Celebrating his 40th birthday today is punk-rock legend Mike Watt. As the

bassist for the Minutemen, Watt was a part of one of the '80s indie-rock

scene's most experimental bands, producing fast songs that often strayed

into such

un-punk genres as free-jazz, funk and folk. Watt met Minutemen co-founder

D. Boon when both were children growing up in the blue-collar town of

San Pedro, Calif. In 1979, Boon and Watt formed the Minutemen, named for the

brevity of their songs and an ironic allusion to right-wing politics,

and in 1980 were the second band to release an album on legendary

punk label SST, with Black Flag being the first. 1981's The Punch

Line went a long way toward establishing their credentials in L.A.'s punk

scene, while the 1981 EP Bean-Spill featured five songs performed in six

minutes. The group's next two albums, 1983's What Makes a Man Start

Fires? and Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat were a bit

different from their previous releases, with both albums heavily influenced by

free jazz. 1984's Double Nickles on the

Dime is one of punk-rock's few double-albums and is widely regarded as

a classic of the genre. 1985 brought two albums that sounded more

commercially accessible, Project Mersh and Three-Way Tie (For

Last), as well as an opening slot on an R.E.M. tour. In December of

that year, Boon died in a van accident following a concert.

Watt and drummer George Hurley were set to stop performing as a group, but

devoted Minutemen fan Ed Crawford offered to step in on guitar duties if

the group stuck it out. The new threesome changed their name to fIREHOSE and

continued recording and touring at the same relentless pace. While

fIREHOSE was a continual critical success, the group continued to haunt the

outside border of the mainstream throughout the late '80s and early '90s.

Watt also worked on a side project during this time, a band called Dos that

also included his wife, former Black Flag bassist Kira Roessler. fIREHOSE

played their final gig in February of 1994 in their hometown of San Pedro, performing an

unadvertised gig for a small, loyal audience.

1995 brought Watt's first solo outing, Mike Watt: Ball-Hog or

Tugboat, which featured appearances by such alt-rock stars as Eddie

Vedder, Mike D., Henry Rollins and Evan Dando. A U.S. club tour featured

Vedder and the then-unknown Foo Fighters performing as his opening acts

under aliases. Earlier this year, Watt released the critically acclaimed

Contemplating the Engine Room, a punk-rock opera about his father's

life in the Navy and his own days in the Minutemen.

Other birthdays: Peter Criss (KISS), 50; Bobby Colomby (Blood, Sweat and

Tears), 53; Stevie Wright (Easybeats), 49; Anita Baker, 40; Billy Bragg,

40; and Flattus Maximus (GWAR), 30.