The Methadones were formed by Dan Schafer (Danny Vapid) of Screeching Weasel, Sludgeworth, and The Riverdales in the mid 1990s as a side project. But as his main bands began to die down, he began to focus more energy on it. Initially the band was a trio consisting of Schafer, B-Face of The Queers on bass, and Dan Lumley on drums. The current, and most stable, lineup includes Schafer (vocals, guitar), Mike Byrne (ex-Vindictives, guitar, back up vocals), Pete Mittler (bass, back up vocals), and Mike Soucy (drums).