The band toured relentlessly in its early years, opening for other American touring bands and later performing as a headliner act after gaining exposure on the "Flip Your Wig" tour with the Minneapolis band Hüsker Dü in early 1986. Contrasted with some of the popular underground and alternative styles at the time, audiences were struck by the band's onstage swagger, scruffy Midwestern appearance and extremely loud, frenetic sound, mixing tuneful but unrestrained punk, hardcore, 1970s rock, country and self-effacing kitsch. One early review described their sound as "some unholy mix of Kiss and Hank Williams thrown under the wheels of a runaway train." All elements contributed to the band's being described as a "grunge precursor", a claim often recited in comparisons between pre-Nirvana Minneapolis and Seattle bands. Despite critical acclaim locally and internationally, they remained unknown to a larger U.S. audience and radio market.