Mike Watt

One of the most influential figures in West Coast punk rock, Mike Watt is a musical polymath whose bold, adventurous music cannot be confined by any one genre. He first found recognition as bassist with the Minutemen and his subsequent project fIREHOSE. His basslines are a rich, roiling mixture of rock, funk, and jazz, and he's worked with a broad range of artists, from Sonic Youth to Kelly Clarkson. Watt's solo albums are conceptual affairs, with a dominant theme uniting the songs (his father's experiences in the Navy informed 1997's Contemplating the Engine Room, and a near-fatal illness inspired 2004's The Secondman's Middle Stand). He's also willing to join ad-hoc projects and sit in with established bands. Wherever his muse takes him, Watt is guided by his philosophy of Econo, taking the boundaries imposed by a limited budget and using them as a path toward simplicity and creative self-reliance.