Travis Morrison from The Dismemberment Plan recorded and produced most of their early output, and the two bands frequently played shows together.
The band experimented with the different fads of the time and kept the bits they found relevant from free-form improvisation; math rock (frequent time signature changes and odd meters); lo-fi; slowcore; and emo/spazcore/screamo as it developed on the East Coast through bands such as Rites of Spring and Fugazi, and in the Northwest with more mainstream acts such as Sunny Day Real Estate; and heavy use of tape delay.
Some songs were fairly straightforward, but a common theme was creating tension through music and then providing a release.
The VB began performing at the Dharma Coffeehouse and The Music Store in Fairfax, Virginia.
Touring proved to be stressful for the band, and they chose to end their existence in 1999, playing their last show in Portland, Oregon The Vehicle Birth reunited for two Virginia shows, one in Arlington at Galaxy Hut on 03/19/11 and the other in Fairfax at The Dharma Coffeehouse.