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] The Minus 5's cover of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" was released on a 1994 German compilation titled Love Is My Only Crime – Part Two. The CD also featured rare or previously unreleased songs from the Young Fresh Fellows and future McCaughey collaborator Steve Wynn. In April 1995, R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry suffered a brain aneurysm, causing more than two months of planned tour dates to be abruptly cancelled. In the unexpected downtime, McCaughey and Buck put the finishing touches on what would become the Minus 5's debut LP—at the time titled Last Call, Corporal. The finished product, hastily retitled Old Liquidator, was at first a hard-to-find, low-key release on German indie label Glitterhouse. Though pressed in modest numbers and at first only available in the U.S. as an import, the cachet of being an 'R.E.M. side project' in 1995 was an irresistible lure to thirsty collectors. It wasn't long before Minneapolis distributor East Side Digital released the album in the U.S. as well. Old Liquidator is haunted by the unexpected Christmas 1994 death of McCaughey's friend Jimmy Silva, who had collaborated with Young Fresh Fellows, Stringfellow, Uno and members of The Smithereens. "Worse," the second track on the album, was co-written with Silva. Other cuts such as "Story" are influenced by the surrealist imagery of mid-60s Bob Dylan, invoking fictional misadventures of figures including Franz Kafka. Another inspiration is Nick Lowe, whose obscure 1979 B-side "Basing Street" is smothered here in the squealing distortion Buck patented on "Country Feedback." Elsewhere, Buck's exotic bouzouki and dulcimer textures proved welcome departures from Monster's fuzzed-out glam riffs. The Byrds-influenced Rickenbacker jangle of single "Emperor Of The Bathroom" is unmistakably Buck. Auer and Stringfellow are more tangible on this album, harmonizing amiably on opener "Winter Goes Away" and closing singalong "When It Comes My Way." Old Liquidator begins The Minus 5's custom of numbering their releases, including singles, in chronological order. On the back cover, the subtitle "The Minus 5 No. 2 Record" is prominently displayed above the musicians' names. A CD single for "The Emperor Of The Bathroom" was released in fall 1995 with alternate versions of three album cuts, a country-fried outtake called "Heartache For Sale" and a cover of the Fantastic Baggys' "This Little Woody." When the Monster tour resumed in summer 1995, R.E.M. began recording what would later become the New Adventures In Hi-Fi album using recordings of new songs made in concert, at soundchecks, in dressing rooms and even on the tour bus. McCaughey, again called along for the ride, contributed significantly to these recordings playing piano, organ, synths and autoharp. Between R.E.M. gigs on June 1, 1995, The Minus 5 played their first show outside of Seattle at the Lounge Ax in Chicago. Without Auer and Stringfellow, Buck and McCaughey were supported by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills, and Mark Greenberg. New songs "Moonshine Girl" and "Wouldn't Want To Care" were debuted alongside Johnny Cash, Nick Lowe, Gram Parsons and Porter Wagoner covers. During another tour hiatus, The Minus 5 played gigs at the Tractor Tavern and Crocodile Cafe in Seattle at the end of August 1995. New song "Bullfight" was debuted at these shows, which featured Young Fresh Fellows and Fastbacks guitarist Kurt Bloch in addition to McCaughey, Buck and Auer. In December 1995, The Minus 5 played two nights at the Crocodile Cafe in support of Kevn Kinney, supplemented by Screaming Trees' Barrett Martin on upright bass. The Minus 5 and Kevn Kinney also played at the Aladdin Theater in Portland as The Barrett Martin Quartet. The modest success of Old Liquidator and continued cultural cache of R.E.M. brought The Minus 5 a great deal of attention in 1996. Not only were the group signed to Disney-affiliated Hollywood Records, but the label agreed to finance a follow-up record and even reissue some of McCaughey's back catalog. Moreover, McCaughey was given his own label imprint, Malt Records, with distribution through Hollywood. Though the bulk of recording for New Adventures In Hi-Fi had taken place on the road, Buck was occupied through early 1996 with recording and mixing the new R.E.M. album. Nonetheless, McCaughey and Buck continued to record in piecemeal sessions with Avast! engineer Kevin Suggs, Conrad Uno, John Keane, and Water Music's Rob Grenoble. In late summer, The Minus 5 played KISW's Pain In The Grass concert in support of The Posies, who were busy touring behind their 1996 release Amazing Disgrace. New songs "Cross Every Line" and "Empty