The Monkeywrench came together in 1991 after Mark Arm and
Steve Turner of the classic Seattle band
Mudhoney met Tim Kerr, the guitarist for DIY bands such as the Big Boys, Poison 13, Lord High Fixers, etc... After Steve and Mark explained what fans they were of his days with Poison 13, Tim mentioned there were more songs that had not been recorded from Poison 13 and maybe they could get together to record sometime. Mark took that idea and ran with it and after talking with
Sub Pop, Mark put the band together. Tim would handle guitar duties; Mark would play piano, harmonica and sing; and Steve would pick up the bass since it was obvious that Tom Price would have to be the other guitar player. Tom had played in the great Seattle band the U-Men. They had come to Texas and played with Poison 13 in the day and brought that music back up to Seattle. The lineup was completed with the addition of Australian drummer Martin Bland, known for his work with groups like Lubricated Goat, the Primevils and Bloodloss. The latter of these bands also included Mark on vocals and guitar.
The Monkeywrench was intended to be a sort of one time, one LP band. After sending tapes back and forth of the then forgotten Poison 13 songs Tim was flown up to Seattle where the band practiced for a week, the reworked songs and then went into 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 song titled "Out of Focus all paid for and put out by
Sub Pop. One show was played which led to another then another but the band never made it down to Texas or anywhere else other than Seattle. There was also split 7" of the Germs' song "Shut Down" on Gasatanka Records in late 1995. The song also appeared on that year's tribute album to the Germs, titled "A Small Circle of Friends," on Grass Records. On a side note, while in Seattle, Tim first met Dave Crider who was playing guitar with the Monomen during this time which led to Tim's connection with Estrus and a strong friendship with Dave. He helped produce many of the label's bands, as well as joining their roster in groups like Lord High Fixers, Jack O'Fire and TotalSoundGroup. This period also led to
Sub Pop releasing all of the old Poison 13 recordings (Wine Is Red, Poison Is Blue) sometime in the mid-90s.
