Clenchedwrench
An independent music label and website associated with bassist, vocalist, and songwriter Mike Watt.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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History
The available reference material does not present a standalone corporate history for Clenchedwrench. Instead, the name is encountered in the context of Mike Watt’s independent music activities and the broader network of labels, ensembles, recording projects, and artist collaborations surrounding his career. Mike Watt was born in 1957 in Portsmouth, Virginia, and grew up in San Pedro, California. In 1978 he formed the Reactionaries with D. Boon, George Hurley, and Martin Tamburovich. Watt and Boon subsequently developed the Minutemen, whose recordings for SST Records helped define an influential strain of American underground and post-punk music. Watt played bass and contributed to the group’s songwriting until Boon’s death in December 1985. Watt and Hurley later formed Firehose with Ed Crawford. The group released several records through SST before signing with Columbia Records. Firehose ended after the release of Mr. Machinery Operator in 1993, after which Watt began releasing solo material and working across a large number of collaborative projects. His first solo album, Ball-Hog or Tugboat?, brought together musicians from several alternative-rock and punk scenes. Later work included the song cycle Contemplating the Engine Room and The Secondman’s Middle Stand, an album shaped in part by Watt’s serious illness in 2000 and his subsequent recovery. During the 2000s and 2010s, Watt’s activities broadened further. He played with or recorded alongside artists connected to The Stooges, Sonic Youth, Wilco, Deerhoof, Tera Melos, The Go! Team, Cibo Matto, and other independent and experimental acts. He joined the reunited Stooges in 2003, recorded The Weirdness with the band, and toured internationally. He also participated in improvisational projects such as Unknown Instructors and Brother’s Sister’s Daughter, and formed Floored by Four with Nels Cline, Yuka Honda, and Dougie Bowne. Big Walnuts Yonder, another group involving Watt, released its debut album in 2017. Within this history, Clenchedwrench is best understood as an artist-linked independent label or music brand rather than a conventional consumer-products company. The supplied sources do not specify when it began, which releases it formally issued, whether it remains active, or how it was organized. No reliable evidence in the provided material establishes a separate headquarters, parent company, public listing, or formal executive structure.
- 2017
Big Walnuts Yonder debut
[1]Big Walnuts Yonder released its debut album, documenting another major collaborative setting associated with Watt’s independent music work.
- 2008
Formation of Big Walnuts Yonder
[1]Watt formed Big Walnuts Yonder with Nels Cline, Greg Saunier, and Nick Reinhart.
- 2003
Watt joins the reunited Stooges
[1]After performing with Iggy Pop and members of the Stooges, Watt joined the reunited band as bassist.
- 1995
Solo career begins
[1]Watt released Ball-Hog or Tugboat?, his first solo album, with contributions from a large group of alternative and punk musicians.
- 1986
Formation of Firehose
[1]Watt and George Hurley continued working with guitarist Ed Crawford in Firehose.
- 1985
End of the Minutemen
[1]The Minutemen ended after D. Boon died in an automobile accident in December 1985.
- 1980
Minutemen begin recording for SST Records
[1]The Minutemen signed with SST Records and began releasing the underground recordings that established Watt’s musical network and reputation.
- 1978
Formation of the Reactionaries
[1]Mike Watt, D. Boon, George Hurley, and Martin Tamburovich formed the Reactionaries, an early San Pedro group that preceded the Minutemen.
Products and positioning
Independent, artist-centered music activity associated with Mike Watt and experimental punk, alternative, and improvised music.
Sources2 sources
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