Blue-collar underground rock band The Underlings formed in late 2006 in Ed Cole\'s far-west Eugene garage. After more than a decade on the Eugene scene in bands like Billy Jack, Activator, The Naysayers, and White Hot Odyssey, Cole wanted a tight, aggressive three-piece playing minimal, in-your-face arrangements inspired by the bands he grew up with: X, The Wipers, Dead Moon, The Meat Puppets, and Mission of Burma. The original lineup flaked out in a hydroponic, malt-fermented Eugene-oid haze. Then fate brought Cole together with fellow organic daikon-chucker and drum-smasher Bryant Grace. After answering a Craigslist ad for a bass player, industrial adhesive magnate Dave Peterson stepped in and owned it, hollering a few of his own super-charged songs to compliment Ed\'s lower-than-Lou Reed deadpan delivery. The vibe was right and the three chiseled their sound into shape. After a year of gigging, the band tracked Operational Excellence at Eugene\'s Big Timbre Studio from June through November \'07. The record was mixed at Gung Ho Studio in one grueling weekend mixdown session. Cultivating their operational ethic from punk and folk heroes like Woodie Guthrie and The Minutemen, The Underlings guzzle coffee by the pot, rock like their lives depend on it, and keep it down to earth. Channeling unpretentious, wham-o pop/garage/rock with razor sharp guitar solos and a muscular rhythm section, The Underlings really kill it live and are gaining a reputation as one of the best live bands in the region. With potent pop songs a la The Clash, X, Lou Reed, The Blasters, and The Ramones, they\'re making smart indie rock and roll that hip non-hipsters can relate to.