Fiction Family is the acoustic-oriented collaboration of Switchfoot's Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek's Sean Watkins. The duo took informal shape in 2005 under the name the Real SeanJon, a humorous moniker intended to irk Sean Jean Combs. Utilizing what little time they had between tours, the musicians began creating homemade recordings of their collaborative songs. Progress was slow, however, as Watkins devoted significant time to Nickel Creek's "Farewell (For Now)" tour and Foreman busied himself with a new solo career. By 2008, the two had reconvened under the name Fiction Family and readied an album's worth of acoustic chord progressions, harmony vocals, and eclectic instrumentation. The self-titled record was issued in January 2009 by ATO Records, despite previous rumors that the band had partnered with Starbucks' music division.