Brainiac formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1992 with vocalist and keyboard (particularly Moog synthesizers) player Tim Taylor, bassist Juan Monasterio, guitarist Michelle Bodine and drummer Tyler Trent. After a couple of singles, they released their first album, Smack Bunny Baby on Grass Records in 1993. Bonsai Superstar, now with John Schmersal on guitar in place of Bodine (who went on to form O-matic), followed the next year. In 1995 they played on the Lollapalooza side stage.