Started off as Tim O'Neill and the Harsh Realities - then became, (especially while playing Davis) O'Neill and The Realities. We did not play as frequently as all that. In Davis, several two or three night stands at the Antique Bizarre over a couple of years - mostly 1980 I think. Likely you missed us. My being in a wheelchair and behaving rather theatrically and our loud, raw sound usually generated some sort of reaction. In the midst of that I pushed for a bit of a - well even 'literate' lyrical approach. The kind of sound I really wanted had to come later with other musicians -- and I never did get out and about with this later work. I continue to write songs - hit rehearsal, even recording studios infrequently. Here in Los Angeles though (especially happened back in the late 80's) I meet people familiar with True West and Thin White Rope.
 On another front: Did you see Elvis Costello's show at the Coffeehouse in either 77 or 78 ? I regard that as a real special musical moment - doesn't seem like more than a couple of hundred people were there. Also, in the early 80's at another Davis venue (can't remember name of the place) saw a solo John Cale show with only about 20 people - sad attendance but special

 You can imagine that many fond of True West, may not like sound compared to Dead Kennedies. Tho detractors outnumbered fans -I handled that then and now and those who did like us were excited about what we were doing.

 My True West comments: Mostly, it's just that we had no audience when they were in town - everyone was at their show. As it should have been, they were better musicians. I was also noting that many folks-including some T.W. fans may not have liked our more primitive sound/in your face songs/ scary 'crippled guy' thrashing about. My comments were a sort of warning that if we were mentioned in a site drawing people in via True West interest, if anyone remembered us -there might be negative comments about us. That is o.k. We had a huge-for the time- number of songs, and about 5 out of the 25 (we'd play from 9 to 1:30) were notably good and those who could time it right to absorb the good ones really liked us.
 
 I saw and enjoyed Game Theory at a club in Sacramento once. They really had an original sound - fresh approach. I believe they were opening for Transformer out of S.F. whom I knew for work with John Cale. His sound on the album with them/Patti Smith/Television (1000 others of course) -influenced my writing at the time. Then I had to work with and around the limits of available musicianship, resulting in an evening of variable quality.

 Let me say I really admire the professional and grown up nature of your site. There are music scene sites - even including ones administered by people our age - which include so much back and forth useless vitriol. You've identified a unique scene, pay it tribute and all of your site's components are in tune with your overall intent. I wish (well sorta wish) my earlier comments had those little icons that could convey the wry humor I intended.
 
 I mention bands taking our audience - some years ago I posted something to a Tolman site complementing him/them on doing that. My 'worry' over negative reaction to us - even my disability remarks (about myself) - well, I'm more than smiling at the memories. All the bands dominating that scene - by virtue of being serious, talented and dedicated: True West, Game Theory, Thin White Rope - and others including X-Men - well they were all working harder and THEY created a scene in a small area that made it so someone working less hard at it (me) could garnish a little audience from their fall out and night's off. The little town had people from Chico, Berkeley, and Sacramento who could come over and go to multiple clubs and hear something other than Loverboy clones and disco bands and the many past-their-moment-sounds that dominated Sacramento. These facts make it so that your site is needed and has importance.

Tim O'Neill

There are two (at-one-time) commercially-available
compilations of Davis-area bands that I am aware of (I
wouldn't be surprised if there were other
unbeknownstibles in existence):
__________________________________________________________________
1) "Out Among the Cows: The Davis Compilation Album"

This was released, on vinyl only, in 1987 by Off Track
Records (curiously located in Stockton).  I remember
Pete Lohstroh and Sherri Trahan being the primary
instigators/cheerleaders/organizers, though Bill
Scholer and Chris Bauer are also credited as
"Executive Producers".   Cover art (a drawing/painting
of a bunch of musicians in a cow pasture) was by Bob
Armstrong; Dave Millington is listed as the
(recording) engineer on most tracks, and is also given
credit for sequencing the album and doing sound at
live benefit shows.  

It might be hyperbole to say that people were
clamoring for the album, but there were a number of
people excited about it.  (Releasing an album back in
the pre-digital era was much more difficult and
impressive than it is now.)  I was working at Barney's
Records when the album was released, and I remember a
major problem with at least the first batch of
records, if not the entire pressing: There was a
scratch on the first track of the "Jersey" side (the
flip-side was denoted "Gurnsey"--they definitely
pounded the cow angle into the ground).  It seemed
like every single record sold came back defective,
though that may be a slight exaggeration.  Still, I
remember spending a lot of time opening and testing
new copies trying to find functional albums.  (This of
course is no reflection on the producers of the album,
it was a pressing plant mistake that I expect was
pretty difficult to get fixed given the budget they
were working with.)

It is, from what I remember of the time, a pretty
representative sampling of what the Davis music scene
had to offer--arty post-punk, poppy "college rock",
cover/party bands--with the notable exclusion of any
punk or hard-rock/metal.  The lack of more
"aggressive" bands might have been at the discretion
of the Executive Producers, though it may have also
been true that they simply couldn't find any bands of
that ilk ready and/or willing to participate.  (I know
of at least one young punk-ish band, my own, that
considered themselves too *green* and unprepared to
seek inclusion.)   

The bands on the "Out Among the Cows" album:

10,000 Cattle
The Pope-Alopes
Dave Webb and The Intentions
Ted's Exploding Head
Ants at Ground Zero
Shep' Faithful Head
Thin White Rope
G-BIRD-A-GO-GO
The John Warren Band
The Bill Scholer Blues Band
The New Ken Hardley Play Boys
Civil Rhythm
The SPYDELZ
Random Access
_______________________________________________________________
2) "EYES CALM FILM: A Davis Compilation"

This was released (CD only, I believe) in 1992 on
Frisky Records, which was basically two guys, John
Pickett and Anthony Quintal.  I know that John and
Anthony were UCD students, but I don't know if they
were affiliated with KDVS or EC or anything like that.
 I got the feeling that they were just a couple of
guys who loved listening to and playing music, and
somehow had enough cash to finance releasing a
document of the music scene at the time.  The focus of
this CD seems to be primarily college/alternative rock
of variously "accessible" stripes.  However, within
that milieu, it is a reasonably representative, if
admittedly truncated, sampling of the bands, or at
least they *type* of bands, that were playing club
gigs and house parties in Davis at the time.  There
are seventeen tracks but only ten bands (most bands
had two songs included). 

The bands on the "EYES CALM FILM" compilation:

thornucopia
primoGRANDE
133 Elephant Experts
thedaisychain
The The Grundybergs
JBOA
Shine On
Bonegames
Zombie Motorcade
The Mighty Strangers

Greg Baxter