[1] 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.
[2] Referred to in the press as "iconic" and the "CBGB's of the Midwest,"[3] O'Cayz featured many underground punk, grunge, and rock bands that later became major contributors to pop culture.
[4] O'Cayz was destroyed by a fire that began in the 'Cay's Comic-Strip', a neighborhood bar at 502 East Wilson St., also owned by the family of Cay Millard, on January 1, 2001.
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.
Some[5] 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):