Time does incredible things to musicians. The life cycle of a long-lasting career (read: one that lasts longer than 10 years) includes the initial angry period, the "coming into my own" period, the experimental period and the growing-older-and-mellowing-out period. Inevitably, somewhere in there, musicians become self-obsessed and begin to suck. But not Mike Watt, who reminds us that sucktitude is not always a given. Watt was a pioneer of the punk ethos with jazz-punk merrymakers the Minutemen before forming Firehouse in the '80s. In 1995, he reintroduced himself as a solo artist and shared stages with the likes of Porno for Pyros and the Stooges. After almost 25 years, Watt remains inspired, infectious and invigorating long after he should have gone mellow.
