Mike Watt: On and Off Bass

The New Yorker calls it "unusual and beautiful." The LA Weekly raves, "the photos are strikingly inventive, revealing yet another side of this modern-day Renaissance man." MTV calls it "a charming, well-shot document of a the legendary punk rocker's photographic dabbling." Detroit Metrotimes: "A unique insight into Watt's mind." "Mike Watt: On and Off Bass" is getting a lot of buzz. And for good reason, considering the author and photographer is the legendary punk bassist himself. 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, he'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: "Mike Watt: Eye-Gifts from Pedro." 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 "Mike Watt: On and Off Bass," photographs that appeared in the exhibit are punctuated by Watt's poetry and snippets selected from 10 years of his diaries. Watt's writing is insightful, funny, intimate and honest, as he explores topics like John Coltrane, long hauls and overcoming performance fears. "Mike Watt: On and Off Bass" exposes Watt's vision as a photographer, diarist and poet, taking its readers on a trip. And when you stop turning the pages of Watt's story, you start turning the pages of yours, re-ignited.