 Custer, who had been playing with the Club Foot Orchestra ensemble, began playing with Kent on Sundays at the (now defunct) Radio Valencia cafe in San Francisco's Mission District.They soon invited percussionist John Loose of the Blue Rubies to join them.Canadian composer Kenneth Newby, who had previously played with Kent in Lights in a Fat City and had known Kent since 1985, joined the band after the trio had played only a few times together.