[4] Prior to joining the group, travis grew up playing piano in church and singing spirituals in his home in rural Mississippi.
An early supporter and friend of the group was Al Jourgenson of Ministry,[5] through whom they met scholar, performance artist, and musician Shannon Rose Riley.
[8] The group developed a unique juxtaposition of industrial musique concrète and junk metal percussion alongside spoken word and liturgical organ.
[6] During this period, ONO played extensively in and around Chicago, both solo and alongside acts including Lydia Lunch, Cabaret Voltaire, and Naked Raygun.
[8][9] They performed both in music venues and non-traditional spaces such as art galleries, a wedding, and the smoldering ruins of a still-burning house.
[1][5] The group frequently utilized confrontational and subversive imagery, including religious and occult iconography, drag, blackface,[6] and other symbols of racial oppression.