Editing King's X (section)

===Early years (1979–1984)===
The group traces its beginnings to 1979 in Springfield, Missouri, when bassist [[Doug Pinnick]] and drummer [[Jerry Gaskill]] were brought together to take part in a musical project coordinated by [[Greg X. Volz]] of the Christian rock band [[Petra (band)|Petra]]. Within a month of Pinnick's arrival from Illinois, the project folded and he and Gaskill were left without a band. They soon landed a job as rhythm section for guitarist [[Phil Keaggy]]'s live band. The two toured the country for several months in support of Keaggy's album ''[[Ph'lip Side]]''. During the group's show in Springfield, Gaskill was approached by [[Ty Tabor]] who was a member of the opening band that night. The drummer for Tabor's band had quit the night before the show and Tabor had volunteered to take over on drums for the gig. However, seeing as he had no drums, he was forced to ask Gaskill if he could borrow his kit for the show. Gaskill obliged and the show went on.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Prato |first=Greg |title=King's X: The Oral History |date=February 26, 2019 |publisher=Jawbone Press |isbn=978-1-911036-43-2 |pages=18–21}}</ref>

When the tour ended, Pinnick and Gaskill returned to Springfield and set about looking for more work. Gaskill landed a job doing demo work for the Tracy Zinn Band that happened to include Ty Tabor on guitar. The two became friends and were involved off and on together in different musical projects.

In early 1980, Pinnick attended a music show at [[Evangel College]] and watched a set by another of Tabor's bands. Pinnick was impressed with Tabor's skills and the two soon began collaborating musically.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mickie |first=Naughty |url=http://www.dabelly.com/features/feature129.htm |title=King's X still serves it up hot |access-date=November 29, 2007 |publisher=DaBelly |archive-date=October 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024035600/http://www.dabelly.com/features/feature129.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Eventually Gaskill, Pinnick, and Tabor decided to pool their talents into a single outlet. Calling themselves the Edge, they initially were a four-piece with the inclusion of Dan McCollam on rhythm guitar. McCollam quit after only a brief time and was replaced by Kirk Henderson, who was a friend of Tabor's from [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]], [[Mississippi]]. The group performed extensively on the Springfield bar and club circuit specializing in [[classic rock]] and Top 40 covers at the time.

By 1983, Henderson had quit the band and Pinnick, Tabor, and Gaskill decided to continue on as a trio. They also decided to change the name of the band, and settled on calling themselves Sneak Preview.

The group had been writing and recording many original songs up to this point. They chose ten of these songs to record for an independently released self-titled album in 1983. After the album's release, the band continued to tour and hone their songwriting skills.