Misdemeanor formed in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in the summer of 1995. The band—Ben Stevenson, John Watson, Daniel Laxer, and Kenneth Graham (RIP)—were just 12 and 13 years old at the time. Their debut album, Juvenihilism, was recorded at Profile Studios in the spring and summer of 1997 with producer Cecil English (SNFU, the smalls, D.O.A., NoMeansNo, dbs, among others).
Their youthful, high-energy brand of punk rock quickly earned them opening slots for many of the era’s biggest touring punk bands, including Good Riddance, Gob, Jughead’s Revenge, No Use for a Name, AFI, and others passing through Edmonton. The band released one more album under the name Misdemeanor (Rock On) before changing their name to Our Mercury in 2001.