strolled onto the scene in the early 2000s, Deaf Pedestrians has been the picture of originality with sounds akin to both hard rock and alternative. While the first sounds of their tracks may sound somewhat recognizable, there is a deeper sound behind each song that is something only the Deaf Pedestrians own. The group formed after the demise of two other bands with lead vocalist Charlton Parker, guitarist Garrin Walker, bassist Eric Hartis, guitarist Jason Hall and drummer Russ Dignam. Instead of just unleashing their sound onto the masses right away, Deaf Pedestrians instead spent three years making their sound just right.

Soon they started playing in clubs across Texas and released the EP Girl themselves. By 2003, AOL/Spinner Radio named Deaf Pedestrians as the most requested unsigned band of that year. Like other hot songs, iTunes picked up their single "15 Beers Ago" in 2004 to feature as a free download, leading to 180,000 people taking advantage of the freebie. Even after it was no longer free, thousands of fans came to the site to download the single. They weren't unsigned for much longer, finding a home with the small Dotpointperiod.

There they released their self-titled debut album in 2005, including "15 Beers Ago." The album and the single started gaining them airplay around the country and around the world. It also led to a deal with an even bigger company, Virgin Records. Their lineup had shifted slightly by the time they had reached this mark, retaining Parker, Walker and Dignam. They added guitarist Jake Crawford and Parker also became the bassists on top of being the lead singer. They released their sophomore album, And Other Distractions early in 2008, containing the single "Hail to the Geek." After the release, Deaf Pedestrians embarked on another U.S. tour.