Webmaster : Could you introduce yourself to the ones who did not know you before you joined Iggy & The Stooges in 2003 ?
Mike Watt : I am mike watt, a bass player from san pedro, california. I became known to most folks for playing w/the minutemen, starting in 1980. we were 1st records labelmates w/black flag, husker du and the meat puppets. the band ended in 1985 when my best friend and minutemen guitarist d. boon was killed in a van wreck. I started fIREHOSE the next year and did that for seven and half years. for the last ten years, I've had my own solo projects where I put bands around them, this latest one being the secondmen, a bass-organ-drums trio. I've also played w/other people like porno for pyros and j mascis + the fog. you can go to http://hootpage.com to see the web site I run myself for more info.
Webmaster : When was the first time you met Iggy ?
Mike Watt : it was in london at the town and country when I was opening up for sonic youth w/my band fIREHSOE in 1986. while sy were playing, they pulled iggy out of the crowd to do "I wanna be your dog" w/him. after the gig, I said hi to iggy and to give him much respect for all the great work he's done. he told me he'd like to talk more but he had a plane to catch and ran out of the place. it looked like he was running all the way to the airport !
Webmaster : Is there a difference in the way you and the Stooges play with and without Iggy (as The Stooges Project and as Iggy & The Stooges) ?
Mike Watt : big time difference! there was no iggy pop in the asheton brothers-j mascis-mike watt unit that was doing stooges songs (we called that band "asheton-asheton-mascis+watt"). what more can you say about that?!?! it was trippy having j mascis play lead guitar around the intense asheton brothers nucleus and I was a little more (!) jammed out on the bass but w/iggy, it's a whole other thing, like were being focused and orchestrated by the man and not just four guys riffing on stooges tunes. it was fun in its own way but I have to say it was kind of hard to hear ron and scotty sometimes cuz of j's wailing. he is a wonderful musician though and quite inspiring in his own right. I love singing stooges songs too but to compare me w/iggy is a further stretch than comparing the moon w/the sun. I did them in my own style but w/total respect for the original guy w/the pipes and the vision. I just love play stooges songs. back in l.a., I have three stooges bands - one w/peter distefano and stephen perkins of porno for pyros, one w/nels cline and kevin fitzgerald of the geraldine fibbers and one w/jerry trebotic and adam gaxiola who are two longshoremen friends that live in my town. I love all these bands that play stooges but none of them are like playing in the REAL stooges, no way. they do have they're own take and no one even pretends to be close to the real deal which is great - other perspectives to let the individual personalities throw a little angle on the original deal. there's nothing like going to the source though, nothing like it. iggy, ron and scotty REALLY know the stooges and it's smoking.
Webmaster : Which Stooges songs that you haven't played yet would you like to play ?
Mike Watt : we play everything off the first two records except "ann" and "we will fall" which is more than I could ask. for me, this is the real stooges. the "raw power" songs are great but that wasn't the real stooges band and I understand why these guys don't play them these days.
Webmaster : What are the songs you like to play most ?
Mike Watt : I love them all really - totally! when I start think about it, it's hard to pick a favorite cuz I get into all these tunes full- bore, I can't help it ! they all mean so much to me, going so far back into my consciousness. there's different things I like about each one that makes them special in their own way. these different dimensions make song essential and vital and it's difficult for me to say, "well, this one over that one" - just can't do it!
Webmaster : How is it to be with Iggy on stage ?!
Mike Watt : man, it is a total rush and my mind gets blown to all proportions! he is the crux, the absolute singularity - so much stuff comes to us second, third, foruth, fifth, umpteenth hand and here I get to have a direct line on the primary source, I feel truly blessed. he's totally aware of everything on stage - what's happening, what's getting played and how yet he has total abandon w/his emotions - it's quite a righteous talent he has. I get so scared playing in front of people but w/iggy as the bow of the boat, how can one be afraid? he is a lightning rod for emotion, just drawing it into you as you try and let loose your own fury - still all the while, he has total focus and perspective. he is quite the inspiration, bringing out the best in me that I can deliver. he is one of the most happening folks I've ever been on stage w/and though you didn't ask here... the same goes for the asheton brothers - what a sound, what a feel, what a groovin' assault!!! I can't really find the words to fully describe the experience of playing w/the stooges, it's beyond me almost. let me just say it's amazing and phenomenal... the "real o-mind" for watt.
Webmaster : What are your favourites Iggy solo albums and why ?
Mike Watt : I like "the idiot" and "new values" cuz they speak to me personally somehow. don't know exactly how, but those grab me like none of the other ones did. I like this new a lot though!
Webmaster : And your favourites other rock albums (non Stooges nor Iggy) ?
Mike Watt : "a love supreme" - john coltrane, "gi" - the germs, "band of gypsies" - jimi hendrix, "tyranny and mutation" - blue oyster cult, "willy and the poor boys" - creedence clearwater revival, "how much longer do we tolerate mass murder?" - the pop group, "there's a riot going on" - sly and the family stone, "mix-up" cabaret voltaire, "soldier talk" - the red crayola, "over the edge" - wipers, "killer" - alice cooper, "wheels of fire" - cream, "sell out" - the who, "blank generation" - richard hell, "bringing it all back home" - bob dyaln, "for your pleasure" - roxy music, "paranoid" - black sabbath, "the slider" - t-rex, roky erickson's first solo album, "flip your wig" - husker du, "up on the sun" - meat puppets, "pink flag" - wire, "piper at the gates of dawn" - pink floyd, "sister" - sonic youth, new york dolls first album, "the man who sold the world" - david bowie, "guts" - john cale, "berlin" - lou reed, "white light/white heat" - velvet underground, "damaged" - black flag (in no particular order)
Webmaster : What do you honnestly think of the album Skull Ring ?
Mike Watt : I think it's one of the best records iggy has done in a long while. it's great. I really like the tunes ron and scotty are on.
Webmaster : What was this gig with Iggy and The Hives exactly ? What have you played ?
Mike Watt : I talk about that a little later here. we did "tv eye," "no fun" and "I wanna be your dog." pete yorn was on the drums. it was a little messy but iggy was a champ and pulled the band through.
Webmaster : What are the most exciting and disappointing things that happened to you in the music world ?
Mike Watt : losing my best friend, d. boon (the guy I started the minutemen with) shook my very soul - it was very hard for me. playing w/him was very exciting. I have to say playing w/the stooges was one of the biggest mindblows I've ever had - sensational! it makes my head spin, big time !
Webmaster : What do you usually listen to when you're home ?
Mike Watt : I love john coltrane and listen to him all the time. I like marcia ball. cuz I play so much though, I need quiet in my apartment or I would go insane! is that weird?
Webmaster : What's your opinion on the new retro rockband such as The Hives, The White Stripes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs... ?
Mike Watt : well, I got to play w/two of the hives guys when I did three songs w/them and iggy at an awards show last year (the shortlist awards) and they were nice cats. I've never seen their band though or the other two you've mentioned. I heard the yeah yeah yeah's on someone's car cd player and thought they had a good singer. sorry I can't answer this question better.
Webmaster : What do you think ot the modern rockstars like Marilyn Manson, compared to the ones of you generation ?
Mike Watt : you mean like alice cooper? I saw him a few times as a teenager in the early 70s. he was pretty good, especially w/his original band ("killer' era). everyone has their own trip - time is to keep everything from happening at once! I was a younger man then (I'll be fortysix in december) so things were different in my head then. I like the iggy from those days and the iggy from these days lots and lots - he's timeless and eternal for me. he writes great words and does the best gigs, he makes things jump out and come alive for me. I dig it much. I like those who have found their own voice and make your heart thump and your brain pop out of your head ! if someone these days can do that, I'm all for it!
Webmaster : Is there any famous rock band you'd like to play bass with ?
Mike Watt : I'd like to play w/anyone who has exciting and interesting music - famous or not. playing w/the stooges is the best famous band I've ever played w/though I had a lot of righteous times w/porno for pyros and j mascis + the fog too. I would've love to play w/marc bolan in t-rex but he's gone now. I'd dig playing w/roxy music too. I love syd barrett and roky erickson too. I like lou reed and john cale's old stuff. I don't know, it's a trippy question... I like the bass a lot in the who and cream too - maybe them, huh? sure love the stooges though.
Webmaster : Something to say about the Detroit gig you almost played and the big blackout ?
Mike Watt : Well, that was lame but you gotta roll w/the punches. we made the gig up a week and a half later and it was one of the most intense gigs of my life. it was great. the crowd had a great spirit and the band played great. iggy was on fire and the asheton brothers were kicking up much dust. it was truly an honor to be on board. my knees were shaking so between the songs but I hunkered down and rallied my nerves so I'd keep focus. I never took my eyes off of iggy except to look over at ron and scotty. it was something else, let me tell you.
Related Link : Mike Watt's Hoot Page.
Interview by Gui Brigaudiot. Copyright © IGGY-POP.COM
