il sogno del marinaio (with mike watt)

I was born in portsmouth, virginia in 1957. my pop was a sailor in the u.s. navy. at ten I moved to san pedro, california and a few years later got into music through my best friend d. boon - his mother put me on bass. me and d. boon started the minutemen in 1980 were part of los angeles punk scene until he was killed in a van wreck in 1985. I continued to work my bass w/fIREHOSE up to 1994 and then went on to work on many solo projects and collaborations - I currently front two active trios, the secondmen and missingmen. I've also helped out as a sideman w/porno for pyros, j mascis + the fog and most recently iggy + the stooges - all on bass, which I continue to learn on. I believe everyone has something to teach me and therefore try to keep myself in challenging situations to further inspire that endeavor and my expression through music. more can info can be found at the website I maintain, mike watt's hoot page.

il sogno del marinaio ("the sailor's dream" in italian) is the name I picked for this collaboration w/musicians stefano pilia and andrea belfi and why did I pick it? first off, it's in italian and this important cuz it's the first time I collaborate w/artists from that land and also in their land (by the way, my ma's people come from italy). I am the son of a sailor and so you now know a little about both my parents! my first time playing in italy was in 1983 and I've done lots of gigs since but never like this, collaborating w/her native sons. I am intrigued by the works of both stefano and andrea and am quite interested in sailing their seas of music and how they merge w/mine. I think I learn more about myself this way, that is my dream - and to do the best I can for them. I feel for me it's a voyage back home in a trippy sense, a sailor's dream of discovery through connections that baffle linear thinking... that is part of the magical ocean of music I dearly believe in.