The Monkeywrench

1991's Promotional Picture for their debut album "Clean as a Broke Dick Dog"

Today I'm gonna pause the movie reviews to talk about my  first passion: Rock and roll yo!

The chosen band for today is a spectacular obscure side project led by Mr. Mar Arm from the mighty Mudhoney...

The Monkeywrench was born in 1991 after Mark Arm and Steve Turner  met Tim Kerr, the former guitar player of obscure underground classic punk bands the Big Boys and Poison 13.

After Turner and Arm befriended Kerr, Kerr himself suggested that they get togother to start a new musical project based on their common musical taste. Kerr would handle guitar duties; Arm would play bits of piano, some harmonica and of course do the singing; and Turner would pick up the bass. The lineup was completed with the deluxe addition of second guitarist Tom Price of probably the first grunge band to record an album,The U-Men, as well as Australian drummer Martin Bland, known for his collaborations with  Lubricated Goat, the Primevils, and Bloodloss. The latter of these bands also included Arm on vocals and guitar.

When Sub Pop Records was informed of the new supergroup in 1991, they signed the band immediately, thinking they could blast media with another influential album. Later in that year, the group spent time at Egg Studios in Seattle with producer Conrad Uno recording their first LP, Clean as a Broke-Dick Dog. The album was released in 1992, along with a 7" that included two tracks from the LP -- "Bottle Up & Go" and "Cold Cold World" -- as well as a cover of Blue Cheer's "Out of Focus."

The group took some time off in the mid-'90s, due to the fact that Arm and Turner were still involved with their full-time band, Mudhoney. However, they still managed to release a split 7" of the Germs' song "Shut Down" on Gasatanka Records in late 1995. The song also appeared on the following tribute album to the Germs, titled "A Small Circle of Friends," on Grass Records.

Kerr had also been getting more involved with Dave Crider at Estrus Records in the latter part of the '90s, helping to produce many of the label's bands, as well as joining their roster in groups like Lord High Fixers and Jack O'Fire. In turn, this led to the Monkeywrench signing to Estrus in 1999. The band entered Private Radio Studios in November of 1999 along with producer Jack Endino to record their second full-length LP, Electric Children. The album was released on April 4, 2000, followed 8 years later by Gabriel's Horn.

These are the album covers:

Clean as a Broke Dick Dog 1992

Electric Children 2000

Gabriel's Horn 2008

And now for more fun some videos for you to taste the refined art of these gentlemen:

"Bottle up & Go" from their debut "Clean as a Broke Dick Dog"




A live presentation in Las Vegas




"On Your Arrival" the first single for their latest album "Gabriel's Horn"




See you some time soon...