Soon after the breakup of Negative Trend, bassist Will Shatter and early drummer Steve DePace went on to be founding members of Flipper,[2] while guitarist Craig Gray and drummer Tim Mooney were among the founding members of the Toiling Midgets.

[3] Its first lineup consisted of Don Vinil on vocals, Craig Gray on guitar, V. Vale (of Search & Destroy punk zine) on bass, and Todd Robertson on drums.

[3] Due to his magazine commitments, Vale quickly left the band and Will Shatter replaced him, despite having no previous musical experience.

[3][4] The quartet played only three gigs, sharing bills with bands such as the Avengers, the Dils, and the Dead Boys.

[3] During their last show at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California on November 7, 1977, Rozz Rezabek stepped in as the band's new vocalist, after jumping on stage, not allowing Vinil to continue performing.

Rezabek was notorious for his electrifying performances,[4] oftentimes jumping onto tables and throwing drinks onto the floor.

[9] The day before the show, someone spray painted the walls of Winterland with the words "Negative Trend".

Gray and Shatter also asked drummer Tim Mooney, previously of the band The Sleepers, to take over for DePace.

[5] After only a few gigs with the third version of Negative Trend, Shatter quit the band and was replaced by 16-year-old Jonathan Henrickson.

The final Negative Trend show took place on April 27, 1979, at Mills College in Oakland, California with The Queer and Dead Kennedys.