Firehose was formed in the spring of 1986 shortly after the accidental death of D. Boon brought an end to Watt and Hurley's previous band, Minutemen.

[3] Impressed with Crawford's passion and enthusiasm, Watt and Hurley agreed to give the inexperienced "kid" from Ohio a shot and the band was formed.

"Brave Captain" from Ragin', Full On, as well as "Sometimes", "Hear Me", and "Windmilling" from their sophomore release, If'n were all featured in the Santa Cruz Skateboards video series, "Streets on Fire".

Over the course of seven and a half years, the band developed their own musical identity apart from Minutemen while still maintaining the same dynamic synthesis of punk, funk, and free jazz.

"[5] Since disbanding, Mike Watt has released four solo albums and been involved in numerous musical projects including the longstanding bass duo, Dos (with ex-Black Flag bassist and wife, Kira Roessler), FITTED (with Graham Lewis of Wire), Banyan (with Jane's Addiction drummer, Stephen Perkins), J Mascis + The Fog, The Stooges and Unknown Instructors (along with George Hurley).

George Hurley has been involved in several musical projects and bands as well including Vida (with ex-Black Flag member, Dez Cadena), Red Krayola and Tripod (both with Tom Watson) and the Unknown Instructors.

[7] On January 4, 2012, Verbicide posted an article detailing that according to a reader's tip, an announcement was made at Harlow's in Sacramento, CA on December 29, 2011, that Firehose would be performing at the venue on April 5, 2012.

A small West Coast tour christened "Smokin' on the Ol' Pink Pole" kicked off on April 5, 2012, at Harlow's and included 14 dates, among them two at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.