Jon Jester, the original drummer, had moved to Los Angeles to work with his friends in the South African band Just Jinger shortly after they signed with Capitol Records.
Before leaving the West Coast, Jester recruited Aaron Hubbard, who earned a Master's degree in music, to become the band's bassist, and New Jersey guitarist Dustin Largin.
The union of Jester, Aaron Hubbard, Nate Taylor, and Barrett Mullins made up Driving East at the height of their popularity in the mid-to-late 2000s.
"[1] Following the 2005 release of their debut EP, A Black Eye or a Broken Heart, on Brand Name Records and performances with national headliners such as Maroon 5, Acceptance, Fall Out Boy and Cartel, as well as two years on the East Coast legs of the Warped Tour, the then-five-piece was signed by The Militia Group, who released their self-titled digital EP in late 2006.
Tony Pascarella of AbsolutePunk.net has called it "an insanely poppy, catchy album" that "evokes the raw fiery passion of Cartel's The Ransom EP.