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Mike Watt
Biography
Bassist Mike Watt was the living embodiment of the punk rock spirit. As a founding member of the highly influential Minutemen, he created one of the most important bodies of work in the American underground canon, delivering adventurous, fiercely polemical music informed by such disparate traditions as funk, folk, and free jazz. Although his subsequent material -- most notably his records with the trio fIREHOSE, as well as his latter-day solo efforts -- lacked the sheer impact of his earliest outings, Watt remained true to the D.I.Y. ethos that originally inspired him, emerging as one of the most highly respected figures in contemporary music.

Born December 20, 1957, in Portsmouth, VA, the young Watt and his family relocated to San Pedro, CA, which was to remain his home base throughout the years to follow; there he became close friends with D. Boon, with whom he formed the Reactionaries during the mid-'70s. Inspired by the burgeoning punk movement, he and Boon founded the Minutemen in 1979, adding George Hurley on drums. So named in honor of the brevity of their initial songs, in 1980 the Minutemen debuted with the EP Paranoid Time, becoming just the second act to record for the legendary SST label.