Charlie Haden Meets The Minutemen

The second gig we attended was Fear and Minutemen at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip. 23 April 1982. I had just turned fourteen.

—from my upcoming Mémoire.

From Mike Watt’s Hoot Page

My love for the Minutemen began in 1981. I was a 13 year-old middle schooler at the Center For Enriched Studies in Los Angeles. Classmate Dylan slammed his boombox on the lunchtime table. Listen to this, he proclaimed. It was Black Flag’s “Jealous Again”, taped from the Rodney On The Roq radio show. My life changed forever.

My father drove us to Rhino Records in Westwood. I bought the Decline Of Western Civilization soundtrack, Jealous Again, the Adolescents’ first album, The Germs’ Germicide: Live at the Whiskey, and some others. We listened to them at Dylan’s dad’s house in Encino. I traded him for Minutemen’s Paranoid Time ep and Circle Jerks’ Group Sex. He didn’t like the Minutemen 7”, and he thought Group Sex was “gross”. Paranoid Time was my favorite of all.

I remember really looking forward to the Whisky gig. We went to the early show. Everything was a blur. I was too scared to wear my glasses. There weren’t that many people. During the Minutemen’s set I slam danced. I fell down. Someone picked me up. It was the greatest feeling in the world.

From the collection of Josh Haden

I started 9th grade at Crossroads School For Performing Arts & Sciences, in Santa Monica. I formed a band with two fellow students. We called ourselves Treacherous Jaywalkers. Quinn played guitar. James was on drums. I sang and played bass.

By that time I’d been going to Minutemen gigs for a while. I bought all their albums and singles when they came out. They affected our teen lives immensely. Treacherous Jaywalkers were saturated with Minutemen influences.

One of the many important people I befriended as a young Rhino Records shopper was John Chelew. John was the booking agent for McCabe’s Guitar Shop, on Pico in Santa Monica. He was always looking for interesting combinations of artists to put on stage. He’d booked my father, in duets with Joe Farrell and Bobby Bradford. Chelew came up to me while perusing the stacks at Rhino. This was early 1984. He told me D. boon and Mike Watt of the Minutemen wanted to play with Charlie.

Fast forward a few months. The all-ages 9 March 1984 record release show for the SST Blasting Concept compilation took place at the Music Machine in West Los Angeles. Wurm, Saccharine Trust, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, and Black Flag played. I nervously introduced myself to Watt. He took me over to the bar where D. Boon was standing. Watt put me at ease. Asked if I wanted anything to drink. Told me he and D. were drinking Cokes. We’re tired of alcohol, he said. I told him my dad loved the Minutemen and he’d love to do a show together with them. Watt gave me a slip of paper with his phone number.

From http://metallipromo.com/minute.html

The next time I saw my father I gave him Watt’s info. Of all the bands I’d played for him, Minutemen were his favorites.

I don’t know if Charlie called Mike. Or if he called John Chelew. Or maybe I told Chelew that my dad said he wanted to play with the Minutemen as well, and Chelew contacted both of them. But John booked the Minutemen and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra for 22 September 1984. 39 years ago today.

From the collection of Josh Haden

During their set D. brought Charlie to the stage. The Minutemen + Charlie Haden played “Little Man With A Gun In His Hand”, taking turns improvising over an extended middle section. Our friend Dave Travis videotaped the entire show. The tapes were stolen from his car. But the “Little Man” clip made it onto YouTube.

Treacherous Jaywalkers started recording 4-track cassette demos not long afterwards. I’d bring them to Minutemen gigs to give to Watt. But that’s another story.

Were you at the McCabe’s show? Do you have any memories you’d like to share?

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