Episode 56: Mike Baggetta (mssv)

American guitarist, composer (and more recently singer) Mike Baggetta has been making music for over 20 years—whether as a sideman or lead songwriter. For his most recent project mssv (Main Steam Stop Valve) Baggetta brought in two of the best musicians you could reasonably hope to play with to realise his musical vision: Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges, Porno For Pyros etc) on bass and Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits, David Lynch etc) on drums. The band's latest record On And On (out March 7th on BIG EGO Records) is a dreamlike swirl, taking in Americana, alternative rock and jazz—often blurring the lines where the listener wonders, is this improvisation or precisely organised? Exactly the kind of ambiguity Baggetta revels in. In this conversation Baggetta discusses his songwriting, touring, writing for Watt and Hodges, the inspiration of Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth and how the musical flow of On And On exemplifies its title.Closing track: On And On (BIG EGO Records, 2025) For all things Mike Baggetta and mssv: https://mikebaggetta.com/ https://mainsteamstopvalve.com/On And On on bandcampPodcast artwork and logo: https://www.garjk.com/Intro music: "Detachment" by Tom OsmanCheck out my latest album Real Silence on Drama RecorderThanks for reading and listening to Whatever Comes Next. If you enjoyed this interview, why not spam it to all your friends? I’m sure they won’t mind. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tomosman.substack.com