When Ryan and Dustin Tooker were messing around the Jersey Shore in the mid-'90s, plans for a band were inevitable. One evening Dustin's band needed a vocalist for a show at the last minute. That's when Ryan stepped in and wowed the crowd with his emotional stage persona, and virtually became the new singer for the next two years. The brothers Tooker soon grew tired of the East Coast and moved for the sunny skies of Southern California in hopes of making their musical goals a reality. They set up shop in their living room with their dad on bass. Songwriting was tightened and a punk-inspired style was developing. By the new millennium, drummer Scotty "Kanikki" Carneghi and bassist and Swiss native Guy Couturier (pronounced "Gee") were added to the fray of what would become grade8. In 2002, grade8 landed a contract with Lava, which is home to Kid Rock and Unwritten Law, and issued their blistering self-titled debut in February 2003. ~ MacKenzie Wilson