Mike Watt is the classic journeyman of Rock N’Roll. Since his auspicious beginnings in punk rock, he has taken bass playing far beyond the dull thud of root notes instead slicing through multiple styles and fusing them together with punk.  Already a legend from his tenure in the Minutemen, Watt and Minutemen drummer George Hurley were propositioned to form a new band by one of their biggest fans, Ed Crawford.  They named their group fIREHOSE and over five albums (including three with SST) took punk rock a little further down the road.  Today, fIREHOSE has reunited for a series of shows to commemorate the reissue of their Columbia-era records. lowFLOWs collects all of their output from 1991-1993 including their 1991 classic Flyin’ The Flannel, the live document Live Totem Pole, 1993′s J Mascis-produced Mr.Machinery Operator.  Mr. Watt was kind enough to take some time from his busy schedule (multiple records, tours and even a weekly online radio show) for this interview.

T-BoNE’S: Having grown up in the days of classic rock, how did you first connect with that music and then perhaps disconnect from it? Was there a show or album that felt artificial or disingenuous-or was it just necessary evolution?