Formed by ex-Murder City Devils singer Spencer Moody, guitarist Nate Manny and drummer Coady Willis with godheadSilo's Mike Kunka on bass, Dead Low Tide picked up the stripped-down ethos of early Devils records. A high-profile tour opening for the Melvins put the band in front of excited audiences in 2002, but the act dissolved in the process of recording its debut when Kunka came down with whooping cough.