The LeeVees were born when the bands
Guster and
Zambonis, The went on tour together in 2004. Adam (from Guster) and Dave (from the Zambonis) realized they had a common musical interest—and were both Jewish. Like the Zambonis, they decided to write songs about a single subject, but after they recorded their first album, took Ramones-like monikers (Adam became Adam LeeVee, Dave became Dave LeeVee), and realized that their subject matter was kind of narrow, they added three more members (who also took the LeeVee surname) and became a band with a Jewish identity.