Bassist Mike Watt returns to the punk scene with guitarist Tom Watson and drummer Raul Morales, The Missingmen.

Mike Watt is no youngster. As the bass player of the fundamental, genre-defining post-punk bands Minutemen and fIREHOSE, Watt has been a prominent player in the rock and roll circus for over 30 years now. But with his new band The Missingmen, he’s still thinking about the present and future despite some flourishes of the past.

“I put together The Missingmen to do my third opera where I could again kind of revisit some of the old days with Minutemen style without it being nostalgic,” said Watt.

Watt formed Minutemen in 1980 with childhood friend and guitarist Dennes Boon. The apical point of their short, rollicking career occurred in 1984 with Double Nickels On The Dime, a wildly ambitious punk record of 45 songs with many tracks clocking in at less than 2 minutes.

After Boon’s death in 1985, Watt played in fIREHOSE until 1994, which helped him cope with the mourning process by directing his energy toward making more blistering rock records.

“Minutemen was about me being with my best friend,” said Watt. “It was a way we could be together. I wasn’t really a musician, I just wanted to be with him. The guys in fIREHOSE helped me when I lost him.”

Now, after collaborations with J Mascis, Nels Cline and Thurston Moore, a tour as the bassist in the Stooges and one, brief fIREHOSE reunion , Watt is back on the grind with The Missingmen. The glory years may be behind him, but there’s still more music to play and faces to melt.

“People are gonna see a 54-year-old punk rocker trying his hardest and two guys with him who give their all to give folks a very personal view of music,” said Watt, describing his Missingmen tour with guitarist Tom Watson and drummer Raul Morales, which culminates at their show tonight at the Black Cat. “Punk for us is not a style of music but a state of mind. We try to work the trio way as tight as we can without cliche and without self-importance. We are most grateful for folks with open hearts and open minds.”

Mike Watt + The Missingmen will play the Black Cat backstage tonight. Doors open at 8. Tickets are $15.