Unknown Instructors: The Way Things Work

It was really great to find that Mike Watt and George Hurley, the propulsive and creative rhythm section of the great 80s band Minutemen and then the underrated and excellent Firehose, reteamed for a new project in 2003 called Unknown Instructors.

The duo wer teamed with guitarist Joe Baiza, another veteran of the South Bay punk scene, and poet Dan McGuire, who spearheaded the project on his own dime after a long friendship with Watt, along with guest Jack Brewer, Baiza's bandmate in Saccharine Trust. The band recorded The Way Things Work in a single marathon session at a San Pedro studio in August 2003 with Baiza and McGwire producing the album for Chicago-based Smog Veil Records, which released the album a little over two years later.

McGuire's poetry is very evocative, providing fascinating vignettes of gritty street life (he's from Toledo, an old industrial city), unusual and puzzling situations, and a delivery that is filled with irony and a world-weary tone.  Behind him, Baiza plays trebly meandering lines and riffs and McGuire has said he put together the band and recruited Watt and Hurley so the guitarist could burst out with high energy playing, which didn't really happen on the record, but it was, after all, a one-day improvisational experiment.

Watt, a master at accompaniment, lays down solid grooves and interpolations in his distinctive fashion, and Hurley keeps things moving briskly by ranging through his kit with strength and a tasty range of color and texture on the traps, cymbals and bass drums.  On his tracks, Brewer's voice projects a trembly fragility and, interestingly, a sense of lightness even with the dark matter of the poetry.

Even as a first-take experiment melding poetry and improvised music that was channeled in a different and more effective way on the band's second album, The Master's Voice (look for it in a future post), The Way Things Work does work pretty well, embodying what Baiza has referred to as the "sentiment and the spirit" of the exploration of punk rock, even as it sounds very different from common expectations of what that should be.

fIREHOSE: fROMOHIO

After the tragic death of Minutemen guitarist and vocalist D. Boon in an Arizona car accident in late 1985, that great San Pedro-based band suddenly ended, its remaining members, drummer George Hurley and bassist and vocalist Mike Watt, devastated and unsure what to do next.

What took place then was remarkable, but also typical of the kind of loyalty fans of Minutemen had.  Ed Crawford, an Ohio State University student, was deceived by members of the band Camper van Beethoven that Watt and Hurley were auditioning guitarists for a new band.  Crawford called Watt, after finding his home number, and learned the "news" was false.

Still, Crawford showed up at Watt's apartment unannounced and by good old fashioned persistence got the bassist and Hurley to listen to him play.  The two were so amazed at Crawford's passion and determination that they agreed to form fIREHOSE, named for a scene in Don't Look Back, the documentary on Bob Dylan, in which the troubadour held up a hand-lettered board that had the word "firehose" on it.

While there were certain elements of Minutemen that showed through with fIREHOSE, including Watt's distinctive impressionistic lyrics, the dynamism of the rhythm section, and the overall DIY attitude, Crawford's presence (he was known as Ed fROMOHIO for some time) marked a needed contrast from D. Boon.  Namely, Crawford's guitar playing was more of a standard rock sound and less intense.  His voice was more plaintive and emotive and the overall effect was lighter and more folk-like.  Again, this helped give fIREHOSE an identity distinct from Minutemen and certainly energized Watt and Hurley.

By summer 1986, the band was playing gigs and later recorded its debut record, Ragin', Full On, released at the end of the year on SST Records, which had been the Minutemen label.  After a follow-up in 1987 called If'n, the band released what this blogger considers to be its best record, fROMOHIO, released early in 1989.

The album is packed with excellent songs and its recording in 30 hours over four days in October 1988 in a studio in Painesville, Ohio (a town of 20,000 northeast of Cleveland along Lake Erie) probably gave the impetus for a more laid-back, folksy, and relaxed feel.  The band was also well seasoned and fully integrated.

From the opener, "Riddle of the Eighties," to the excellent "In My Mind," and the funky "What Gets Heard," the first half of the record has some strong points.  But, the second portion is uniformly excellent, from the anthemic "Liberty For Our Friend," to the four top-notch pieces in a row, including, "Time With You," "If'n," "Some Things," and the tremendous "Understanding," and then the closing "The Softest Hammer."  The consistency of the songs is really solid and the band plays so well together that fROMOHIO is, to this listener, the highlight of an eight-year odyssey that culminated in a major label deal with Columbia Records and ended with the breakup of the band in 1994.

Watt went on to an interesting solo career, punctuated by a series of "rock operas" for Columbia, as well as a number of collaborative projects with Hurley, and former wife and ex-Black Flag bassist  Kira Roessler, as well as a long stint with Iggy Pop and The Stooges.  Hurley and Crawford have been not as prominent, but still busy with music over the years.  In 2012, fIREHOSE reunited to play at the Coachella festival and a short tour and there has been talk of possible future work, though nothing has been specified.

As great a shock as it was to hear of Boon's death and the demise of the great Minutemen, it was heartening and gratifying to see the formation and career of fIREHOSE, which included almost 1,000 shows and five studio albums.  fROMHOIO is definitely a highlight to YHB and continues to be a favorite recording, especially that run of four songs towards the end of the album.

fIREHOSE: Fromohio (SST, 1989)

1.  Riddle of the Eighties  2:04
2.  In My Mind  2:19
3.  Whisperin' While Hollerin'  2:05
4.  Vastopol  1:29
5.  Mas Cojones  2:05
6.  What Gets Heard  2:29
7.  Let The Drummer Have Some  1:02
8.  Liberty For Our Friend  2:09
9.  Time With You  3:15
10.  If'n  3:17
11.  Some Things  2:46
12.  Understanding  3:15
13.  'Nuf That Shit, George  :40
14.  The Softest Hammer  3:05

Minutemen: Double Nickels on the Dime

In the earlier post on Hüsker Dü's mind-blowing Zen Arcade, it was noted that that record was bought along with another phenomenal double album, Double Nickels on the Dime from Minutemen.  Both of these albums signaled a high point for the "do it yourself" atmosphere of American punk (post-punk?  whatever?) rock, epitomized by the underfunded, but overexuberant SST Records label, of the early to mid-1980s.

Whereas Zen Arcade showed a more obvious "hardcore" element, particularly in its paint-peeling speed-fueled side two, Double Nickels on the Dime (a reference to driving 55 mph on Interstate 10, as shown on the album cover below, where band member Mike Watt tools down the freeway at the indicated speed on said highway, while he has a twinkle in his eyes through the rear view mirror and out the windshield is the sign for State Route 11 (now State Route 110) to the band's beloved home base of San Pedro--the title is also evidently a rejoinder to Sammy Hagar's popular tune, "Can't Drive 55," which the Minutemen dudes felt was not much of a protest song.  Jesus, what a long diversion that was!) is a stylistically diverse tour-de-force of political pieces, strange abstractions, covers of Steely Dan, Van Halen, and Creedence Clearwater Revival songs, and tons else.

In fact, the album was intended to be a single disc release with recording commencing in November 1983, until D. Boon (guitar, vocals), Watt (bass, vocals), and George Hurley (drums) found out that their bandmates were releasing a double album.  Joking "take that, Hüskers!" on the liners, Minutemen went back into the studio in April 1984 with quickly-written pieces and hammered out the material for their own double album.  The record was made for only $1,100!  SST responded by delaying the Zen Arcade release, so that the two albums could come out together in July 1984.  This was perfect for some buyers, who took the opportunity to buy both and enjoy a singular experience of enjoying two landmark albums of the day.

The vinyl release included 45 (yup, 45) songs over the four sides, three sequenced by individual band members picking songs by straws and the fourth deemed "chaff," literally leftovers.  Boon's trebly guitar featuring some arresting soloing, Watt's fluid bass, and Hurley's muscular drumming are excellent throughout with the guitarist singing all but two of the pieces, which were performed by Watt.  Political anthems like "Viet Nam," "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing [what a great title!]," "The Big Foist," "West Germany," and "Untitled Song for Latin America," are paced with the covers, like Creedence's "Don't Look Now," which was recorded live, Van Halen's "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love," and Steely Dan's "Dr. Wu," and a variety of off-the-wall pieces like "#1 Hit Song," ""Maybe Partying Will Help," "Toadies," "Take 5, D," which deals with leaking showers and perhaps other topics, "The Road of the Masses Could Be Farts," and "Jesus and Tequila." 

"Viet Nam" is a highlight with its funk-like guitar, buoyant bass, and rock solid drumming providing a solid basis for Boon's political diatribe about the war.  That song is followed by Boon's beautiful and contemplative acoustic piece, "Cohesion."  The powerful "Shit from an Old Notebook," featuring a Boon rant against commercialism has a great Hurley backbeat and Watt's signature bass anchoring the sound perfectly.  The trio's tight interplay also shines on "Nature Without Man," "One Reporter's Opinion," which has a cool lyric about Watt as a mechanistic human being, "The Big Foist," "Nothing Indeed," "This Ain't No Picnic," "Storm in My House," and a host of other pieces.  There is also the great "Corona," written by Boon and which has an extremely catchy twangy guitar riff and a thumping polka beat.  Hurley gets to showcase his drumming best, perhaps, on the under a minute "Martin's Story."  After an intense "The World According to Nouns," the album closes nicely with a relaxed, funky jam called "Love Dance."  There are also little interludes playing up the car theme found in the title and art work by having audio of the band members' cars starting up.

"The Glory of Man," with an awesome bass line from its writer, Watt, and the bassist's sublime (and perhaps the band's overall signature song), "History Lesson—Part II" are probably the two most memorable tracks to YHB, although it's hard to take these pieces out of the context of a uniformly excellent album that moves quickly from song to song in its 80+ minute vinyl and 78-minute CD versions.

With excellent reviews, a heavy touring schedule to support the album, and decent sales, considering its lack of "commerciality," the band was at a creative peak.  After the follow-up, 3-Way Tie (For Last), came out in 1985, D. Boon was tragically killed in a traffic accident in Arizona just before Christmas.  Devastated, Watt and Hurley ended the band, but later formed the excellent fIREHOSE, a very different, but impressive trio with guitarist/vocalist Ed Crawford, that lasted from 1986 to 1994.  Watt has continued with a solo career that has included three "operas," including 2011's brilliant Hyphenated-Man, based on figures found in Hieronymus Bosch's allegorical paintings from the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

It's hard to believe that it is almost thirty years since the landmark Double Nickels on the Dime emerged in tandem with Zen Arcade, marking a high-water point for independent music in the U.S.  and Minutemen remain one of the great bands of its day.