Shortly after he left school, he was signed to Geffen/Interscope records in early 2002. Rooney recorded their debut self-titled album in June 2002. They also were selected by Schwartzman's friend, Johnny Ramone, for the Ramones tribute album entitled "We're A Happy Family", which was released in early 2003. Rooney opened for Weezer during their headlining tour in the summer of 2002, it was their first national support slot. The next tour the band landed was with the band The Strokes. Rooney's album was finally released in May 2003 and has since sold approximately 500,000 copies. The band had a cameo appearance in an episode of "The O.C.", "The Third Wheel". Their song "Blueside" was featured on the "Tiger Woods PGA Tour" 2004 soundtrack, and their song "I'm Shakin'" was featured on an episode of the daytime soap opera "All My Children".