📄 Transcript [show]
two.
Let's call them up.
Check one.
What?
Hi, what?
This is Lee.
Hey, Lee.
All right.
Okay, I'm calling you right now.
I have Jeremy here.
Can you hear Jeremy?
Hey, how's it going?
Hey, Jeremy.
How you doing?
Good, good.
Okay.
All right, so what we got to do first is, well, we know each other now.
Thank you, Mike, for doing this.
No problem, Lee.
I, you know, it's like you are from where I'm from, too.
Pedro.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Righteous.
I used to live over there, 25th and Alma.
Yeah, I'm like seventh and Leland.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I know.
Yeah.
Okay.
And so we're going to do this for about maybe, I got maybe about six to seven questions.
And, you know, I ask you, you answer.
And what else?
What do we have in mind?
Yeah, that sounds good.
So, you know, just go with the flow and just have a conversation and we'll cut it up and put it in the next show.
Okay.
Thanks a lot.
Also, also, after we do the interview, can we.
We just want to do a station ID if we could do that.
Yeah, no problem.
Awesome.
Good.
So can you, you can hear me clearly?
Yeah.
Okay, good.
All right, so.
Go ahead.
Yeah.
Okay.
Okay.
Hi, this is Lee with Pinata.
Hour and we have Mike Watt on the phone.
Hi, Mike.
Hey there.
How are you Lee?
Good.
Good.
Thank you, Mike.
Well, for calling us.
Uh, you are one of the, uh, let's do it again.
Let's do it again.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Sorry about that.
Mike.
It's okay.
We're new at this.
Mike.
Yeah.
We're a little bit nervous here.
We have you on the phone.
You have a Pinata hour.
Yeah.
Pinata hour.
Okay.
We're going to do this.
So I just do it again or just keep going.
I'm recording.
Okay.
Just go.
Hi, I'm Lee and look, could I hear a la Pinata hour at Skid Row studios?
And today we have a Mike Watt, uh, the Minuteman is here with us and we're going to have this awesome interview with him.
Hi Mike.
How you doing?
Hey, thanks for having me aboard.
I'm Mike.
I'm the new guy.
I'm the new guy.
I'm the new guy.
I'm the new guy.
I'm the new guy.
I'm the new guy.
I'm the new guy.
I'm the new guy.
I'm the new guy.
I'm the new guy.
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Why did you need to be in the interview?
Oh, interesting And also you're going to I did 51 gigs in 52 days Wow So you Where was the night off?
It was a drive day Between Lawrence and Denver Wow So now what's ahead of you now?
Are you going to be doing Are you going to go back to tour later?
Yeah, but different touring Next week I go Well, the Stooges, they do Summer festivals, huh?
Over in Europe So that's what I'll be doing for the summer Wow, with the Stooges How are those guys doing?
Great I mean, this is a place Where I'm the youngest guy in the band Finally Right, right Well, for our listeners What they don't know is that Mike and I We both went to the same school Right And what school would that be, Mike?
San Pedro High School I was class of 1976 Wow 1976 I know Now I went to the school Not too long ago Maybe about a month ago I was just driving by 13th Street And now it has the gates and fences And it has changed a lot Yeah, it's different Yeah More confined Right, right, right Were you there when Encino Encino?
Why did you need to be a teacher?
no it's hard for me to remember sometimes i remember some teachers though okay all right mr carg uh mr donahue my electric shop teacher i think they had to make a big impression on me to remember sorry and also i remember about peter one of the favorite places i used to go see you uh it would be a sacred ground yeah coffee shop downtown yeah one of the best places to go that hang out and learn about uh some peter culture there i i discovered so many bands uh i saw you there playing at uh dose right yeah right and oh by the way dose has new album coming out in july oh in july okay how's it how's it being released and uh my own label clench wrench okay how long you how long you been doing this for you had that label for how long is the i just started at the beginning of this year that's what my uh hyphenated man opera came out on right on so dose will be the second release okay that's good to know those are the only uh releases you're doing on uh this oh no i got a bunch that's why i had to start my own label every three months i'll be putting out another release because i got a lot of projects in the pipeline nice nice nice i also know that you have a uh a podcast show uh the what from pedro yeah the what from pedro show uh last week i did my 10-year anniversary show i know you've been doing it for um you used to do on radio right something like fm yeah well it was a pirate uh station up in silver lake i did that for two years till the government said no more and they closed that station so i started yeah so i started on the internet here at uh san pedro didn't have to drive to silver lake anymore nice nice So Mike, podcasting is something that we're doing here.
We have about five different shows on our podcasting network.
I'm a busy guy these days doing a full-time job and then doing the podcasting at night.
I'm just curious how you feel about the internet movement and podcasting.
I mean, it's a forum where you can pretty much say and do whatever you want.
And as you discovered, as soon as you broadcast over on the government frequencies, they don't like that.
But the internet's wide open.
Yeah, and you actually can reach more folks.
Right.
At Pirate Station, I'd get to the four-level interchange, and on my way back to Pedro, I couldn't hear it anymore.
But now somebody in Sarajevo, for example, could hear the What From Pedro show.
Have you been tracked?
Are you tracking who's been listening to the What From Pedro?
Are you getting listeners from all over the world?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I get music from all over because of it, yeah.
Yeah, I've seen some comments or things, I don't know, somewhere in shows there, people calling from different...
We had a caller, we had a show last week, and we had a caller from Utah that was listening to our show.
I was like, Utah, okay, nice.
That was good.
But that's what's great about the internet.
It's kind of...
It's kind of a leveler for us little guys.
Yeah.
I really feel like, you know, as soon as...
It seems like there's a kind of a second revolution in the podcasting world where the content is getting better.
You know, as technology advances, you can produce a show that sounds like as good as a terrestrial radio show, you know, in your bedroom.
And, you know, it's putting the power kind of back into the individual to...
To get their word out there and say whatever it is they want to say.
That's really the great thing about it.
Hey, Mike.
Yeah, go ahead.
In fact, on tour, I bring my, you know, Mac purse.
I do shows from the road.
Right.
Yeah, in these days, yeah.
We have the Skype, too, and people are recording each other like that, too, as well.
Right.
I'm going to do an interview tomorrow on my show with somebody in upstate New York via Skype.
There you go.
That's great.
Yeah.
So, what do you...
What's happening about...
Sometimes people will say, oh, it's the bad new days, but there's also some good things.
Right.
Yeah, I guess with the, you know, with this ability, it kind of attracts a lot of fluff, I guess you could say.
But the people that really break through that have the good content, you know, they're going to be heard and gather a lot of listeners.
Yeah, I agree.
So, what can you say to the DIY movement right now?
It's...
Oh, let the freak flag fly.
Yeah.
That's what I noticed.
Now with this, you know, internet radio and different shows, bands get to be known quicker, faster, and with this, you know, internet thing.
Yeah, mostly the only music I play on my show is what people give me at gigs or send to me.
I don't play commercials.
Commercial stuff.
Right.
Why do you consider it commercial?
What commercial would it be for you?
Well, pushed by a big label or something.
This is stuff people are doing right in their own pads, you know?
Garages or bedrooms.
Right.
I have a little say here.
We broadcast Econo here.
Yeah.
I like that.
You like that?
Yeah, that's my philosophy also.
I know it is.
I've been watching...
We jam Econo.
I've been watching it for like maybe eight times I watched the show.
I mean the documentary.
So one of my favorite documentaries of music, you know?
Wow.
So you know a little something about the Minutemen now then?
Oh, yes.
You know?
What about, you know, how your D Boon is doing?
Is he...
You still talk to D Boon?
You guys still hang on?
Oh, man.
You didn't know?
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
He got killed in a car wreck in 1985.
Right.
Right.
Oh, wow.
So I kind of talk to him, but he don't answer so much.
He wants me to think about it.
Right.
Right.
So what's going on in Pedro right now?
Is there still a scene in Pedro?
Absolutely there is.
There's a lot of bands.
People move here, in fact.
We got some people from Orange County living here because of the scene.
Todd from Recess Records moved here from Torrance.
There's a big healthy scene going on.
Not a lot of clubs to play, but there's a lot of bands.
People making music.
Yeah.
Two places that I used to go would be like Sacred Grounds and the other place on 13th Street in Pacific, the big venue.
Why?
Dancing Waters.
Yeah, there we go.
Right.
Right now that's Martellano.
Yeah, yeah.
But people have been doing gigs at the Skate Shop, Sunken City, and at Harold's.
Oh, Harold's Bar in Pacific.
Right.
Yes.
I saw there, lots of bands.
The Red Onions, The Leeches.
Right, Leeches.
The drummer Raul Morales, he's my drummer in the Missing Cat.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I know Raul.
We played before with the Leeches.
The great Kapow.
Yeah, he's a great cat.
Great guy.
You still see him?
Well, yeah, I just got done touring with him.
I played two days ago on KXLU.
We did the opera over the air.
A great station out of Loyola Marymount.
So what are you going to be doing all this time until the Stooges take off?
Well, Thursday is Stooges.
So it's not very far away.
Hmm.
So, but in the meantime, yeah, I'm getting stuff together.
Like I said, these projects I got, I'm getting them ready for release.
In the fall, I'm going to bring the third opera, Missing Men, to Europe.
And then I'm going to be doing a lot of stuff with the band.
Yeah.
And do touring over there.
So I got a very full 2011.
So Mike, you've had the opportunity to travel the world and play with some amazing musicians because of your talent playing bass.
Do you play any other instruments or do you ever switch it up once in a while from the bass?
A little bit of guitar.
But not much.
Although I did this hyphenated man I did write on Dee Boone's guitar as Telecaster.
But I usually, yeah, stick to bass.
And what's the first city you're hitting with the Stooges?
It's called Newcastle.
It's in the north of England.
And those must be, I mean, I can't even imagine as a musician, and Lee as well, just can't even imagine what the energy is like playing in a Stooges show.
Oh yeah, they're incredible.
Those songs are timeless.
And Ig is, well, he's the bow of the boat.
There's nothing like being on a stage with that guy.
I mean, his work ethic is incredible.
I saw you, I saw a Coachella.
Oh, that was the first one?
Yes.
And I saw the video.
I think they only released one.
But I saw the footage and I see you playing and I noticed that he jumped on top of your bass now.
And you looked really nervous, but you were doing your thing and he just jumped on top and it was just awesome.
He's full of surprises.
But I want to play my best for them because if you think about it, I don't even think we'd have a punk scene if it wasn't for Stooges.
Oh yes.
I try my hardest when I'm with them.
That gig was eight years ago.
So actually I've been working for them longer than I was a Minuteman or a Firehose.
Yeah, you know what?
The amazing thing about you is that you've been with so many different bands, different styles.
You play with Sonic Youth, right?
Yeah, they're good friends of mine.
I just think if I put my bass in different situations, I can play with them.
I can learn more about it.
So I'm into trying everything I can as far as working the bass to different kinds of people and music.
Right, right.
Have you ever heard of Rodrigo and Gabriela?
Oh yeah.
Okay.
That would be my dream to see you playing bass with them.
That would be wild.
Can we make that happen?
I have to try and work on that.
That's a good idea.
That's a great idea though.
They're incredible.
I think if we put a bill like that, we have you guys come down here and play, that would be history in the making.
I expect.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, what else?
So we know that you are going to be playing soon with the Stooges.
That's got to be exciting.
Yeah, it is.
It's one of those...
I'm playing a Stooges gig, I'll tell you.
They seem to go by in like five minutes.
When you play with them or when you play that kind of sound, does it take you back to like 85, 87?
It takes me back to teenage in the 70s when I was hearing those records for the first time.
Have you ever thought of...
Does it ever come across your mind that you will be playing with the Stooges?
No, no.
I would have never guessed that in a million years.
You've been blessed in a way.
Yeah, very much.
It's worth it.
Yeah, muchas...
Oh, by the way, this is the Piñata Hour.
Piñata Hour.
Thank you, Mike, for letting us talk to you.
No problem.
We really, really appreciate it.
Thank you for supporting also the DIY.
That's how we're doing it here.
Jeremy from SkateRoad, SkateRoad.com, he's our angel.
He's helping us out.
That's so great.
But those are my roots.
I come from it and I don't ever want to leave.
Absolutely.
Punk rock changed my life as well.
You know?
That's great, Lee.
With the San Pedro culture and all that.
Thank you so much, Mike.
We really appreciate this and make sure everyone out there listening check out the Watt from Pedro show.
Yeah, pwfps.com.
There you go.
And check us out sometime, Mike, when you get a chance.
SkidRoad.la.
We've got a bunch of different shows.
Mostly punk rock or music-related shows.
Right.
And also with a lot of punk spirit into it.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's happening.
You know, I never thought of it as much as a style of music as a state of mind.
So everybody, freedom.
Exactly.
Let the freak funk fly.
Like I said.
The funk.
The funk.
Okay, Mike, listen.
We want to thank you so much for doing this for us.
And I'm sure when the listeners get to, you know, hear this, it's going to be awesome for them too.
You know, they know more about you.
People know about the Minutemen and stuff like that, but they don't know about the other projects and things you do.
Thank you for letting me have the opportunity to let them know.
Much respect to the Pinata Hour.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
Great, Mike.
So good luck on that tour.
Want an ID?
Yeah, let's do that.
Just leave a few seconds for a pause, just so I know where to cut it.
Keep rolling.
Okay.
And what would you like me to say?
Just say, this is the Pinata Hour at skidrow.la.
Or say, this is Mike Watt with the Pinata Hour at skidrow.la.
Okay.
Cool.
Thanks.
This is Mike Watt with the Pinata Hour on skidrow.la.
Perfect.
Let's just do one more.
This is Mike Watt on the Pinata Hour on skidrow.la.
Perfect.
Thanks a lot, man.
We really appreciate this.
Okay.
Good luck, guys.
Hey, thank you.
Thank you so much, Mike.
Hey, Jeremy.
Thanks again, Rose.
Thanks.
Bye.
Dude, I wasn't recording.
What?
Just kidding.
