The Minutemen

The Minutemen was an American punk rock band formed in San Pedro, California in 1980. Comprising guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley, the Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EPs before Boon's unexpected death in December 1985. They were noted in the Californian punk rock community for a philosophy of "jamming econo": a sense of thriftiness reflected in their touring and presentation.

The history of the Minutemen began when D. Boon and Mike Watt met at age 13. Watt was walking through a park in their hometown of San Pedro, California, when Boon, playing a game of "army" with other boys, fell out of a tree right next to him, and found that his friends, one's name being 'eskimo', must've ditched him.[1] Both boys shared a passion for music; Boon's mother taught D. to play the guitar and suggested Watt learn to play bass. However, at first, Watt did not know what a bass was.[2] The pair eventually started playing music together, mostly covering songs from artists they admired. In the summer of 1973, Watt and Boon formed the Bright Orange Band with Boon's brother Joe on drums. In 1976 they discovered punk, however Boon's mother died and the Bright Orange Band disbanded shortly thereafter. The next year, the two joined a short-lived band called Starstruck.[3] Following Starstruck's disbandment, Boon and Watt met drummer George Hurley and formed The Reactionaries with vocalist Martin Tamburovich.[3]

After the Reactionaries disbanded, Boon and Watt formed the Minutemen in January 1980. Watt has said their name had nothing at all to do with the brevity of their songs; rather, it was derived partly from the fabled minutemen militia of colonial times and partly to lampoon a right-wing reactionary group of the 1960s that went by that name. In the documentary We Jam Econo, Watt also states that the name was a play on "minute" (mī-ˈnüt). After a month with no drummer — during which Boon and Watt wrote their first songs, the band rehearsed and played a couple of early gigs with local welder Frank Tonche on drums. The group had originally wanted George Hurley to join, but he had joined a new wave band called Hey Taxi after the Reactionaries disbanded. Tonche quit the group, citing a dislike of the audience the band initially drew, and Hurley took over as drummer in June 1980. Their first live gig was as an opening band for Black Flag.

Discography

Studio albums

* The Punch Line (1981)
* What Makes a Man Start Fires? (1983)
* The Politics of Time (1984)
* Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
* 3-Way Tie (For Last) (1985)

Extended plays

* Paranoid Time (1980)
* Joy (1981)
* Bean-Spill (1982)
* Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat (1983)
* Tour-Spiel (1984)
* Project: Mersh (1985)
* Minuteflag (1985)

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