Though former Minutemen/ Firehose bassist Mike Watt announced a solo fifty-six-date tour last month, he's amended it to go on tour with former Dinosaur Jr frontman J Mascis. Mascis' tour starts Oct. 22 in New York at the CMJ Music Marathon with a noon solo acoustic performance; the next day, he'll be joined by his new project the Fog, which now includes Watt on bass. Mascis and the Fog's new album, More Light (recorded without Watt), is due out Oct. 24 on Ultimatum Music.

"J hasn't toured in a long time, and he says, 'Why don't you come and play with a pick? Play through a Marshall?'" Watt says. "You can just imagine being asked to be in a power trio with J Mascis. To me, that's quite a thing. And it's good to be a side mouse, too. Everybody should change roles. You can't always be the floor boss. That's the politics of bass -- it's sort of a mothering, nurturing instrument. You use it make other people look good."

It hasn't been determined yet if Fog album guests Robert Pollard (from Guided by Voices) and Kevin Shields (from My Bloody Valentine) will appear at any of the tour dates, though Shields is unlikely, as he's been on tour lately with Primal Scream. A drummer hasn't been decided yet either, but that doesn't bother Watt, who's committed to tour with Mascis for fifteen dates in the U.S., ending Nov. 17 in Los Angeles, as well as an additional leg through Europe, which begins Nov. 27 and extends through Dec. 10.

Since he recently recovered from a nasty illness that nearly killed him and kept him housebound for the better part of the year, Watt's more than eager to spend the rest of 2000 on the road. "Life is strange," Watt says. "I've always had my vehicle insured, because that's the law, but never my body. I never thought about it really, and wish I would have. So now I gotta make money, like $35,000, to pay for the surgery. They saved my life -- what price can you put on that?"

"But [touring again] isn't just to get the money [to pay for medical expenses]," he adds. "It's also a celebration. I'm so happy I can play. I'm very grateful I didn't die. I still have a lot to say, musically as well as spiel."

Following the tour, Watt plans to get back to work on his third solo album, most of which he wrote during his sickness. "I'm going to do an organ record," he says. "I already did a wrestling record [1995's acclaimed Ball-Hog or Tug Boat?] and an opera [1997's Contemplating the Engine Room]. And I want to try something different with each record, so this is just going to be organ, bass and drums. And I'm going to call it 'Secondman's Middle Stand,' because I was already a Minuteman, so now I'm a Secondman. I just want it to be right in the moment."

J Mascis and the Fog tour dates:

10/22: New York, NY, Hilton Towers Grand Ballroom
10/23: Orlando, FL, Sapphire Supper Club
10/24: Athens, GA, 40 Watt Club
10/25: Atlanta, GA, Cotton Club
10/26: Carrboro, NC, Cat's Cradle
10/28: Washington, D.C., Black Cat
10/29: Philadelphia, OR, Trocadero
10/31: Cambridge, MA, Middle East
11/1: New York, NY, Bowery Ballroom
11/3: Chicago, IL, Cabaret Metro
11/9: Portland, OR, Crystal Ballroom
11/10: Seattle, WA, Crocodile CafT
11/13-14: San Francisco, CA, Slim's
11/16-17: Los Angeles, CA, Troubadour

JENNIFER VINEYARD
(September 15, 2000)