Indie-pop combo Aden was led by singer/guitarist Jeff Gramm, the son of Texas senator Phil Gramm; originally dubbed Dingle, the group – also including bassist Fred Kovey and drummer Josh Klein  - formed the campus of the University of Chicago in 1995, tapping Sabalon Glitz’s Chris Holmes to produce their debut single ‘Scooby Doo’.

Shortly after recording their 1997 self-titled debut LP for the  local ‘Fortune’ label, Aden expanded to a four-piece with the addition of guitarist Kevin Barker; when Gramm and Kovey relocated to Washington, D.C. soon after, both Klein  and Barker remained in Chicago, the former working as a music journalist and the latter continuing his studies. Minus Klein, the group reformed in 1999 to release Black Cow, their first album for ‘TeenBeat’.