After the break-up of Braid, Hey Mercedes was formed by Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, Mark Dawursk, and Damon Atkinson. The band debuted with a self-titled EP (Polyvinyl Records) in 2000 and followed up with extensive touring and two full-length albums – Everynight Fire Works (Vagrant Records; 2001) and Loses Control (Vagrant Records; 2003) – along with two more EPs: The Weekend EP (Vagrant Records; 2002) and Unorchestrated (Grand Theft Autumn; 2004).

Dawursk left at the end of 2001 and was replaced by Mike Shumaker. After 359 shows and several releases, the band disbanded in April 2005.