The band was formed in 1992 and quickly gained local popularity while playing at venues such as Lucy's Record Shop and receiving frequent airplay on Nashville college radio. During the mid-90s, they released several EPs under the local indie label, House O' Pain. In 1996, the Nashville Music Association nominated the band for their Independent Artist of the Year award. A year later, the Teen Idols released their first full-length album under the indie label Honest Don's Hardly Used Recordings. They released two other albums under the Honest Don's label before signing to Fueled By Ramen in early 2003. Around that time, Keith left the band and Kevin (formerly of Detroit-based P.T.'s Revenge) took over the vocals. Shortly thereafter, the band released the album Nothing to Prove in July, 2003, but broke up during the subsequent tour. During their heyday, the Teen Idols headlined many tours in the U.S. and played support with other notable bands such as NOFX, Less Than Jake, and The Queers.
