Pitchfork: Mike Watt & The Secondmen to Release LP, Tour

Mike Watt & The Secondmen to Release LP, Tour
Secondmen, incidentally, not too keen on that bandname

Micah C. Harding and Jonah Flicker report:
Mike Watt stands as something of an enigma; he embodies the DIY ethos of a Dischord new-hire as well as commanding the respect commonly alloted to bass legends such as Les Claypool or Flea. Truth be told, the man is the god of bass. After a solid two-decade career, Watt, in his coastal California hometown of San Pedro, has produced a new album with the help of his always available and remaining Minutemen. Recently recorded at Karma Studios, The Secondman's Middle Stand stands as a reunion of sorts, bringing together Pete Mazich on the B3 organ, Jerry Trebotic on drums, and Petra Haden on backup vocals, while Mike, obviously, plays bass.

The record was initially written about Mike's kitty, but the cat unfortunately developed brain cancer and died shortly thereafter. Then, just as Watt was about to rewrite the entire thing (can't release an album about your dead cat-- Wal-Mart won't sell it), he developed a fever that lasted for 38 days before an abscess burst in his perineum. No joke. After all these brushes with mortality, Watt decided to loosely structure the record on Dante's The Divine Comedy.

Along with handling the production, Watt has also written every track on the album and taken all the photos and directed the art layout for the cover and liner notes, making it definitively "Mike's album." A release date for Middle Stand has been set for May 11th on Red Ink/Columbia. The band will launch a massive tour this spring, dates as follows:

04-29 Tempe, AZ - Big Fish Pub
04-30 Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
05-01 Amarillo, TX - Brewsters
05-02 Oklahoma City, OK - VZD
05-03 Fayetteville, AR - Dickson Theater
05-04 Springfield, MO - Rockwell
05-05 Little Rock, AR - Vinos
05-06 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room
05-07 Austin, TX - Stubbs
05-08 Houston, TX - Rudyard's Pub
05-09 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
05-10 Birmingham, AL - The Nick
05-11 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
05-12 Nashville, TN - The End
05-13 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
05-14 Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall
05-15 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
05-16 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
05-17 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
05-18 Cambridge, MA - TT the Bear's
05-19 Philadelphia, PA - The Khyber
05-20 Pittsburgh, PA - The World
05-21 Ferndale, MI - Magic Bag
05-22 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
05-23 Cincinnati, OH - Top Cat's
05-24 St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill
05-25 Chicago, IL - Double Door
05-26 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
05-27 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
05-28 Lincoln, NE - Knickerbockers
05-29 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater