From San Pedro, California came this trio that were so ferocious in concert and so spot-on with their message and “econo” motive, they couldn’t help but transform the people they played before. One such transformed audience member was yours truly, who was lucky enough to witness this band do their thing four times. For the uninitiated, the Minutemen were D. Boon on guitar and vocals, Mike Watt on bass and George Hurley on drums. They were one of the most exciting bands ever with a jazz-punk-funk backbone courtesy of Watt and Hurley under Boon’s caterwauling and scrawling guitar work and political lyrics. They recorded for SST records and toured for five or six years until Boon died in a car accident in December 1985. It was indeed a great blow to me personally, and led to the end of the band. This song comes from their sprawling 47-track magnum opus called “Double Nickels On The Dime” released in 1984 as a double album on SST records. Hurley and Watt continued with Minutemen fan Ed “from Ohio” Crawford as fIREHOSE until they disbanded in 1994. While fIREHOSE were a good outfit, they were no match for the Minutemen. Watt went on to record several solo records and session with the likes of Eddie Vedder, J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Sonic Youth, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frank Black (Pixies), Nirvana, Beastie Boys and Jane’s Addiction. He also toured as the bass playing member of Iggy & The Stooges during their first reunion. He occasionally plays bass and drum shows with Hurley performing duet versions of Minutemen songs.
