Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo career with the 1995 album Ball-Hog or Tugboat? and has since released three additional solo albums, most recently in 2010 with Hyphenated-man. He is also the frontman for the supergroup Big Walnuts Yonder (2008–present), a member of the art rock group Banyan (1997–present) and is involved with several other musical projects. From 2003 until 2013, he was the bass guitarist for The Stooges.
Watt has been called "one of the greatest bassists on the planet". CMJ New Music called Watt a "seminal post-punk bass player". Readers of NME voted Mike Watt one of the "40 Greatest Bassists of All Time" and LA Weekly awarded him the number six spot in "The 20 Best Bassists of All Time". In November 2008, Watt received the Bass Player Magazine lifetime achievement award, presented by Flea. The Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their best-selling album, 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, to Watt.
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Mike Watt's trio mssv returns with "On and On," featuring the hypnotic "Boat Song" and a relentless touring spirit that captures the essence of the road.
Mike Watt has spent lots of time on the road with mssv over the past few years, and 2025 won’t be any different. The band has announced a new album will be released on March 7th, followed by 68-date tour.
If the electric bass had a pantheon, Mike Watt would undoubtedly have his own shrine. He’s our guest for this month’s episode of Groove - the No Treble Podcast.
Main Steam Stop Valve, aka mssv, has returned with a new album called “Human Reaction.” The trio of Mike Baggetta, Stephen Hodges, and punk bass icon Mike Watt explore a “noir-tinged” sonic atmosphere with more vocals than their previous record.
Mike Baggetta, Stephen Hodges, and Mike Watt have teamed up once again for a second album as mssv. The band toured heavily behind 2020’s “Main Steam Stop Valve,” and they’re not changing anything for their upcoming record.
