O'Cayz Corral was a bar and music venue in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, that primarily featured local and national punk, rock, and grunge musical acts.
History
Located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, O'Cayz Corral was originally named Don's Shell (Owned by Don & Cay Millard) and later renamed Millard's Bar.Millards Tavern Website Catherine "Cay" Millard became sole owner of the tavern in 1980 and changed the name to O'Cayz Corral, a country-western themed bar with a legal capacity of 150. Sometime in the early 80's Cay began to ask local musicians such as Pat MacDonald (who later formed Timbuk 3) if they would like to play at the venue, but it was not until The Replacements were booked for two back-to-back shows that the venue became well known for live music. It was operated by "Cay" until her death in 1990.
Four of the children (Mike, Mary, Pat, Don) formed a corporation "Cayz Corp" and continued the business. They then leased the club to Cathy Dethmers from 1994 until 2001. Referred to in the press as "iconic" and the "CBGB's of the Midwest," O'Cayz featured many underground punk, grunge, and rock bands that later became major contributors to pop culture.
Indeed, at one time many touring bands had O'Cayz Corral on their bucket list of places to play. Some famous bands such as Nirvana, Soul Asylum, and Living Colour only played there once. Other famous bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins played at O'Cayz several times in a single year before outgrowing the venue, while bands like L7 graced the venue once or twice a year for several years—even after they were selling out stadiums elsewhere.
People best remember two events at O'Cayz, aside from the many fine performances there. A drunk truck driver smashed into and destroyed the front facade of the building, also killing a 22-year-old University of Wisconsin student and destroying the band Surgery's ambulance filled with their equipment. On another occasion, the floor caved in on the dance floor during a Royal Crescent Mob performance.
O'Cayz was destroyed on January 1, 2001, by a fire that began in the Cay's Comic-Strip, a neighborhood bar at 502 East Wilson Street also owned by the family of Cay Millard. Dethmers reopened nearby in 2004 as the High Noon Saloon.
Location O'Cayz Corral was located on the isthmus of Madison's near east side, a short walk from the state capitol, marking a transitional space between the capitol and the Jenifer-Spaight historic district. Despite the many up-and-coming, on the cusp of breaking-through musicians who played at O'Cayz before—and sometimes after—finding success, the physical layout of the club was very small. The primary section of the L-shaped space spanned only about 23 feet in width and 70 feet in depth, and accommodated a bar and several tables.
Featured artists
Some of the bands that played at O'Cayz Corral between 1985 and 2001 (listed alphabetically with reference to any live recordings released of the show):
7 Seconds 7 Year Bitch 24-7 Spyz 60 Cycle Hum 311 The Afghan Wigs Agent Orange Alex Chilton Adrenalin O.D. American Music Club Animated Violence Appliances-SFB Archers of Loaf Arson Garden Art Paul Schlosser Asphalt Ballet At The Drive-In The Atomic Bitchwax Aunt Beaph Video on YouTube of 11/13/98 show Babes in Toyland Bad Brains Bash & Pop Bazooka The BellRays Better Off Airport Beyond Possession Big Big Bite Analog Zone on Youtube Big Black Big Damn Crazy Weight Big Hat Blanche Mobile The Blue Meanies Bongzilla Gestation, recorded February 7, 1998, was included on the Twin Threat To Your Sanity compilation released on 7", 7", and All Media by Bad People Records, Riotous Assembly, and Selfish Fucker Records in 2001. Trinity and Witch Weed were included on the He's No Good To Me Dead compilation released on Game Two Records in 1999 Booty Fruit Boss Hog The Bottle Rockets The Bottles Brass Tacks Brian Ritchie Buffalo Tom Bugatti Type 35 Bullet Head The Burning Ernies Buttress Available on YouTube: 1992 Calexico with Neko Case Cattleprod Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Chadbourne The Celibate Rifles Cherubs Charlie Pickett Chemlab The Chesterfield Kings Chokebore Citizen King Clip The Daisies Clutch Clyde Stubblefield Coat of Arms Cop Shoot Cop Available on YouTube: 10/19/93 Cosmic Psychos Couch Flambeau Coven Of Thieves Corpsicle The Cows The Crossbones Cradle of Thorns Cruel The Crystal Method Cub Dan Hicks and the Acoustic Warriors Dazzling Killmen D.O.A. Damn The Machine Danger Prone Daphne Betty Page, recorded in January 1995, was included on Postpunkprelowfiposthifi, self-released in 1999 on CD Dash Rip Rock The dB's The Dead Milkmen Deerhoof Descendents Dick Dale The Didjits Die Kreuzen Dinosaur Jr Doctors' Mob D.R.I. aka Dirty Rotten Imbeciles Drug Induced Nightmare #4 Dumptruck Droids Attack The Dwarves E*I*E*I*O Ed Hall Electric Hellfire Club Elephant Lips El Duce Elliott Smith Ethyl Meatplow Eugene Chadbourne Ex-Action Figures The 18 minute-long live recording of The Mirror, Marina appears on the band's self-titled album, released on Mafia Money in 1996 Exene Cervenka The Exotics Fat Tuesday Facing Mecca Faucet Festering Rinyanyons Swimmin' Hole 7" on Train Wreck Entertainment, 1993 included the live track It's Awlright! Fetchin' Bones Fear The Feelies Flat Duo Jets Flywheel Fire Town Firehose 5/14/90 audio on YouTube The Flaming Lips The Fleshtones The Flying Luttenbachers 3/15/97 on YouTube For Christ Sakes Foreskin 500 Freakshow Fred Pepper Frightwig The Frogs Tour De Gay '88 was self-released on cassette in 1989. YouTube Videos include: Men (Come on Men), I've Got Drugs/Disrespect Me, Blue is 4 Boys from the album It's Only Right And Natural released in 2025 Fu Manchu Fudge The Funeral Party Funland Fuzzdolly Gel-tones Geraldine Fibbers GG Allin The first three songs on Insult & Injury Volume 2: The Bloody Years were recorded at O'Cayz Corral 8/7/86; however these songs were later attributed by GG Allin in another release as being 11/14/86. Teacher's Pet was released again on YouTube in 2023. YouTube account of the show by Bloody F. Mess: Glass Eye God and Texas God Bullies The Gomers Government Issue Green Green Day Note: Sometimes listed along with Cracker by people writing of O’Cayz Corral's history, but no witness remembers the actual show, no date or other evidence of these shows exist, and GreenDayAuthority.com does not mention O'Cayz in their tour history. Guzzard Half Japanese Hammerhead Hand Over Head Helios Creed Helmet Hole 7/5/91 audio on YouTube Homo Erectus The Honeymoon Killers The Honeymoon Killers Live! was recorded at O'Cayz and CBGB's. It was released in 1991 as a 7" on Munster Records Horny Genius House of Large Sizes Hum Machine Hüsker Dü Idaho Imminent Attack Impaler The Infants Inspector 12 Iowa Beef Experience Ivory Library The Jayhawks The Jazz Butcher Jeffrey Lee Pierce The Jesus Lizard Joan Wildman Trio The Under The Silver Globe cassette was partially recorded live at O'Cayz and self released in 1989 Johnny Thunders of New York Dolls Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Jonathan Fire*Eater Jonathan Richman Killbilly Killdozer Available on YouTube: 10/6/89 The Kissers On a Monday Night live CD released in 2001 on the Skeptic Rock label after the club burned down. Kyuss Ladybeard L.A. Guns Lemon Debby L7 The She Devils (1992) CD on Bullseye Records was a bootleg of the July 1, 1992 show. Notable: L7's Suzi Gardner brought her red mid '50s Fender Stratocaster with gold hardware to Smart Studios to record their breakout album Bricks Are Heavy, and then brought it to their O'Cayz show afterwards in December 1991. It was placed on the side of the stage to keep it safe while they played and then forgotten. It floated around the club unclaimed for weeks. By the time the band realized the guitar had been left behind it had disappeared. It was never recovered. Last Crack Laughing Hyenas Legendary Pink Dots Less Than Jake The Less Than Jake / Boris The Sprinkler / Sonic Dolls / Mulligan Stu compilation (1996) was all recorded 10/6/96 and released on 8" flexi-disc by Rhetoric Records and Fueled By Ramen Letters to Cleo Libido Boyz Life Sentence Little Blue Crunchy Things Live Skull Living Colour Loomis Available on YouTube: (Date Unknown) Love Battery Lunachicks Lyres Magic Slim and the Teardrops Man Clam Chow M.I.A. Mad Trucker Gone Mad Madder Rose The Magnolias Man or Astro-man? Martini Gunmen Material Issue Meat Puppets Mecht Mense Megaloden The Mekons Melt Banana The Melvins The Mentors Mickey Finn Mike Watt 9/27/2000 on YouTube Moe Tucker Mojo Nixon Mondo Generator Monks of Doom One of their O'Cayz Corral shows was released on cassette by Static Attack Records in 1993. Mount Shasta Moving Targets Mudhoney Mud Wimin Muscle Car Naked Aggression You Can't Get Me Down/Keep Your Eyes Open (1992) CD on Broken Rekids included four songs recorded live at O'Cayz Corral in May 1992 by Ken Udell. The multitrack recordings were never remixed because the band lost Udell's contact information. Instead they used a live cassette mix down and dubbed it to digital. The same recordings were then re-issued as a cassette on Pop Noise (1996). The band released the Naked Regression CD (1998) on Broken Rekids including the same four recordings yet again. Naked Prey Naked Raygun Nashville Pussy Natural Cause Nautical Almanac NebulaO'Cayz saves the day – Isthmus Archives 4/1/2000 audio on YouTube Negative Trend Neurosis New Bomb Turks New Duncan Imperials Nimrod 1992 video of Nimrod with Queen of Noise/erotic actress Mayuko Hino released on YouTube: Part One, Part Two, Part Three Nine Pound Hammer Nirvana Even in His Youth (instrumental) and Floyd the Barber audio from 7/7/89 is available on YouTube Nitro Nomeansno Nova Mob Nymb 11/20/98 audio on YouTube Old Skull The Other Kids Videos available on YouTube: Where The Wild Things Are, MadTown Overkill Overwhelming Colorfast P'elvis Videos on YouTube: Helvetica, Template, Highway Wreck, POW!, Pachinko When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Dirty (1992) was recorded on the stage at O'Cayz Corral with producer Ken Udell. It became the band's debut release as a 7" EP on Bovine Records. However, the recording was made in the venue during the day, not during an evening show. The Pagans The Blue Album (2008) consists of 9 songs from their 1988 show. The compilation Live Road Kill 1978–89 (1998) had previously included the song Her Name Was Jane. Pansy Division Phantom Tollbooth Phantoms See You Cry and Shouldn't Hang Around, recorded by Ken Udell and released by the Mockingbird Hill label on the album The Songs that Made them Famous. Phil Gnarley and the Tough Guys Performing with Swamp Thing: Waiting for the Messiah and Walking The Dog 7/29/92 video on Youtube Plastic Plasticland Playhouse Poi Dog Pondering Poopshovel Pop Defect Possum Dixon Poster Children Pound WI Powerwagon Primus Psychedelicasi Queens of The Stone Age Available on YouTube: Video of You Can't Quit Me Baby 2/5/99 Audio of entire show 2/6/99 Rapeman Railroad Jerk Rain Parade The Reivers The Replacements Resin The Reverend Horton Heat Richmond Fontaine Whiskey, Painkillers & Speed (Live On The Road) included the songs Madison and Made To Be Broken (a Soul Asylum cover), recorded 10/23/99 and released in 2001 Rifle Sport Rights of the Accused Deathwish and Drew appeared on the Static Attack Live Compilation #2, recorded 4/25/91. A cassette of the full show was also released, but--like most of Static Attack Records' full live show releases--it was limited to just 20 copies. Ritual Device Rockadiles, The Rollins Band The Rousers Roger Miller (from Mission of Burma) Royal Crescent Mob Ruins Run Westy Run Salem 66 Savage Republic Sevendust Scissor Girls