The Minus 5 began life as a side project from the Young Fresh Fellows' Scott McCaughey who formed the band in 1993. The Young Fresh Fellows are an American alternative rock group that was formed in 1982 in Seattle, Washington. ... Scott McCaughey is the leader of the Seattle-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and (with Peter Buck) the Minus 5. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

McCaughey designed the Minus 5 as a pop collective, and each record the group released featured a new lineup. Throughout these releases, he worked the most frequently with R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, who was featured on the group's eponymous debut EP, which was only released through They Might Be Giants' mail-order record club, Hello CD of the Month Club. R.E.M. as it is today: (L to R) Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Peter Buck R.E.M. is a rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in early 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and vocalist Michael Stipe. ... Peter Buck (born December 6, 1956 in Oakland, California) is the guitarist and co-founder, along with Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry, of the seminal 1980s college rock band R.E.M.. After spending time in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Buck family moved to Athens, Georgia... They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is an American pop/rock duo consisting of John Linnell and John Flansburgh, collectively known as the two Johns or John and John. Known for their experimental / pop music, they have been popular on college campuses and earned a reputation as intellectual...

By the time they recorded their full-length debut album Old Liquidator in 1995, the Minus 5 consisted of McCaughey, Buck and the Posies' Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. After releasing Old Liquidator on East Side Digital, the group reconvened in late 1996 to record their Hollywood Records debut, The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy, which appeared in the spring of 1997. The same year, McCaughey's solo album My Chartreuse Opinion was reissued by Hollywood as a Minus Five album, and the Minus Five and the Young Fresh Fellows faced off on a special double-disc split release, Let The War Against Music Begin/ Because We Hate You. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Posies are an American alternative rock group that was formed in 1986 in Seattle, Washington and broke up in 2000, then reformed in 2004. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Hollywood Records is a record label owned by Disney. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After a change of guard at Hollywood Records, the Minus Five found themselves back in the independent leagues in 2003, with the Return To Sender label releasing a collection of outtakes from Let The War Against Music Begin called I Don't Know Who I Am before McCaughey signed the band to the Yep Roc label for his collaboration with Jeff Tweedy, Down With Wilco. Yep Roc also issued an EP dominated by Down With Wilco outtakes, At The Organ, and reissued In Rock, a collection of tunes McCaughey recorded in a single day in 2000. Hollywood Records is a record label owned by Disney. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jeff Tweedy. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...