Mike Watt - On And Off Bass

Mike Watt touring is always a good thing, not just for the music end of things, but also for his extensive tour diaries. Watt will never be accused of being a man at loss for words, and hearing the firsthand insights of a man in his fourth decade as a touring musician offers rare insight into the man and his worldview. Word had come down the pike that the diaries would be published in book form as Mike Watt: On And Off Bass, prompting much rejoicing at the JS-NYC corporate offices and I made haste to grab a copy of  at the at Le Poisson Rouge release show.

To the collective shock of no one, I'm sure, I was slightly wrong as to what would comprise the content of Mike Watt: On And Off Bass. While tour diaries do appear in excerpted form, they are juxtaposed against Watt's photography. The Watt aesthetic of Pedaling, Paddling and Plucking has allowed him to capture images all around the world, but all of the photos in On And Off Bass capture the fourth P in his life: Pedro, more specifically his hometown of San Pedro, CA. Mike Watt: On And Off Bass captures the internal and external World of Watt with images as powerful as the Watt-speak that it's paired with. Buy it here from the good folk of Three Rooms Press. Keep track of Watt here.

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