It is known for former members Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who found success in the music industry as the singer for the rock bands At the Drive-In and the Mars Volta, as well as Beto O'Rourke, who later was a U.S. Representative and unsuccessful candidate for U.S.

The members of Foss espoused the DIY ("Do-It-Yourself") ethic and were influenced by the independent label Dischord Records and punk zines like Maximumrocknroll.

The Republican Party of Texas mockingly tweeted the cover of Foss's record The El Paso Pussycats, which depicts O'Rourke wearing a dress.

Swipe played shows at bars and clubs in New York and once opened for the Olympia, Washington-based punk band Fitz of Depression.

[10] Reportedly titled after a failed television pilot about crime-fighting women, The El Paso Pussycats shows O'Rourke wearing a floral-pattern dress on its cover.

[11][12] The dress belonged to Maggie Asfahani, O'Rourke's girlfriend at the time, who later said "There's nothing particularly complicated about it—we were all hanging out, and someone thought it would be funny if we switched clothes, the girls and guys.

[10] Foss embarked on two tours of North America during O'Rourke's summer breaks following his sophomore and junior years in college.

[12] On one of the tours, O'Rourke booked a gig as an opening act at a venue in San Francisco by calling, pretending to be a founder of Sub Pop, and claiming the band was about to be signed; the plan worked, but Foss was ejected after playing only two songs.

[3] In 1994, an El Paso public-access television show, Let's Get Real With Bill Lowrey, broadcast a Foss performance and interview.

[8][21][22] O'Rourke, a fan of bands on Dischord Records like Minor Threat and Rites of Spring, took inspiration from the label's independence and commitment to the DIY ethic, as he told Cush in 2017: "What I also really loved was the way that they did it.

[6] Klahr, a fan of punk and indie music from Australia and New Zealand, introduced his Foss bandmates to bands like The Saints, The Clean, and The Scientists.

Rolling Stone's Tessa Stuart said the song was "lo-fi slacker rock" stylistically indebted to Fugazi and Guided by Voices.

[3] According to Eric Grubbs of the Dallas Observer, "Rise" was akin to "13 Songs-era Fugazi by way of Pavement's lo-fi masterpiece Slanted and Enchanted".

[12] Michael Roffman at Consequence of Sound said "Rise" was a "chalky slice of alternative rock that wouldn't be out of place on a compilation album alongside Sunny Day Real Estate".

[26] When O'Rourke was a member of the El Paso City Council, he said his former Foss bandmates had "all gone on to successful musical careers, confirming their talent and my lack thereof".

[29] In March 2017, when O'Rourke—then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives—announced that he was running in the 2018 US Senate election in Texas, numerous publications commented on O'Rourke's musical past.

[34] By March 2018, Dan Solomon of Texas Monthly remarked that O'Rourke "seemingly can't escape a single profile without the words 'punk rock Democrat' appearing in the headline".

[37][16][38][39][40][41][42] In an op-ed for The New York Times, Mimi Swartz expressed her belief that O'Rourke's former membership in a punk band had likely boosted his appeal with millennials.