On a cold day in January, 1994 five dudes emerged from a basement in suburban Burlington, ON and ventured west to the steel city - Hamilton, ON to play their first show. On the way, listening to one of their favorite bands of the day, Lincoln, one of the guys suggested they use one of the song titles for their band name. The song was called Grade Curve, which was quickly shortened to Grade. They announced their name that night to the crowd, and played a short set consisting of 5 original songs, an Integrity cover and a Lincoln cover. After that there was no looking back.