CUZ | |
|---|---|
 Sam Dook and Mike Watt | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Brighton, England [1] |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Bleeding heart recordings |
| Members | Sam Dook Mike Watt |
CUZ is an indie rock band formed in 2008 featuring Sam Dook of The Go! Team and Mike Watt of Minutemen and fIREHOSE. [1] Their debut album Tamatebako was released on May 14, 2014. [2]
In 2006, Watt met Sam Dook of The Go! Team at Big Day Out. [1] Watt was intrigued by The Go! Team's use of samples. [3]
I was kind of naïve or something, I wasn’t familiar with that technology, right? I actually didn’t know, I thought they were playing all that stuff. To me, tape recorders—you play music and the tape recorder captures it. But this whole idea of samples…it’s a pretty creative tool and, you know, I wanted to explore it. [3]
Dook and Watt began corresponding via email and decided to form a band. Watt visited Dook in Brighton while The Stooges were in London and they jammed for three days. [4] Watt suggested Dook use pieces of those sessions as samples to create new songs. [4] When Watt returned home to San Pedro he sent more bass tracks to Dook. Eventually, they finished the album over email [5] and named their project "CUZ" based on a zine Richard Hell put out decades earlier. [3]
Their debut album, entitled Tamatebako, was released in 2014 [1] and features guest vocals by Charles Plymell, DJ Scotch Egg, and fellow Go! Team member Kaori Tsuchida. [1] The album title references the mysterious box of Japanese legend. [6]
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo career with the 1995 album Ball-Hog or Tugboat?, he has since released three additional solo albums, most recently in 2010 with Hyphenated-man. He is also the frontman for the supergroup Big Walnuts Yonder (2008–present), a member of the art rock group Banyan (1997–present) and is involved with several other musical projects. From 2003 until 2013, he was the bass guitarist for The Stooges.
Firehose was an American alternative rock band consisting of Mike Watt, Ed Crawford, and George Hurley (drums). They were initially active from 1986 to 1994, and briefly reunited in 2012.
George Hurley is a drummer noted for his work with Minutemen and fIREHOSE.
The Go! Team are an English indie rock band from Brighton, England. The band initially began as a solo project conceived by Ian Parton; however, after the unexpected success of the Go! Team's debut album, Thunder, Lightning, Strike, Parton recruited band members to play for live performances and subsequent albums. Musically, the band combines indie rock and garage rock with a mixture of funk and Bollywood soundtracks, double Dutch chants, old school hip hop and distorted guitars. Their songs are a mix of live instrumentation and samples from various sources. The band's vocals also vary between performances: while live vocals are handled mostly by lead vocalist Ninja, vocals on record also feature sampled and guest voices.
J Mascis + The Fog was an American rock band formed by J Mascis in 2000, following the break-up of Dinosaur Jr. The project released two albums; 2000's More Light and 2002's Free So Free.
Ball-Hog or Tugboat? is the 1995 debut solo album by American musician Mike Watt, previously known for his work as the bass guitarist and songwriter for the punk rock groups Minutemen and fIREHOSE.
dos is an American rock group composed of Mike Watt and Kira Roessler, who both sing and play bass guitar. Critic Greg Prato describes their unusual instrumentation as "a haunting yet intriguing and original sound."
Cuz or CUZ may refer to:
Unknown Instructors are an all-star improvisational rock outfit that features the former rhythm section of Minutemen and fIREHOSE, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley; Saccharine Trust members, guitarist Joe Baiza and vocalist Jack Brewer; and vocalist/saxophonist Dan McGuire. They have been described as "an all-star reunion of alumni from the SST stable of yore" and Henry Rollins called it a dream lineup.
The Way Things Work is the debut album by American improvisational band Unknown Instructors, featuring Mike Watt, George Hurley, Joe Baiza, Jack Brewer, and poet Dan McGuire.
If'n is the second album by the American alternative rock band fIREHOSE, released in 1987.
The Master's Voice is the second album by American improvisational band Unknown Instructors. The core quartet of Mike Watt, George Hurley, Joe Baiza, and poet/saxophonist Dan McGuire reconvene on the album, with guest vocals on three tracks by David Thomas and on another track by artist Raymond Pettibon. In addition, Watt also contributes a vocal of his own. The album was recorded at Total Access Studio in Redondo Beach, California, the same studio where Black Flag recorded many of their classic mid-'80s album releases and where Watt and Hurley's The Minutemen had recorded Project: Mersh in 1985.
Ragin', Full-On is the first album by American alternative rock band fIREHOSE. It was released after the breakup of the influential punk rock band Minutemen due to the death of the guitarist D. Boon. Like all fIREHOSE albums, Ragin', Full-On is dedicated to Boon.
Charles Edward Crawford, known as ed fROMOHIO, is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for Firehose, an alternative rock band he formed in 1986 with former Minutemen members Mike Watt and George Hurley (drums).
Minutemen were an American punk rock band formed in San Pedro, California, in 1980. Composed of guitarist/vocalist D. Boon, bassist/vocalist Mike Watt, and drummer George Hurley, Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EPs before Boon's death in an automobile accident in 1985; the band broke up shortly thereafter. They were noted in the California punk community for a philosophy of "jamming econo"—a sense of thriftiness reflected in their touring and short, tight songs, and for their eclectic style, drawing on hardcore punk, funk, jazz, and other sources.
Funland is the third album by American improvisational band Unknown Instructors, featuring Mike Watt, George Hurley, Joe Baiza, poet/saxophonist Dan McGuire. The album features guest vocals by David Thomas and artist Raymond Pettibon.
Hyphenated-man is the fourth solo album by Mike Watt, and the first full-length recording he made under his own name since parting with Columbia Records in 2005. Initially released in Japan by Parabolica Records in October 2010, the album was released in the rest of the world on clenchedwrench, an independent record label newly founded by Watt. He is accompanied on the album by his Mike Watt + The Missingmen bandmates, guitarist Tom Watson and drummer Raul Morales.
"Ring Spiel" Tour '95 is a live album by American musician Mike Watt, documenting his first solo tour after being a member of Minutemen and fIREHOSE in the 1980s and early '90s. Ring Spiel was recorded in 1995 and released in 2016. The album material is from the tour to accompany Watt's first solo album, Ball-Hog or Tugboat?.
Floored by Four is the debut album by experimental music band Floored by Four. The band consists of Mike Watt on bass and vocals, Nels Cline (Wilco) on guitar, Yuka Honda on keyboard, bass, and glockenspiel, and Dougie Bowne on drums.
Fitted is an alternative rock band featuring Mike Watt, Graham Lewis (Wire), Matthew Simms (Wire), and Bob Lee. Graham Lewis' Wire was one of the influences for Mike Watt's Minutemen.