Influenced by the british Invasion rock of the 1960s as well as the punk and new wave of the 1970s and 1980s, vocalist/songwriter Jana Peri has specialized in hook-laden power pop pop/rock that is aggressive yet melodic. Peri has lived in the New York area her entire life; born in the Bronx, she moved to suburban Long Island at the age of two and stayed there until she turned 18 and moved to Manhattan. Growing up on Long Island, Peri absorbed a variety of rock and pop/rock. As a preteen, she admired Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis and was heavily into British Invasion rockers like the Beatles (a major influence), the Rolling Stones, the Who, and the Kinks; and it wasn't long before she was influenced by Blondie, the Pretenders, and Joan Jett. Peri, who was singing and playing guitar before adolescence, has described John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Blondie's Debbie Harry, and the Pretenders'; Chrissie Hynde as "personal icons." After graduating from high school and leaving Long Island for Manhattan, Peri attended New York University and graduated with a degree in drama. By 1994, she was singing in Manhattan rock clubs, and in 1999, she released a self-titled EP on her own Hot Jupiter label.