caption years_active background genre article_title name |label
uncle bonsai 1981 to present group_or_band folk/acoustic uncle bonsai
 uncle bonsai yellow tail records
uncle bonsai

uncle bonsai is an american contemporary folk trio from seattle , washington .
they formed in 1981 , took a hiatus from 1989 - 1998 , and have been performing and recording regularly again since 1999 .
their earlier songs included `` suzy '' , `` charlie and me '' , `` penis envy '' , and `` boys want sex in the morning '' , some of which occasionally resulted in federal communications commission -lrb- fcc -rrb- problems when played on the radio , and the twenty-odd songs recounting the life experiences of a character named `` doug '' -lrb- `` doug 's first date '' , `` doug at his mom 's '' , `` doug 's first job '' , `` doug engaged '' , `` doug gets married '' , etc. -rrb- their more contemporary works , including `` the baby 's head '' , `` the grim parade '' , `` 20th century man , '' and `` where 's the milk '' , focus on the passing of time , the passing of genes , and the passing of pets -- the truth of everything seemingly buried somewhere under the family tree uncle bonsai has headlined at clubs and festivals throughout north america and opened for various artists , including bonnie raitt , toto , suzanne vega , loudon wainwright iii , and the bobs .
the original members were andrew ratshin , arni adler , and ashley o'keeffe .
in march 2007 they announced that they would be recording and performing more frequently , with o'keeffe replaced by singer/songwriter , -lrb- and mel cooleys member -rrb- patrice o'neill .
most of the satirical songs were written by ratshin , but adler revealed her own brand of absurdist wit in several songs , including fan favorites `` cheerleaders on drugs '' and `` do n't put it in your mouth . ''
the band 's songs continue to receive airplay on college radio and dr. demento .
andrew ratshin also performs and records solo as ` the electric bonsai band ' -lrb- `` it 's not electric , it 's not a band . '' -rrb-
, and as part of a sextet , ` mel cooleys ' .
his records are available on the yellow tail records label .
