the band was formed by alex band (lead vocals) and aaron kamin (lead guitar, backing vocals) when kamin was dating band's sister. kamin and band initially began jamming and writing songs as far back as 1996, and began gigging under the band name "generation gap" with a drummer who was twice their age. at this stage, the band also included saxophonist benny golbin, giving the songs a more jazzy sound reminiscent of dave matthews band. eventually, band and kamin ditched the "gap" lineup, and briefly switched their name to "next door", which itself was a nod to ron fair, a veteran music business executive and band's neighbor.