Mike Watt answers his phone with a succinct, "Watt," sounding more like a warehouse foreman with a desk piled with invoices instead of a musician whose roots go back to the earliest days of Southern California punk rock.

Watt’s blue collar vibe -- a dedicated work ethic combined with a lack of pretension -- is probably what has kept him in music when nearly everyone who came out of the same early SoCal scene has disappeared or died.

Watt, now 46, has only slowed down twice since he formed the groundbreaking Minutemen with guitarist/vocalist D. Boon and drummer George Hurley in San Pedro, California, in 1980. The Minutemen’s unique take on punk -- walking bass lines, clean guitar sound, and ultra -- tight drumming -- propelled the group as one of the most influential bands, along with Black Flag and the Germs, to come out of SoCal’s early punk days.

Unfortunately, the band came to unexpected halt when Boon was killed in an accident in 1985. Watt said he was so distraught by Boon’s death, he put his bass down and wasn’t sure if he would ever pick it up again.

"There were a couple of months there when D. Boon was killed where I didn’t play because I was so sad," Watt said. "But the Sonic Youth guys got me into playing again. They had me on their Evol record and play with them as Ciccone Youth."

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Watt credits Ciccone Youth, which was a Sonic Youth side project named after Madonna (her last name is Ciccone), for getting him back into music after wanting to give up playing entirely.

"Then Ed from Ohio found my number in the phone book," Watt said.

And that’s how Firehose began.

Guitarist Ed Crawford, a Minutemen fan, called Watt out of the blue and asked him about starting a new band with Hurley now that the Minutemen were finished. Watt accepted the invitation from the complete stranger, and Crawford packed his bags and moved 2,200 miles to San Pedro, from Columbus, Ohio.

Whereas the Minutemen were known for their quick bursts of energy, often playing up to 60 songs during a 40 -- minute gig, Firehose dropped into a slower gear, with Crawford bringing in a folk influence over Watt and Hurley’s hard -- driving jazz style. Firehose eventually ran its course, breaking up in the early ‘90s and freeing Watt up to try something less conventional. What he came up with was having other musicians record one song each. The final result was "Ball -- Hog or Tugboat?" and featured 50 "guests," including Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Mike D., Henry Rollins, and Kathleen Hanna.

"That was right after Firehose. So that was the first thing I did without having a band," Watt said. "That the bass player knows the songs, maybe anybody could come in and play the drums or the guitar. So I just did this record where I had people come in and we had 17 different bands. It was like the studio was kind of a wrestling ring. ‘Hey, come in the ring and let’s grapple and see what happens.’ Records are like that."

Watt has kept the momentum going. He still tours and performs constantly, sometimes standing in for better -- known bands such as Porno for Pyros and Iggy and the Stooges. He recently released The Second Man’s Middle Stand, a solo CD that tells a semi -- autobiographical story of Watt’s life.

"The record is actually one big song in nine parts, told by a middle -- aged punk rocker. I’m 46 years old now, and it’s a trippy place," Watt admits. "But a few years ago, this sickness almost killed me. It was an adventure that kinda paralleled the Divine Comedy."

The illness to which Watt is referring nearly killed him four years ago. Watt had an internal abscess that ruptured, sending him to the L.A. County hospital for emergency surgery. Laid up in the hospital for a bit, Watt spent months recovering, forcing him to put the bass down for the second, and longest, time in his life. It was a slow recovery, but Watt is back to doing all of the things he loves: playing music, touring, and riding his bike around his beloved city of San Pedro.

For more on Mike Watt, check out his website at www.hootpage.com.