What started as four quasi-teenagers jamming to pop-punk music under the name Sunday Drive in 1999 eventually became the well-known punk revival band everyone knows as the Starting Line. Guitarist Matt Watts, bassist/singer Ken Vasoli, guitarist Mike Golla and drummer Tom Gryskiewicz connected through old-school AOL profiles and ended up in the arms of America's emo youth, blasting songs with energetic fervor and classic punk style that made the soundtracks to any angsty teen's life in the 1990s.

The Pennsylvania-bred Starting Line cast began their trek just out of high school, persistently marketing their talent until indie label We the People offered them a record deal. Turning it down for an opportunity with pop-punk label Drive-Thru (which also sparked careers for similar-sounding bands like Something Corporate and Midtown) the band started anew with the 2000 release With Hopes of Starting Over EP. After a summer spent playing with the Warped Tour, the Starting Line finally released the debut full-length album Say It Like You Mean It in 2002. The album hit number one on the Heatseekers chart in both 2002 and 2004, and the band's single "The Best of Me" from the album became an automatic hit with the MTV audience.

From here, the Starting Line took their success and ran with it. After another summer on Warped Tour, the Make Yourself at Home EP came out in 2003, followed by the next album Based on A True Story in 2005. The 2005 album hit the Top 20 on the Billboard chart, and along with one more appearance at the Warped Tour, the Starting Line's fan base skyrocketed, even despite turmoil with Drive-Thru Records that resulted in the band's switch to Virgin Records. The band's unrelenting success was obvious with their popular 2007 release Direction, which harbored the hit single "Island (Float Away)."