fIREHOSE was an alternative rock band formed by Mike Watt (bass/vocals), Ed Crawford (guitar/vocals), and George Hurley (drums) in 1986. Hurley and Watt had both previously been members of the Minutemen and were contemplating retiring from music after the death of Minutemen front man D. Boon in 1985 when Watt was contacted by Crawford, a rabid Minutemen fan from Ohio, about starting a new band. After initially resisting, Watt and Hurley ultimately decided to give Crawford a shot. The band went on to record 5 LPs, 3 for SST Records and 2 for Columbia, before disbanding in 1994.
Taking their group name from a line in Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," fIREHOSE continued in the Minutemen tradition of breathtaking musicianship combined with caustic lyrical fusillades inspired by the writing of the Beat Generation and the erect-middle-finger indignation of the Blank Generation. However, with Crawford's decidedly folkie bent insinuating itself into the mix, fIREHOSE's songs began to expand into more traditional verse-chorus-verse songwriting symmetry.
Although fIREHOSE never equaled the Minutemen's output in terms of sheer audacity and emotional depth, Crawford, Watt, and Hurley recorded rock that was muscular, dense, and daring, along with being tremendously heartfelt. They never patronized audiences or comported themselves as "rock stars"; they were instead the quintessential post-punk "peoples' band."
Although they achieved wider notoriety than did the Minutemen (eventually recording for a major label), fIREHOSE called it quits in early 1994 after a desultory, dispirited final LP (Mr. Machinery Operator). Still, nearly all of their recorded work stands as some of the best late-'80s/early-'90s indie rock.
From Wikipedia:Firehose (stylized as fIREHOSE) was an alternative rock band consisting of Mike Watt (bass, vocals), Ed Crawford (guitar, vocals), and George Hurley (drums).