Originally planned as a solo project for vocalist/guitarist Chris Farren, Fake Problems are a four-piece band hailing from the Southern coastal vacation town of Naples, FL. Occupying the space between alt-country, folk, and indie pop with an added dose of punk D.I.Y. appeal, Farren ultimately got together with some high-school buddies -- bassist/vocalist Derek Perry, guitarist Casey Lee, and drummer Sean Stevenson -- to go at it as a full band. The guys played around locally, burning their own CDs and screening their own shirts, eventually booking tours outside of their hometown. Fake Problems first documented their sound on the 2005 album Watching the Bull Get the Matador, though it had some electronic undertones rather than just the twangy country-folk-rock (which could evoke images of early Against Me! alongside Whiskeytown) that later releases would showcase further.

The enthusiastic quartet toured around with O Pioneers!!! during 2006, as the Spurs & Spokes 7" arrived via Sabot Productions that August. Sabot then issued the roundup EP Spurs & Spokes | Bull > Matador that fall; the release compiled their summer EP with four re-recorded tracks from Fake Problems' then out of print debut. The band continued touring around the southeast U.S. and readied its next album, How Far Our Bodies Go, with producer Rob McGregor (Hot Water Music, Against Me!). Early 2007 dates opening for Against Me! led into the record's April appearance.