fIREHOSE

This propulsive US hardcore trio (usually titled fIREHOSE) was formed by two ex-members of the Minutemen, Mike Watt (Born 20 March 1957, Portsmouth, Virginia, USA; vocals/bass) and George Hurley (drums), following the death of the latter band's founding guitarist, D. Boon, in 1985. Ed Crawford aka eD fROMOHIO, completed the new venture's line-up, which made its debut in 1986 with the impressive Ragin', Full-On. Although undeniably powerful, the material Firehose offered was less explicit than that of its predecessor, and showed a greater emphasis on melody rather than bluster. Successive releases, If'n and fROMOHIO, revealed a band that, although bedevilled by inconsistency, was nonetheless capable of inventive, exciting music. At their best, these songs merged knowing sarcasm (see "For The Singer Of R.E.M.") with an unreconstructed approach to music making (as on drum solo "Let The Drummer Have Some'). In 1989, Watt and Hurley also collaborated with Elliott Sharp on the avant garde Bootstrappers project. The band's variety argued against commercial fortune, but they were still picked up by a major, Columbia Records, in 1991, who released the slightly more disciplined Flyin" The Fl... more...