Beehive & the Barracudas formed when Kerry Davis relocated from Long Beach to San Diego following the breakup of her band the Red Aunts. She met Gar "Dner" Wood, formerly of Fishwife and Tanner, and Dustin "Dirty" Milsap, formerly of Rice and longtime roadie for Rocket from the Crypt. The three formed Beehive & the Barracudas while playing together in Wood's studio.

The band went on to record for local Swami Records, though Davis left the group when she moved to New York City. She was replaced by Tracy Wooley, formerly of Tourette's Lautrec and Tammy Faye, who for a time adopted the pseudonym Tracy Haze. Wooley has also played with Wha?, a goth-punk band formed in 2012 by longtime Casbah bartender Ben Johnson, aka comedic rapper Grammatical B, of the Long and Short of It, alongside Kaoss Pad and David Robles (the Marsupials).

For the next few years, the band included Dustin Milsap, Gar Wood, Tracy Wooley, Andy Stamets, and Jason Crane. Tracy Wooley passed away in early 2020.