Richter and Brittian laid the foundation for The Poor Devils, jamming on acoustic guitars in Kettering's Lincoln Park in 1996. With several tries at finding members that fit, four more years passed before Espedal joined the band. While the band played venues heavily in 99, 2000 and 2001 with Ryan Smith on percussion, it wasn't until Woods joined in 2002 that the band was really complete. "The really unique thing about The Poor Devils is that each of the members comes from extremely different musical backgrounds... and if you listen to the newer songs written by the four together, you notice that each of them is playing something completely different than the other." -Sonic Music