Named in honor of their high school football team, the self-described "hip-hop-no-wave" unit Lynnfield Pioneers comprised singer/Moog manipulator Dan Cook, guitarist Mike Janson and drummer John Paul Jones. Formed in 1995, the Pioneers soon debuted with the The Newport E.P., issued on the Lampshop label; a series of singles followed, earning the group a strong underground buzz which led to their signing with Matador, which issued the trio's first full-length emerge in 1997.