The Smart Pills formed in New York City in the early months of 1978. The Smart Pills featured Git Smart (Vocals & Guitar), Vince Conrad (Vocals & Bass) and Billy Ray (Vocals & Drums). The Smart Pills was a hard driving first generation punk rock band heavily influenced by New York’s Ramones, Johnny Thunders, Wayne County and Blondie, as well as, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Generation X and other contemporaries of the day. 

Git met Vince and Billy Ray in 1975 during the heyday of the underground rock scene in New York City. Earlier in 1975, Vince and Billy had moved from Dayton, Ohio to New York’s Chelsea Hotel to play with Ian Sweet aka Holiday Ian in his band entitled, “Sweet Star.” The boys played in various bands during this period that frequently appeared at Max’s Kansas City, CBGB’s, Club 82 and other underground venues in NYC. 

During the cold and early months of 1978, Git, Vince and Billy each rented rooms in an old rooming house on 22nd street between 8th and 9th Avenue in New York’s Chelsea section. By this time the Smart Pills had already been heavily influenced by the raging punk rock scenes in New York and London, and the boys were eager to start a punk band together. Git and Billy frequently congregated in Vince’s room on the 1st floor, where they drank whisky, smoked cigarettes and listened to their favorite records before going out to Max’s and CBGB’s to hang out with friends and check out other bands. In was in this rooming house that Git Smart wrote the earliest Smart Pills songs, “Yankee Doodle Boy” and “No Pictures of Dad.” Of note, Josie Cotton later recorded several Smart Pills songs, including “No Pictures of Dad” which Josie performed on an episode of the short-lived TV series, “Square Pegs.” 

By the summer of 1978, the Smart Pills were financially destitute, starving and literally struggling to survive. The Smart Pills had no money to rent rehearsal space, no money for equipment and hunger was gnawing in their bellies continuously. Earlier, the Sex Pistols had decided to bypass New York on their U.S. tour and took their music straight to the heartland of America, where it had never been heard. Influenced by this move, Git decided to re-locate the Smart Pills to his home town of Topeka, Kansas, where punk rock was nonexistent and the band could write additional songs and perform shows for virgin audiences. 

During the winter of 1978, Vince Conrad joined Git in Topeka and Billy Ray later followed. The Smart Pills moved into the second floor of an office building in downtown Topeka in which they rehearsed after local businesses closed, leaving downtown Topeka deserted. The downtown office building also served as the Smart Pill’s home, as well as, an all-night hangout. The majority of The Smart Pills music was written and rehearsed in their Topeka loft.
 

The Smart Pills move was not without its problems. In 1978, The Smart Pills were literally the first punk rock band to live and play in Kansas. Clubs and other venues allowing bands to play original music, let alone original punk rock music, were few and far between. Bar fights was another problem for the boys, as the Kansans had never seen or encountered punk rockers. 

However, the Smart Pills did manage to get their first gig in early March 1979 in a small Topeka club called Denicks Deli. The gig led to other shows and in April 1979 the Smart Pills obtained a residency in the college town of Lawrence, Kansas at “Off The Wall Hall” a local college bar. The Off The Wall Hall tracks were originally recorded on a cassette tape recorder that Git had on stage during the shows; and are the earliest recordings of the Smart Pills. The boys had also befriended an ex-convict as a roadie named Glen, who effectively eliminated the bar-fights. The shows at Off The Wall Hall in Lawrence occurred during April and May 1979. The Smart Pills raw energy, unique sound and punk style is distinctly apparent in these early recordings. Vince and Billy liked playing at Off The Wall Hall because the beer taps were left on and there were several large barrels of salted peanuts, which they both descended on during the afternoon sound checks.

True to the early punk rock philosophy, The Smart Pills was the first band in which Vince Conrad played bass and Billy Ray played drums. The Smart Pills also embraced the early 60’s sound and look of the Beatles/Tony Sheridan Hamburg era which seemed to blend in seamlessly with the Pills contemporary punk rock look, sound and style. While never taking themselves too seriously, the boys sarcasm and contempt for the ignorance they encountered was often conveyed in The Smart Pills music. Rarely, does a Smart Pills song last longer than three minutes. The Smart Pills took their music back to the basics, with three and four chord songs pounding with a simplicity that is raw, refreshing and entertaining.