Newman chose the name Painted Willie from a 1950s thesaurus he had found in a thrift store which defined it as an old English synonym for homosexual, or more approximately transvestite or drag queen.
For the live shows played in 1984, the band recruited guitar player Mike Vallejo of Circle One, who had also been a member of SIN 34.
The band re-recorded the ten songs they had done as demos with Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn, producing and released it as the Mind Bowling LP.
Black Flag singer Henry Rollins tried to have it released in 1994 through a distribution deal he struck with Time Warner, but Ginn still refused.
[3][5] Painted Willie embarked on another US tour in 1987 in support their follow up LP Upsidedowntown, and broke apart soon thereafter while Newman joined the band I Love You.