In 1981, before the Beastie Boys formed as a New York hardcore band, drummer Kate Schellenbach was in several other bands. From 1978 to 1979, Schellenbach was a member of the Carcinogens. In the later part of 1979, the Carcinogens pared down into a band called Skiples, and then formed the band Toxic Shock in 1980.

Toxic Shock was a three-piece band with Schellenbach on drums, A.C. Chubb on saxophone, and Janet on guitar. In the early 1980s, around the time that Schellenbach was playing with A.C. and Janet in Toxic Shock, she was also playing with another band called X-Patriots.

When Toxic Shock broke up in 1980, Schellenbach went on to play in several bands including the Nagasaki Newsboys, the Young Aborigines, and Beastie Boys.