The album is a loose concept album (Watt refers to it as his third "punk opera"[5]) of thirty short songs, all two minutes or under (most average about a minute and a half) inspired by creatures from the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch; each of the thirty song titles is derived from a nickname Watt came up with for each creature, "since I don't know three-hundred-year-old Dutch".[6] According to Watt, the album "is quite different" from his previous punk operas Contemplating the Engine Room and The Secondman's Middle Stand "in that it has no standard narrative... meaning no regular beginning-middle-end."[6] Another inspiration woven into the album's lyrics was taken from "the idea of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz kind of tripping on what men do to 'be' men."[6]
Musically, Watt was inspired to write short songs again after re-immersing himself in the back catalog of his first band, The Minutemen prior to and in the course of filming the documentary We Jam Econo.[7] Watt had seen a parallel between the album's initial concept and The Minutemen in "how many little trips could roll up into one big one."[6] Inspired by his earlier music Watt still wanted to take into account the changes in his life saying "I would write lyrics dealing with myself as a middle-aged punk rocker, which is something the Minutemen never dealt with really."[8]
The music to all thirty songs was written by Watt on one of Watt's late friend and Minutemen bandmate D. Boon's Fender Telecasters.[6][9]
I wrote the whole thing on D. Boon’s Telecaster. I’m not that much of a guitar player, but I did it on purpose so the bass would come second. I was doing all these things so it wouldn’t be too much Minutemen, because I was feeling guilty about ripping my old band off, you know? There’s too much of that shit going on already. I don’t have to be another one doing that. So what I did is I tried to use that as like an appropriated thing, to make a new thing.[7]
During their Minutemen days, Mike said he wrote very few songs on a guitar. "I mainly composed on bass. It’s still like that with me,” he said. “Writing for the Missingmen using a guitar makes this project pretty unique for Tom and me. Tom should get much respect for interpreting my stumblebum guitar playing. He’s amazing, truly."[8]
The guitar and drum tracks were recorded in three days in May 2009 during a planned break in a tour Watt undertook with the Missingmen, at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York, the studio of ex-Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone.[9] Watson and Morales recorded their parts without the benefit of having heard the bass line or vocals first.[5] Watt overdubbed his vocals and bass parts thirteen months later.[10]
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.
Mike Watt and the Secondmen is the punk rock trio formed by former Minutemen and Firehose bassist Mike Watt to perform and record his third solo album, The Secondman's Middle Stand. Formed in 2002 in Watt's hometown of San Pedro, California, the band first consisted of organist Pete Mazich and drummer Jerry Trebotic, both of whom had played with Watt in a side project, The Madonnabes, that was devoted to reinterpreting the works of Madonna; the three musicians had also previously recorded a song for a Doctors Without Borders benefit album under the name Mike Watt & Masina in 1998, with Mazich's wife Ljil on vocals.
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."
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.
Paranoid Time is the debut EP by American hardcore punk band Minutemen. It is also the second ever release by the SST record label, founded by Black Flag's Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski. The album cover is a drawing by the American artist Raymond Pettibon.
What Makes a Man Start Fires? is the second studio album and fifth release by American punk rock band Minutemen.
The Politics of Time is the seventh overall release, third album-length release, and first compilation by American hardcore punk group Minutemen.
The Missingmen are an American punk rock trio fronted by Minutemen/Firehose/Stooges bassist Mike Watt. The band features Watt, guitarist Tom Watson, and drummer Raul Morales.
The Pair Of Pliers is Mike Watt's second-longest running project band. It consisted of former Slovenly and current Red Krayola guitarist Tom Watson and drummer/saxophonist/harpist Vince Meghrouni as well was Watt himself. All three members shared vocal duties. Watson would also double on drums when Meghrouni would disembark from his drum kit to play saxophone and sing.
The Jom and Terry Show was the backup band led by American punk legend Mike Watt for tours of the US and Canada in 2001 and 2002. The band, in addition to Watt on vocals and bass, included Tom Watson on guitar and vocals and Jerry Trebotic on drums.
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.
Contemplating the Engine Room is a punk rock opera by Minutemen veteran Mike Watt. Released in 1997, the album is a punk rock song cycle that uses navy life as an extended metaphor for both Watt's family history and his first band, the Minutemen. The album was greeted with a positive response. The cover art features a picture of Watt's father in his Navy uniform.
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.
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.
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.
Il Sogno del Marinaio is an experimental rock trio founded in 2009. The band consists of Mike Watt on vocals and bass guitar, Stefano Pilla on guitar and vocals, and Paolo Mongardi on drums. The band has released two studio albums on clenchedwrench: La busta gialla (2013) and Canto Secondo (2014).
dos y dos is an experimental indie album, the fourth by the band dos and the first release in fifteen years by the band. It is a double bass guitar side project for Mike Watt and Kira Roessler. The two were married from 1987–1994.
Tom Watson is an American musician known for playing guitar with Slovenly, Red Krayola, and Mike Watt + The Missingmen
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