Green Day isn’t the only punk band that can get classy. Mike Watt of The Minutemen and fIREHOSE has been writing punk rock operas for quite some time and is currently finishing up his third one, Hyphenated-Man, at Studio G in Brooklyn as you read this. His other two opera albums include 1997’s Contemplating the Engine Room and 2004’s The Secondman’s Middle Stand (TMT Review). In addition to flexing his libretto skills, Watt is also working on a band called The Manhattan Project, which includes contributions from Dougie Brown on drums, Nels Cline on guitar, Yuka Honda on keyboards, and Watt on bass guitar. Their debut album, Floored By Four, is due September 28 from Chimera Music.
• Mike Watt: http://www.hootpage.com
• Chimera Music: http://www.chimeramusic.com
[Photo: Neonwar]
