The band was formed in Boston by Paul O'Halloran, his twin brother Pete, longtime friend Jerry Lehane, cousin of the crime fiction author Dennis Lehane, who had known the brothers since first grade at St. Matthew's Catholic school in Dorchester, Massachusetts some years earlier, and Dan Shannon on drums.
They played throughout Boston for the next year, before Shannon went to college and was replaced by 18-year-old Thomas Long.
In 1984, the Dogmatics released their first and only single on their own label Cat Records, with "Gimme the Shakes" on the A-side and a cover of Eddie Cochran's "20 Flight Rock" on the B-side.
In 1985, the Dogmatics signed with Homestead Records and released their first album, Thayer Street, which made the cover of the College Music Journal.
Following this exposure, the band got a manager and a booking agent and began touring the United States, playing with The Replacements, Young Fresh Fellows, Los Lobos, The Bangles, The Fleshtones, Dash Rip Rock, Del Fuegos, Scruffy the Cat, Dinosaur Jr., Long Ryders, Forgotten Rebels, Lyres, and Neats.