Biography
Formed to pay tribute to the spirit of "Rock 'n' Roll, Good Times and Wild Music," Full Time Men operated as a boisterous garage rock outfit under the direction of Keith Streng, guitarist and co-founder of the New York "Super Rock" band the Fleshtones. Streng assembled the project to channel his enthusiasm for 1960s rock, R&B, and psychedelia, drawing on a shifting roster of players that encompassed fellow Fleshtones members plus musicians from R.E.M., the Lyres, the Hoodoo Gurus, the Smithereens, and additional acts. Following two 1980s releases—the Full Time Men EP in 1984 and the 1988 album Your Face My Fist—the collective remained inactive until Yep Roc Records issued the 2023 compilation Part Time Job, which collected highlights from the earlier catalog and added four fresh recordings.
Even while maintaining a full slate of commitments with the Fleshtones, guitarist Keith Streng consistently welcomed opportunities to join kindred spirits and work alongside his peers, an impulse he expanded by initiating Full Time Men as a studio venture in 1984. The project’s first offering was a three-song EP created mainly by Streng and his associate Peter Buck of R.E.M., the same musician who had guested with the Fleshtones at the Paris performance captured on 1985’s Speed Connection II – The Final Chapter. For that EP, Streng and Buck handled nearly every instrument, save for keyboard contributions from Mike Mills, also of R.E.M., and Tim White. In 1988 Streng delivered the full-length Your Face My Fist, now supported by a stable lineup consisting of Streng on lead vocals and guitar, Rich Thomas on guitar, Robert Burke Warren on bass, and two Fleshtones colleagues—Gordon Spaeth on sax and harmonica plus Bill Milhizer on drums. The eleven tracks also showcased an array of guests, among them Fleshtones vocalist Peter Zaremba, Hoodoo Gurus frontman Dave Faulkner, Pat DiNizio of the Smithereens, Jeff “Mono Man” Connolly of the Lyres, and Dead Boys singer Stiv Bators.
Apart from a pair of songs that appeared on the 1999 EP The Fabulous Sounds of Coney Island—which likewise contained two selections by another Streng-led group, the Master Plan, featuring Andy Shernoff of the Dictators—Full Time Men produced no further material until 2023, when Yep Roc Records released Part Time Job. The collection presented eight tracks drawn from the two 1980s Full Time Men releases together with four newly recorded numbers. Those new recordings once more united Streng and Peter Buck on guitars while incorporating contributions from Clem Burke of Blondie, Scott McCaughey of the Minus 5 and the Young Fresh Fellows, Michael Giblin of the Split Squad, and Josh Kantor, another Split Squad member who also serves as the official organist for the Boston Red Sox.
Even while maintaining a full slate of commitments with the Fleshtones, guitarist Keith Streng consistently welcomed opportunities to join kindred spirits and work alongside his peers, an impulse he expanded by initiating Full Time Men as a studio venture in 1984. The project’s first offering was a three-song EP created mainly by Streng and his associate Peter Buck of R.E.M., the same musician who had guested with the Fleshtones at the Paris performance captured on 1985’s Speed Connection II – The Final Chapter. For that EP, Streng and Buck handled nearly every instrument, save for keyboard contributions from Mike Mills, also of R.E.M., and Tim White. In 1988 Streng delivered the full-length Your Face My Fist, now supported by a stable lineup consisting of Streng on lead vocals and guitar, Rich Thomas on guitar, Robert Burke Warren on bass, and two Fleshtones colleagues—Gordon Spaeth on sax and harmonica plus Bill Milhizer on drums. The eleven tracks also showcased an array of guests, among them Fleshtones vocalist Peter Zaremba, Hoodoo Gurus frontman Dave Faulkner, Pat DiNizio of the Smithereens, Jeff “Mono Man” Connolly of the Lyres, and Dead Boys singer Stiv Bators.
Apart from a pair of songs that appeared on the 1999 EP The Fabulous Sounds of Coney Island—which likewise contained two selections by another Streng-led group, the Master Plan, featuring Andy Shernoff of the Dictators—Full Time Men produced no further material until 2023, when Yep Roc Records released Part Time Job. The collection presented eight tracks drawn from the two 1980s Full Time Men releases together with four newly recorded numbers. Those new recordings once more united Streng and Peter Buck on guitars while incorporating contributions from Clem Burke of Blondie, Scott McCaughey of the Minus 5 and the Young Fresh Fellows, Michael Giblin of the Split Squad, and Josh Kantor, another Split Squad member who also serves as the official organist for the Boston Red Sox.
Albums
Singles
