The Neat was an early 1980s North County new wave band whose classic lineup featured founder Neil Bergen on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Dan Brewer on guitar and backup vocals, Marcus Discartin on drums and backup vocals, and Paul Mukomela on bass (later replaced by Nugirl bassist Anthony Downey). Other early members included Robert Munger on drums and Bobby Blesser on lead guitar

"During my time with the Neat, I was able to negotiate a weekly gig in Tijuana, Mexico at a club called Mike's Bar," Downey told the Reader. "Every Wednesday night was college night in Tijuana and we would pack the club full every week and were paid very well by the club owner, who I personally knew."

"We were the hippest, most sought after high school band at the time," recalls manager Ken Harrison. "Girls attacked the van when they arrived to play a school dance."

Their music appeared on the 1984 91X Local Heroes album, and the band performed on local TV shows like Pacific Videos and Club 33, with the former show forcing them to mime rather than play live. "I don't remember who contacted us," recalls Anthony Downey, "but we were given about a week's notice, which didn't give us much time to record the songs for the videos, which we recorded in our own rehearsal studio on a four-track reel-to-reel. I think that it was pretty much a given that we would be lip syncing to the videos. We were approached once again a couple of months later to do the Club 33 show...I think it was one of the DJs from 91X, T. Bryon Shock, who got our foot in the door for both occasions. He was the MC at a couple of North County concert events featuring local groups."

After the band split, Downey went on to build a recording studio in his garage in the early 1990s, before working as an accounts executive and billing agent for Chula Vista medical billing company United International Health Net.