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The Minus 5
The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.
McCaughey formed the band in 1993 as a side project with Buck, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies. Buck had moved to the Seattle area in 1992; the other principals were longtime fixtures of the Seattle music scene. The four musicians had numerous personal and professional connections: both the Posies and McCaughey's the Young Fresh Fellows had recorded at Conrad Uno's Egg Studios and released albums on Uno's PopLlama Records label. The Young Fresh Fellows and the Posies were fixtures of Seattle's Crocodile Cafe, owned and managed by Buck's then-girlfriend (later wife) Stephanie Dorgan. The Young Fresh Fellows were the opening band at a Kevn Kinney gig at the Croc on July 4, 1992; Buck backed Kinney along with R.E.M.'s Mike Mills and Bill Berry.
The song titles of the group's earliest output—among them, "Loser So Supreme", "Drunkard's Lullaby", and "Brotherhood Of Pain"—are indicative of the downbeat nature of the band's initial output. Themes of alcoholism, death, and self-hatred are recurrent in each subsequent Minus 5 release. "McCaughey realized he had a dumptruck-load of songs that the Young Fresh Fellows would either never get around to, or would wisely choose not to," read one press release. "[Buck, Stringfellow and Auer] were quick to volunteer to help Scott capture his 'Let The Bad Times Roll' vision."
The band assembled at Uno's Egg Studio in summer 1993 and recorded their debut EP for the Hello CD of the Month Club, a subscription-only mail order club run by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants. For this EP the band was supplemented by NRBQ members Tom Ardolino and Terry Adams and Young Fresh Fellows bassist Jim Sangster.[citation needed]
For this release only, the band's name was stylized as 'The Minus Five'; all subsequent releases have used a numeral. The EP was sent to subscribers as the December 1993/January 1994 release.
The Minus 5 made their live debut at the Crocodile Cafe on November 9, 1993, on a bill supporting jangly indie heroes the Silos. As Auer and Stringfellow were in Europe touring behind the Posies' Frosting On The Beater, the Minus 5 performed as a duo with backing from the Silos' Walter Salas-Humara, Tom Freund and Manuel Versoza for the last three songs. The set included lively covers of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" and Neil Young's "Barstool Blues", as well as four freshly-written McCaughey compositions.
Due to recording duties on R.E.M.'s Monster, Buck was away from Seattle for much of 1994, returning only briefly for the birth of his twin daughters. When mixing on R.E.M.'s album was complete, Buck turned his attention to McCaughey's new songs. The Minus 5 played their second show at the Crocodile Cafe on September 15, 1994, just a week before Monster's release. For this gig McCaughey, Buck and Stringfellow were joined by the Model Rockets' John Ramberg.[citation needed]
By fall 1994, McCaughey was caught up in the promotional blitz behind Monster, making his live debut with R.E.M. on Saturday Night Live November 12, 1994. McCaughey was subsequently recruited to join R.E.M. on their worldwide tour which kicked off in January 1995.[citation needed]
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The Minus 5
The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.
McCaughey formed the band in 1993 as a side project with Buck, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies. Buck had moved to the Seattle area in 1992; the other principals were longtime fixtures of the Seattle music scene. The four musicians had numerous personal and professional connections: both the Posies and McCaughey's the Young Fresh Fellows had recorded at Conrad Uno's Egg Studios and released albums on Uno's PopLlama Records label. The Young Fresh Fellows and the Posies were fixtures of Seattle's Crocodile Cafe, owned and managed by Buck's then-girlfriend (later wife) Stephanie Dorgan. The Young Fresh Fellows were the opening band at a Kevn Kinney gig at the Croc on July 4, 1992; Buck backed Kinney along with R.E.M.'s Mike Mills and Bill Berry.
The song titles of the group's earliest output—among them, "Loser So Supreme", "Drunkard's Lullaby", and "Brotherhood Of Pain"—are indicative of the downbeat nature of the band's initial output. Themes of alcoholism, death, and self-hatred are recurrent in each subsequent Minus 5 release. "McCaughey realized he had a dumptruck-load of songs that the Young Fresh Fellows would either never get around to, or would wisely choose not to," read one press release. "[Buck, Stringfellow and Auer] were quick to volunteer to help Scott capture his 'Let The Bad Times Roll' vision."
The band assembled at Uno's Egg Studio in summer 1993 and recorded their debut EP for the Hello CD of the Month Club, a subscription-only mail order club run by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants. For this EP the band was supplemented by NRBQ members Tom Ardolino and Terry Adams and Young Fresh Fellows bassist Jim Sangster.[citation needed]
For this release only, the band's name was stylized as 'The Minus Five'; all subsequent releases have used a numeral. The EP was sent to subscribers as the December 1993/January 1994 release.
The Minus 5 made their live debut at the Crocodile Cafe on November 9, 1993, on a bill supporting jangly indie heroes the Silos. As Auer and Stringfellow were in Europe touring behind the Posies' Frosting On The Beater, the Minus 5 performed as a duo with backing from the Silos' Walter Salas-Humara, Tom Freund and Manuel Versoza for the last three songs. The set included lively covers of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" and Neil Young's "Barstool Blues", as well as four freshly-written McCaughey compositions.
Due to recording duties on R.E.M.'s Monster, Buck was away from Seattle for much of 1994, returning only briefly for the birth of his twin daughters. When mixing on R.E.M.'s album was complete, Buck turned his attention to McCaughey's new songs. The Minus 5 played their second show at the Crocodile Cafe on September 15, 1994, just a week before Monster's release. For this gig McCaughey, Buck and Stringfellow were joined by the Model Rockets' John Ramberg.[citation needed]
By fall 1994, McCaughey was caught up in the promotional blitz behind Monster, making his live debut with R.E.M. on Saturday Night Live November 12, 1994. McCaughey was subsequently recruited to join R.E.M. on their worldwide tour which kicked off in January 1995.[citation needed]