George Hurley | |
|---|---|
 Hurley in 1982 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | George Michael Hurley |
| Born | September 4, 1958 Brockton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Genres | Punk rock, alternative rock, hardcore punk, post-punk, noise rock, avant-garde rock, improvised music |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, percussion |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | SST, New Alliance, Columbia, Smog Veil |
George Hurley (born September 4, 1958) is a drummer noted for his work with Minutemen and fIREHOSE. [1]
Originally from the East Coast, Hurley and his family moved to San Pedro, California, when he was six years old. [2] Hurley was a surfer before devoting himself to music. [2]
A self-taught musician, [3] Hurley created his own drumsticks out of Plexiglas and wood at the Boys Club in his youth. [1] He got his first drumkit when he was nineteen after trading a motorcycle for it. [4]
Although he is known as a punk drummer, Hurley's musical influences are primarily jazz-based.
"I’d go see Max Roach,” he recalls, “or some other great jazz drummer, and they’d have these kits that they pulled out of the trunk of their cars, three-piece or four-pieces, and they were doing things that I couldn’t imagine. They were like magicians!" [3]
Even though he went to the same high school as D. Boon and Mike Watt he did not meet them until around 1978. [4] That same year, Hurley formed The Reactionaries with Boon, Watt, and Martin Tamburovich. [4] Watt asked Hurley to join repeatedly but Hurley was reticent because they traveled in different circles and Watt was deemed "a geek". [1] Eventually, Hurley threw caution to the wind and joined up with Watt. After The Reactionaries split, George joined a Hollywood new wave band called Hey Taxi!. In 1980, Hey Taxi! disbanded at the same time the Minutemen's then drummer Frank Tonche left the band. Hurley reunited with his two former Reactionaries bandmates in Minutemen.
The Minutemen played their first gig with Los Angeles band Black Flag and after their set were asked by Black Flag guitarist and SST Records founder Greg Ginn to record an album for his label. [5] The Paranoid Time EP was followed by full length albums The Punch Line and What Makes a Man Start Fires? and two more EPs Joy and Bean-Spill [5] before recording their magnum opus Double Nickels on the Dime , an album which appears on many music critics' lists of the all-time best rock albums, including Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. [6] Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 77 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s". [7]
In 1985, D. Boon died in a van accident following the release of their final full length album, 3-Way Tie (For Last) [8] at which point Minutemen disbanded.
Watt and Hurley formed fIREHOSE in 1986, alongside newcomer Ed Crawford on guitar and lead vocals. They recorded three albums with SST Records, then joined Columbia Records for two albums and an E.P. The band dissolved in 1994 citing creative stagnation, and reformed in 2012 for an appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and a short tour.
Hurley has played with The Red Krayola [1] and Tom Watson from Slovenly. He also plays with his surviving Minutemen cohort Mike Watt on occasion, usually performing a set of Minutemen songs without a third person substituting for the late Minutemen leader D. Boon under the name George Hurley and Mike Watt. In addition, he occasionally performs with improvisational group Unknown Instructors with Watt and members of Saccharine Trust and Pere Ubu. [9] Their first album, The Way Things Work , was released in late September 2005 by Smog Veil Records. In October 2005, they returned to the studio to record their second album, this time with Pere Ubu's David Thomas as an added participant. [10]
Hurley has formed a drum/bass duo with Constant Llama member Joe Dean called The Wrinkling Brothers. [11] [12]
Hurley has been married since 1997 and has a son, Garrett, who was born in July 2002. [13]
Hurley is known for his distinctive hairstyle that he sported in his later Minutemen and Firehose days, a protruding clump of hair that he nicknamed "The Unit". [14] Hurley explained in the 2005 Minutemen documentary We Jam Econo that since his limbs were all busy when he played drums, he grew "The Unit" so that his head movements were more noticeable on stage.
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 1994 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.
Dennes Dale Boon, also known as D. Boon, was an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and songwriter of the punk rock trio Minutemen.
Double Nickels on the Dime is the third album by American punk trio Minutemen, released on the California independent record label SST Records in 1984. A double album containing 45 songs, Double Nickels on the Dime combines elements of punk rock, funk, country, spoken word and jazz, and references a variety of themes, from the Vietnam War and racism in America, to working-class experience and linguistics.
The Punch Line is the debut studio album and third overall release by American punk rock band Minutemen, and the fourth-ever release from SST Records. After their previous release, Paranoid Time, sold out its 300-copy pressing, Greg Ginn invited the band to record again. Less than half the length of most LPs, the total playing time for all 18 songs is a mere 15 minutes. The album was an early milestone release for the band and SST. The Punch Line hit record store shelves three months after the release of Joy, although Joy was recorded after The Punch Line.
The Reactionaries were an American punk rock band formed in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, in 1978. The band's continual members were lead vocalist Martin Tamburovich, guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt, and drummer George Hurley. The Reactionaries existed for most of 1978 and 1979, practicing regularly but rarely if ever performing live. After their breakup in late 1979, Watt and Boon formed Minutemen with drummer Frank Tonche and Hurley joined Hey Taxi!; Hurley joined Minutemen soon afterwards, replacing Tonche.
Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat is the sixth overall release from American hardcore punk band Minutemen. It was released by SST Records in 1983. It is noted for featuring tracks with greater depth and more conventional song structure than on the band's previous releases.
The Politics of Time is the seventh overall release, third album-length release, and first compilation by American hardcore punk band the Minutemen.
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.
"Corona" is a protest song by American punk rock band Minutemen. It was included as the seventh song on the second side of their third studio album Double Nickels on the Dime (1984). The song was composed by lead singer and guitarist D. Boon and produced by Ethan James. Its minimalist composition harbors elements of neo-norteño and polka. The song derives its title from a brand of Mexican beer of the same name. Lyrically, "Corona" is a Latino-inspired protest song with politically-charged lines. The song later became famous as the main theme song for the MTV reality stunt show Jackass.
If'n is the second album by the American alternative rock band fIREHOSE, released in 1987.
Project: Mersh is the final extended play, or EP release from the American punk rock trio Minutemen. It is their penultimate release, before D. Boon's death later that year in an auto accident.
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.
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).
Joe Baiza is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Most of Baiza's music touches on a fusion of punk rock and jazz. Eugene Chadbourne cites Baiza as one of the most noteworthy guitarists to emerge from the Southern California punk rock milieu.
The discography for the Minutemen, an American punk rock band, includes four studio albums, eight extended plays, one live album and seven compilations.
"History Lesson – Part II" is a song from the 1984 album Double Nickels on the Dime by the American rock band Minutemen. The song, written by Mike Watt, is about the relationship of singer D. Boon and Watt as they played music together.
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.
Joaquin "Jack" Brewer is an American musician known as the singer and lyricist for the Los Angeles post-hardcore band Saccharine Trust which he cofounded with guitarist Joe Baiza.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
