They came to the attention of Universal Records after well-received performances at the Woodstock festival in 1994, eventually getting signed in 1998, but following an unstable relationship with the label through its series of corporate mergers, the band was left with little chance of releasing their album.
Their career has been marked by several line-up changes, most notably Josh Eppard's departure to join Coheed and Cambria—the two bands used to be regular touring partners.
According to the same interview, the name of the band originally stems from Joey Eppard's own "fascination" with the number: "It is a reference to the construct of our reality as having predominantly 3 aspects.
For example, we live in a 3 dimensional universe on the third planet from the sun, experiencing time as past, present and future in a form that consists of mind, body and spirit.
He cited examples such as the three dimensions of space, Earth being the third planet from the sun, the three aspects of time (past, present, and future), and the mind-body-spirit connection.