Their first two albums solidified their place among the emo scene; their third effort shifted toward pop music, while their final record was much more experimental in nature.

The band has employed a host of other bass guitarists throughout its existence, but their last bassist Scott Schoenbeck has remained with the group the longest.

The Promise Ring have had a significant impact on emo music, influencing numerous bands such as Dashboard Confessional, Basement, Title Fight, and Pet Symmetry.

[1][2][3][4] The Promise Ring was formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from the aftermath of two groups in February 1995: guitarists Jason Gnewikow and Matt Mangan (both from None Left Standing), and drummer Dan Didier and bassist Scott Beschta (both from Ceilishrine).

[6] The band recorded a three-track demo which included "Jupiter", "12 Sweaters Red" and "Mineral Point" that March,[8] and played their first show shortly afterward.

[5] The Promise Ring released a 7-inch vinyl single through Foresight Records, which contained the tracks "Watertown Plank" and "Mineral Point".

[10] Texas Is the Reason guitarist Norman Brannon acquired copies of the group's demo and 7-inch single and gave them to Jade Tree co-founder Tim Own.

[5] The attention was drawn and aided by the inclusion of "A Picture Postcard", which had earlier appeared on Falsetto Keeps Time and would go on to become a staple of the emo genre.

[15] The song again appeared as part of an EP titled The Horse Latitudes, which effectively reissued the band's earlier work in early 1997.

[6] Around the release of Nothing Feels Good,[16] For the album's supporting tour, Beschta was replaced on bass by Tim Burton, a former bandmate of Gnewikow's in None Left Standing.

[5] The band took a six-week break to recover from the van accident before resuming shows with Jimmy Eat World in the East Coast of the US,[6] and a European stint with Jets to Brazil.

They went on an American East Coast and Midwest tour the following month[32] with Rich Creamy Paint, the Explosion and Pele.

[33] In May and June, the band was scheduled to go on a European tour with Burning Airlines,[34] however, on the day they were due to leave to begin the shows,[35] Bohlen was diagnosed with meningioma, a brain tumor variant.

[39] They began playing shows again in September, when the band supported Bad Religion[40] for three weeks on their US tour;[35] however, Bohlen developed a post-operative infection during this stint that resulted in the group dropping off.

[41] After finishing the rescheduled tour dates in February, the Promise Ring went and worked on material with Kristian Riley of Citizen King.

[66][67][68] To promote the album, the Promise Ring began by delivering two acoustic in-store performances, and then headlined a US tour in April and May 2002, being supported by the Weakerthans.

[69] On May 24, 2002, the band performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien,[70] then moved on to a supporting slot on Jimmy Eat World's tour of the UK.

[71][72] The Promise Ring's supporting slot for Jimmy Eat World continued into some US dates in late July and early August 2002.

[73] Although the Promise Ring planned to film a video for "Suffer Never" after Plea for Peace,[45] Epitaph and Anti- announced on October 14, 2002, that they had broken up.

[77] In late 2000, Bohlen was a guest on "A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World, who the Promise Ring had befriended on tour;[78] the song became a promotional single for its parent album, Bleed American, in 2002.

[97] Over the duration of their original run, the Promise Ring would progressively distance themselves from the genre, moving towards pop between Nothing Feels Good[15] and Very Emergency[98][99][100] and starting from scratch on Wood/Water with their new label.

[104][105][106] Nothing Feels Good is noted for pushing the band to the forefront of the emo scene,[28] which helped to forge the way for subsequent landmark releases by their peers, such as Something to Write Home About (1999) by the Get Up Kids and Bleed American (2001) by Jimmy Eat World.

[105] Nothing Feels Good and the Boys + Girls EP foreshadowed the Promise Ring completely shifting toward pop,[107] which was fully displayed on Very Emergency.