The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of Dave Pirner, Dan Murphy, Karl Mueller, and Pat Morley.

[4] On the following Reflex compilation, Kitten (recorded live at Goofy's Upper Deck), they were billed as Proud Crass Fools.

Paul area (including the First Avenue nightclub) and quickly developed a core following while becoming known for their powerful, dynamic stage shows.

[6] Their 1984 debut album, Say What You Will... Everything Can Happen was originally released on LP and cassette by local record label Twin/Tone as a nine-song EP.

It is out of print but was re-released on CD as Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold the Truck, which includes five additional tracks that were cut from the original album.

Contrasted with some of the popular underground and alternative styles at the time, audiences were struck by the band's onstage swagger, scruffy Midwestern appearance and extremely loud, frenetic sound, mixing tuneful but unrestrained punk, hardcore, 1970s rock, country and self-effacing kitsch.

[7] One early review[8] described their sound as "some unholy mix of Kiss and Hank Williams thrown under the wheels of a runaway train."

Later that year, the band performed "Sexual Healing" for the AIDS benefit album No Alternative, produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Huffman played on the albums Let Your Dim Light Shine, After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997, and The Silver Lining.

[11] The next release, Let Your Dim Light Shine, included the track "Misery", which reached the Top 20, but the album was not as successful as the band's previous one.

In 1997 Soul Asylum performed a benefit concert for North Dakota students whose prom had been cancelled because of the Red River Flood of 1997.

In October 2004, a benefit concert was held for him in Minneapolis at The Quest nightclub, featuring popular local groups and musicians, including Soul Asylum, the Gear Daddies, Paul Westerberg, and former Hüsker Dü bandmates Bob Mould and Grant Hart, who reunited for their first performance together in sixteen years.

On March 10, 2007, Soul Asylum joined Cyndi Lauper, Mint Condition, and Lifehouse in a concert to benefit Wain McFarlane, the leader of the reggae band Ipso Facto, to help pay for the expenses of a kidney transplant.

[17] Stinson was a permanent member until 2012, but in 2006 and 2007, while he was on tour with Guns N' Roses, his place was temporarily filled by George Scot McKelvey.

[22] The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the 2020 tour in support of "Hurry Up and Wait" with a final performance at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles on March 11, 2020.

In March 2023, through Kill Kancer, singer Dave Pirner and bassist Jeremy Tappero met with Alex Etheridge, a 13-year-old Phoenix musician suffering from bone cancer, at Flowers Studio in Minneapolis.

It was largely written by Alex himself, who had worked out the drums parts, lyrics, and main guitar riff before meeting with Soul Asylum.

[33] The band has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue,[34] recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.