Growing up in Hicksville, USA (population 500 dairy farmhands and me), I was somewhat sheltered from the outside world for many years. While other folks in bigger cities were getting turned on to new music in the 80’s, I wasn’t getting exposed to anything that didn’t have the name “Eddie Rabbit” or “Juice Newton” in the singing credits.

It wasn’t until I visited a record store in a much bigger city that I heard my first “alternative” record (The Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia”) and at that point I started playing “catch-up”. This was 1984 and, while I was turned on to a whole new style of music, my source for obtaining that was far, far away. Remember, at this time Al Gore hadn’t invented the Internet yet, so I was relying on the occasional copy of Rolling Stone or upstart Spin to tell me about this scene.

That’s why it was actually 1990 before I heard my very first Minutemen disc. By that time, cofounder D. Boon had been dead for five years and the band was gone. Their music was different from anything else I’d heard from that scene and I just didn’t know how to place it. You would hear tejano, jazz, and blues right alongside the 90 mph punk rhythms. Songs like “Fascist” off their debut EP sound like a different band when played next to “Corona” (the song familiar to most people as the theme to MTV’s Jackass). Not to mention these guys weren’t opposed to covering bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival, something most “punks” turned their noses up at.

A little over a year ago I bought a book by Michael Azerrad called “Our Band Could Be Your Life”.  The title is taken from a Minutemen song and the book chronicles the stories of several bands in the American underground music movement that began when Black Flag started pioneering club touring in the 1980’s. Chapter two is dedicated entirely to The Minutemen. Reading that chapter filled me with a profound sense of regret at not having been around to experience the rise of this band from their beginning.  Tim Irwin’s documentary We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen is the perfect companion piece to reading that chapter.

The band’s story is told entirely through interviews with family members, people intimate with the scene (including well known names like Henry Rollins, Flea, Thurston Moore and Jello Biafra) and even the surviving band members. Literally, dozens of people were interviewed and it’s absolutely remarkable that Irwin has been able to put together a documentary that flows this well without one bit of narration. At the same time, he pulled it off without making it a talking head festival.

The documentary does a good job telling the bands story with only a few things that I wish more time and attention were paid to. First, the Minutemen’s contribution to the underground music scene was more in showing everyone else just how far you could go with the DIY philosophy.  They had distribution through Black Flag’s SST label, but otherwise, they were a self contained marketing/performing machine. They booked their own shows, managed their own finances, drove themselves to their gigs, loaded and unloaded their own equipment (with a little help from one or two friends) and showed everyone that you didn’t need to have a major record company behind you to make a mark on the music scene. In my opinion, not enough attention was paid to that fact in this documentary. 

Where the documentary succeeds, though, is in showing the almost brotherly relationship between Mike Watt and D. Boon. This is one thing that allowed The Minutemen to be as focused and self-contained as they were. D. Boon and Mike Watt met when they were still kids. They took up their instruments at the urging of their mothers as a way to keep the two out of trouble.  Both were Navy brats whose fathers were away a majority of the time. This meant that both became dependent on each other in ways that most musical partnerships never reach. 

They were friends foremost; musicians second - and they fought like wildcats. Their arguments were legendary. They fought about ideologies. They fought about politics. They fought about everything except the direction of their band and their steadfast desire to retain their credibility as artists. Amazingly, their fights never split up the band; even though one story told in the documentary makes it seem like that threat was thrown out occasionally.

This is where We Jam Econo stands head and shoulders above your average Behind The Music episode. Watching Mike Watt and George Hurley still trying to come to terms with the loss of Boon and observing how they continue to see their past and their legacy is riveting stuff. Consider that D. Boon died over twenty years ago and you’ll see what I mean when you hear Watt’s voice crack at the mere mention of his name. 

Another saving grace is that the band members seem like guys who are truly likeable. Bassist Watt is very humble in his take on the Minutemen and what they did, as is drummer Hurley. Both seem to be very down to Earth guys considering that everyone from Flea to Thurston Moore spends their time on camera raving about this band. 

Finally, the thing that saves We Jam Econo from being a series of talking heads is the continuous interspersing of high quality live footage. How in the hell did they get so much footage shot at their gigs? The footage is culled from performances spanning 1980 to 1985 and it is all pretty well done considering these are mostly club gigs. Seeing the Minutemen grow up before your eyes does wonders for communicating their story. I found this to be amazing considering this is a band that most people have never even heard of.

Presentation
This is a documentary so you can’t expect much. It is shot in a widescreen format and as far as audio goes; we’re talking Dolby Digital 2.0. Still… it’s a documentary chronicling a band that played clubs in the mid-1980’s. What do you expect? It sounds fine and looks good for what it is.

Extras
This is where We Jam Econo gets bumped up a full pant. On disc one there is the complete uncut Bard College Interview, snippets of which are sprinkled throughout the main feature. Ironically, this has all three members sitting on a grassy area talking about their philosophy and future. It was filmed just before the band toured with REM and shows the band at what would turn out to be the end of their career. Also on this disc are some deleted scenes and three music videos, which were a lot of fun to watch.

Disc two is where the real payoff is for fans though.  It features 62 songs from three live performances. The first is from 1980, early in their career, at the Starwood in LA. The second comes four years later at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. and the final one is from the Acoustic Blowout in Hollywood circa 1985. The last is my favorite with the band playing a relaxed set and really just having fun. 

Additionally, there is a 16-page booklet with photos, filmmaker notes and liner notes.

The Quick Scoop
We Jam Econo is well worth seeking out. After seeing this you may not like The Minutemen’s music but you will more than likely admire their individuality and determination. We need more bands like them now.