10 QUESTIONS WITH: Mike Baggetta of mssv – El-Rocko Lounge Show Preview

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When it comes to music, do you consider yourself an adventurous listener? Do you have “big ears”?

If you answered yes to either of the questions above, you should make plans now to be standing as close to the low stage at downtown’s El Rocko Lounge as humanly possible this upcoming Monday night, March 31, for the area’s first-ever live appearance by mssv, the critically-lauded “post-genre power trio” led by guitarist and frontman Mike Baggetta.

It will easily be the very best $15 an adventurous listener could spend in Savannah this year.

The pedigree of the players involved speaks volumes to those with even a cursory knowledge of their back catalogs.

Jazz Times magazine called Baggetta a “genre-blurring guitar hero… at the forefront of an army of guitar innovators.” A shockingly versatile musician who holds a Master of Music degree from Rutgers University, he’s played and/or recorded with everyone from Petra Haden (The Decemberists) to Nels Cline (Wilco) to the infamous and iconic Alabama outsider showman Rev. Fred Lane. He’s also re-interpreted free-jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman’s works for electric guitar and orchestra.

Mike Watt first earned notoriety as bassist in the pioneering California punk/funk/jazz trio MINUTEMEN, then expanded upon that band’s legacy through his alternative-rock trio fIREHOSE. Collectively, his later solo albums, his lengthy stint as the touring and studio bassist for the reunion of Iggy Pop’s proto-punk godheads the Stooges and having both Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl as enthusiastic sidemen in HIS band have cemented Watt’s reputation as one of the most creatively fearless electric bass players alive.

Drummer Stephen Hodges played a prominent role on three of singer-songwriter Tom Waits’ most revered and boundary-pushing albums: “Swordfishtrombones,” “Rain Dogs” and “The Mule Variations.” He’s toured and/or recorded with soul legend Mavis Staples, rockabilly icon

Wanda Jackson, inscrutable romantic troubadour Jonathan Richman and even the late, great filmmaker David Lynch. He toured the world as Smashing Pumpkins’ percussionist and is as comfortable playing trance-inducing drone music as he is kicking out straight-ahead roadhouse rock and roll.

The group’s brand-new album, “On And On,” was released worldwide on March 7, 2025. This current outing, dubbed the Haru Tour, takes the group to 52 U.S. cities back-to-back, after which the trio makes their first-ever trip to the U.K. and Ireland, for an additional 17 shows.

I caught up via email with an extremely busy and slightly harried Mike Baggetta a few days before their El Rocko gig for a rapid-fire Q&A. Below are highlights from our back-and-forth (edited slightly for grammar and punctuation).

Three LPs you feel everyone should hear at least once?

Alice Coltrane – “Universal Consciousness”
David Torn – “What Means Solid, Traveller?”
Mike Watt – “Contemplating the Engine Room”

One item you’ll always try if it’s offered on a restaurant menu?

Tacos.

One public concert of your own that you’d give anything to go back and do over – and why?

None. Everything leads you up to today.

Most important lesson you’ve learned from being an indie touring artist in this modern era?

Be as kind and generous as possible.

It would seem that a key proponent of this band’s musical ethos is improvisation and exploration, and my understanding is that each gig may be noticeably (if not substantially) different from those which came before and after. Does mssv make a habit of recording all their shows for posterity, or simply to review for inspiration?

No, but we welcome recording at our shows, for personal use and without distribution (but get me a copy!).

Is there a famed guitar player you’ve consciously tried to emulate at one point or another? If so, who?

Too many to list.

Are you someone who realized early on in your life as an electric guitarist the importance of assiduously protecting your hearing, or has it become noticeably damaged over time due to your occupation?

So far so good.

These are unusually chaotic and unpredictable times we are living in. As a creative artist, have you found all that tumult to be less inspiring or more inspiring? Or does it play no role that you can see in your work?

I find it inspiring to have to keep figuring out new ways to navigate the outer realms of The System, though it would be a lot easier to not have to do that.

Lenny Bruce or George Carlin?

Both.

The single biggest misconception people seem to have about mssv?

That it’s actually all LOWERCASE letters, as in “mssv.”

WHAT: mssv with opening act Andrew Sovine
WHERE: El-Rocko Lounge
WHEN: Mon., March 31 at 8PM
COST: $15
AGES: 21+ only
TICKETS: aurafestsavannah.com/event-details/mssv-andrew-sovine-at-el-rocko-lounge
INFO: mainsteamstopvalve.com

 

Categories: Article, Music & Clubs

Tags: , #Georgia, #Savannah GA, #Savannah Tourism, #Visit Savannah, concert, El-Rocko, El-Rocko Lounge, MSSV, Savannah, Savannah Georgia