Funeral Party was a 4-piece American band made up of Chad Elliot, James Lawrence Torres, Kimo Kauhola, and Timothy Madrid. They formed the band one night in a park in their hometown of Whittier, California, a suburb just outside Los Angeles, California, choosing to name themselves after The Cure song of the same name. The band became their ticket out of Whittier: "We all came from the same shitty town, and you have two choices: grow up and get a job or get out. That's what we tried to do with the band..."
Over time they had acquired a cult following which in turn lead to numerous gigs at backyard parties and warehouses every weekend in the Los Angeles area. One show they played in a gang-affiliated location involved somebody in the crowd being stabbed while they performed "New York City Moves to the Sound of L.A.".
Initially they didn't own any musical equipment of their own and had to borrow it from the bands they performed with as well as their siblings, also musicians.
After seeing a performance, Lars Stalfors, who primarily works with The Mars Volta, invited the band to record in their studio.
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