The Posies began as a set of informal home recordings by Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow in Bellingham, Washington in 1987 and eventually became a full-fledged band. Those demos were released as the album Failure, and Mike Musberger and Rick Roberts joined soon after, allowing the band to play its first live shows in Seattle and Bellingham. The four then moved into a house in Seattle's University District. The band's first full album was their major-label debut Dear 23 in 1990.

Read more about The Posies on Last.fm.