Mike Watt
Mike Watt got his musical start thumping the bass with legendary San Pedro punk trio, The Minutemen in 1980 and he has been at it ever since. Over the years, heâ€™s toured with Dos, fIREHOSE, his own The Black Gang, The Secondmen, The Missingmen, and others, and he has worked bass as a sideman for Porno for Pyros, J Mascis and the Fog, as well as punk godfathers The Stooges.,Off the road, at his beloved San Pedro, CA home base, Watt developed a deep interest in photography. In Spring 2010, Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica, CA hosted an exhibit of his photos: â€œMike Watt: Eye-Gifts from Pedro.â€ According to Track 16 executive director Laurie Steelink, who curated the exhibit, â€œHe has this knack for finding the early morning sweet spots when venturing out alone on his bike or kayak. The resulting photographs never seem to dry: light, flight, salt, rust, and tide commingle in fiery sunrises, endless heavens, roiling waves and fog.â€ The photos offer another side of Watt that fans of his punk rock music may not be familiar with: While seemingly serene, many have an underlying tension and that often shows the sharp contrast between industry and nature.,In â€œMike Watt: On and Off Bass,â€ photographs that appeared in the exhibit are punctuated by Wattâ€™s poetry and snippets selected from 10 years of his diaries. Wattâ€™s writing is insightful, funny, intimate and honest, as he explores topics like John Coltrane, long hauls and overcoming performance fears. â€œMike Watt: On and Off Bassâ€ exposes Wattâ€™s vision as a photographer, diarist and poet, taking its readers on a trip. And when you stop turning the pages of Wattâ€™s story, you start turning the pages of yours, re-ignited.
Art,Photography,Music,Nonfiction
On and Off Bass