THREE IMAGINARY REALITY TRACKS!

NOW

Julio Davalos lives in Charleston, West Virginia.
Steve Bergen lives in North Carolina with an exceedlingly cute family.

Keith Wilson resides in jail in Beckley, West Virginia for aggravated soloing.

No... he's lead guitarist for MR. X.

Matt Ritchey is a transvestite serial killer in Hollywood, California.

THEN

Final show at Morgantown High School.
"in concert"
Photography by Elizabeth Felter.
STEVE MATHESS (rhythm guitar), STEVE BERGEN (bass), JULIO DAVALOS (drums), KEITH WILSON (guitar), MATT RITCHEY (vocals).

What the hell is (or was) Imaginary Reality?

Well, it was a 90's high school rock band. There were a number of first-starts for the group, but really, it was back when Matt Ritchey and Keith Wilson met at a friend's house to jam. After doing some amazingly bad Led Zeppelin covers (Matt fully blames himself), Keith said he'd just written a new song. He played the song, our mutual friend started the drum beat, and Matt shuffled through his bad poetry to find something appropriate. He found a page of lyrics called EDGE OF INSANITY.

Surprisingly, the lyrics and music fit well together. VERY well.

The threesome invited Chad Raymond in to play bass and record the song on cassette (remember those?) before disbanding.

A year later, Matt, Chad Raymond, Elliott Kiger and Steve Bergen formed a garage band called the Tense Souls. They wrote a short album's worth of material, but the one track that emerged as the best was called SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, based on a funky Bergen bassline and lyrics meant to be penned by Hannibal Lecter.

Kiger left for private school the next Fall and the group disbanded after playing a fateful pool party where Ritchey totaled his Chevy Impala.

High school. Ritchey and Wilson reconnect at a concert of school bands and decide to geta band together. Bergen is available and is in, but Ritchey's classmate and drummer Julio Davalos refuses.

Until he finds out Wilson is the one on guitar. Now he's in. He's heard Keith and knows that this guy can play guitar better than anybody in town. Or the State. Perhaps the tri-State area.....