The original incarnation of the Dance Hall Crashers (named after the Alton Ellis song "Dance Crasher") was formed in 1989 by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, formerly of the seminal Bay Area ska-punk band Operation Ivy,[2] after both musicians expressed an interest in starting a band rooted in more traditional ska and rocksteady than what they had been playing with Operation Ivy.

The first line-up featured Armstrong on vocals and Freeman on guitar, as well as drummer Erik Larsen (whom they specifically lured away from a rocksteady band called "The Liquidators").

The band also featured keyboardist Joey Schaaf, vocalists Ingrid Jonsson and Andrew Champion, guitarist Grant McIntire, and bassist Joel Wing.

Following a period of steady gigging, DHC finally caught a break after being booked at an all-ska Earth Day festival at Berkeley's Greek Theatre in 1990, opening for Bad Manners.

[5] In 1992, bowing to fan pressure, DHC reunited for a one-off series of gigs (occasionally playing alongside Hepcat),[7][8] but after the positive response to their performance, the band chose to reform on a permanent basis.

Weiss recalls that he was working in a record store when Lockjaw was released; curious customers would ask about the band or their sound, and the other employees would point him out as the bass player.

[13] The leading singles "Lost Again" and "Mr. Blue" enjoyed steady rotation on local and college radio stations across the United States, and music videos were filmed for both tracks.

They limited their performances to West Coast and Hawaiian shows and occasional appearances at events such as the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

[27] Karina Deniké announced in a video on January 28 that DHC would also be performing a show at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on June 7.