78 Saab formed at the Australian National University, with the original members being Nash, Tregillgas, Darren Smith and Christovac Thompson.
78 Saab won the competition and as a result recorded their debut EP, Eastwards By Removal at Troy Horse's studio in Alexandria, Sydney.
Before the tour began however, Darren Smith made the decision not to continue with the band and Jake Andrews joined 78 Saab as lead guitarist.
Though the label was initially created to release recordings by the company's founders, 78 Saab were the first band to give them notoriety in a purely management role – a foundation on which Winterman & Goldstein would later achieve international success with The Vines and Jet.
[5] In 1999, 78 Saab began working on their debut album with producer Tim Whitten (Powderfinger, Gaslight Radio) at Sydney's Megaphon Studios, recording the song "Sunshine" as the first single.
[6] Picture a Hum, Can't Hear a Sound, was released in 2000 on Ivy League Records, and received significant airplay on radio station Triple J, with "Sunshine", "Karma Package Deal", "Smile" and "Jack Frost" all achieving high rotation.
[7] Singles from the album included "Beat of Your Drum" and "No Illusions", the latter of which gave the band their biggest taste of commercial radio play to date.
The album's title and chief inspiration was described by Nash as coming from the long drives between his Sydney home and his family farm near Orange, New South Wales.
[citation needed] Tregillgas played bass on three songs with Sydney band Wifey on their Salt Sugar Fat EP released in 2009.