Singer/songwriters Deb Talan and Steve Tannen, both of whom had released solo material before banding together to form the folk-pop duo the Weepies, first met at one of Tannen's shows in Cambridge, MA. At the time, Tannen was touring in support of his debut record, Big Señorita. Mutual admirers of each other's music, the two musicians started writing songs together immediately, and soon the Weepies took shape. The pair independently issued an eight-song album, Happiness, in 2003, and two years later they were signed to Nettwerk Records.