Tinfoil was formed by Dave Harms and Cher Bibler, after performing at a poetry reading together. Within the next year they formed a band, recorded an album, and hit the road. The album, Tinfoil, did very well on college radio, charting on CMJ numerable times. The band became regulars in Bowling Green, Cleveland, and Columbus. In addition, Tinfoil was becoming a legend in their native area.

Tinfoil went back into the studio and recorded their highly controversial release, The Wayback Machine. Loved by many and abhorred by others, the album sold out in an amazing six months. The single, Bad Seed, became a hit on Toledo radio stations and was picked up by a Detroit record company for national release. Again the band hit the road adding new stops including, Findlay and Detroit. Tinfoil's reputation as a live band was growing as the stage theatrics grew to epic proportions.

The group returned with their South Central Tinfoil platter. They received airtime in Detroit and Canada, and all the copies of South Central sold out in just over a year. The band received industry recognition for their song, Hold On, which was later covered by the Ledwedge Gridley Trio on their debut album. The tour that followed broke Tinfoil out of the area by adding Toledo, Pontiac, and Monroe.

The band became unsatisfied with the recording of previous releases, and decided to build their own studio.

After a lengthy construction process, the group began to record a new CD. They did not want to keep their fans waiting any longer than they already had! The result, Third Degree Burn captured Tinfoil at their best, a creative rock band not afraid to take chances.

Next Tinfoil released the Plastic Lips CD. This CD highlighted the experimental nature of Tinfoil and featured such songs as Song For Geoff, Heart on Fire, Long Dark Road, and Steak and Shrimp. Plastic Lips broke many stereotypes bands inflict upon themselves by crossing many different musical genres. Punk, classic rock, alternative, metal, and folk are all represented on the disk. To many fans, Plastic Lips is regarded as a stunning achievement.

Family Tree helped cement Tinfoil as one of Northwest Ohio’s premier bands. One Tiny Step appeared on Detroit Magazine Jam Rag’s compilation CD and Yesterday was featured on Detroit’s Storm Records compilation. Tinfoil hit the road hard in support of Family Tree and recorded two of their shows for a yet unreleased live CD.

In the fall of 2000, Tinfoil released Queer, their strongest effort up to that point. The band teamed up with poet Geoff Schutt who recorded poems in between the tracks of the CD. Another song, Hybrid was picked up by Jam Rag to be on another compilation CD. With strong songs such as Must Be Nice, Primitive, People Don’t Know and the title track, the CD was quickly accepted by their fans. The songs on Queer were written on the road and the stress of so much touring led to the band taking a break.