I'm not a punk music fan, so I'm not really into their music. I did listen to some in the early going as a mutual friend had bought an album (yes, they were on vinyl), but I couldn't get into it. Also, in the early MTV days (early '80s), they would spotlight punk bands but only in the wee morning hours, so some of us would catch Reactionaries/Minutemen videos (don't remember exactly what songs they turned into videos), and their signature at the time was to avoid the usual intro/verse/chorus/bridge etc. formula for songs, make them short (under 2 minutes), and it was just too foreign for me.
Watt and I were close in high school and we roomed together with a third guy for a couple of months in late 1976, our first semester at Long Beach State. Unfortunately, Watt and the third guy disliked each other (I was the mutual friend to both), and the arrangement disintegrated, despite my lame refereeing abilities.
After that, we lost touch until 1982, when I saw him on campus at Harbor College and we talked a bit. He had a shaved head at the time and I asked him about it, and he said that was the punk scene's influence in the early '80s; that was what the fans expected. He seemed almost apologetic/embarrassed about it; it impressed me he was just doing it because his fellow bandmates may have been doing it etc. I don't recall much; that conversation was over 30 years ago.
I haven't seen him since, but in talking to mutual friends through the years I know he took Dennis Boon's death very hard. Those two guys were close going back to junior high school days as I do recall their families knew each other and probably had get-togethers throughout the 1970s. In any event, I am impressed that after a couple of years he got his music going again and pushed forward.
I check out his radio show sometime but he is just so different than I am I can't follow it for too long. I know from listening to it that he is really bullish on our hometown, much more so than I am. I got out of there because it is boring (my mother and brother still live there, so I am visiting all the time), burt Watt has embraced the "Pedro" scene, so good for him. Our 40th high school reunion is coming up (we graduated in 1976), I am thinking of attending just to catch up with him and talk of the old days...I haven't attended any of the prior ones because quite honestly I wasn't interested in meeting up with anyone from those days (high school wasn't all that great for me). However, it might be better for me just to attend one of his gigs locally and catch up with him there. I know from following him on Twitter he just played a venue in Long Beach the day after Xmas.
Anyway, I ramble on, but some fans out there might be interested at a different insight into the guy. I've linked his twitter account below if any of you are interested.
https://twitter.com/wattfrompedro
. Just a punk fan from Bostong who enjoyed the thread...and listen to Kings of Nuthin cause they are awesome
