Received this missive on the mailing list of Mike Doughty today, announcing what would surely be my dream band:
Mike Doughty is involved in a new project called PASS THE MIKE with Mike Campbell (The Heartbreakers) on guitar; Mike Mills (R.E.M.) on bass, guitar and keys; Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) on drums; and Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE) on bass and backing vocals.
The band is currently talking with labels about a possible fall 2007 release.
String arranger Mike Narr described it from the studio last week: “If you took the kind of jazz they play on the Weather Channel out to the alley and beat the hell out of it with a whiskey bottle, and it got really mad and vengeful and vowed to tease puppies, Pass The Mike sounds like the ensuing restraining order. Except with better hooks.”
The album also includes guest appearances by Mike D (Beastie Boys) and Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Peeping Tom). The group is recording now with producer Mike Chapman, who helmed breakthrough albums by Blondie and The Knack.
For now, stay tuned to http://www.myspace.com/passthemikeband for updates on Pass The Mike.