In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Richard Patrick was a touring guitarist for
Nine Inch Nails. Patrick and musician Brian Liesegang initially conceived the idea of forming their own band after hiking at the
Grand Canyon; Filter was subsequently formed in 1993. The line-up also briefly featured guitarist Stuart Zechman, who departed Filter to join
Stabbing Westward. Stabbing Westward reportedly used the chorus guitar riff of "Hey Man, Nice Shot" on the title track of their 1994 album,
Ungod; Patrick alleges that Zechman was in his presence while writing the riff and subsequently copied it. Before obtaining a recording contract with
Warner Bros. Records, Patrick had demoed some of the
Short Bus tracks such as "Under" and "Dose" on his 8-track reel-to-reel recorder. A demo of "
Hey Man Nice Shot" was recorded at Reznor's studio; the recordings from this session were later remixed by
Ben Grosse. Three of the early recordings, including "Hey Man Nice Shot", were featured on 1994 promo EP,
Erkenntnistheorie. During the recording sessions, two musicians shared various roles: Patrick acted as the primary songwriter, bassist, and vocalist, while Liesegang mostly worked on the production and programmed the drum machine. The two shared guitar duties. A large portion of the album was recorded at a rented three-story house in
Rocky River,
Cleveland; the master bedroom was designated as the main studio while the basement and living room were reserved for the drum kit and guitar amps, respectively. The sessions lasted around eight months; a
Macintosh Quadra and
Studio Vision Pro were used to record some of the tracks. Half of the album's tracks, including "Gerbil" and "White Like That", were recorded on an 8-track recorder. While Ben Grosse was employed to mix the record to "give girth" to its sound, the band chose to master the record themselves: the mixes were tested on "consumer-level gear" such as car stereo and boombox for reference. According to Patrick, the house was demolished after the band's departure and the property was incorporated into the adjacent nursing home. ==Composition and lyrics==