Bob Mould has always been the most unlikely and unsuspecting of rock 'n' roll antiheroes. He may not be as readily familiar to listeners as Green Day or Blink 182, but for anyone who spent their formative years growing up in the heyday of the '80s hardcore movement, or has at least done their homework on the era, the name carries a level of admiration and respect that borders upon worship.
It's difficult to imagine the number of bands who follow down the trail the 43-year-old Mould began blazing almost 25 years ago. It all began with Hüsker Dü, where Mould, drummer Grant Hart and bassist Greg Norton came together in Minneapolis and sowed the earliest seeds of what would become alternative rock. By combining melody with the crash and burn energy of hardcore, the Huskers pried open the door for a whole new subgenre of rock 'n' roll, one which would serve to define an era in the annals of pop music history.
The band kick started the alternative movement and brought along a whole network of followers. In Boston, Charles Thompson got wind of the Huskers and formed his own band, The Pixies. Years later in Aberdeen, Washington, Kurt Cobain caught The Pixies bug and formed Nirvana. The rest is history.
Yet in spite of his firm musical foundation in the underground hardcore movement, Mould isn't clinging on too strongly to the "punk" stereotype.
"I'm a lot of things, but I don't think I would sit the word 'punk' at the top," said Mould with a laugh. "If I were filling out my tax return, I'm not sure I'd check 'punk' in the box."
This isn't to say that the guitarist/songwriter has at all tried to distance himself from his punk upbringing. In fact, Mould credits his experiences coming up in the underground movement as some of the most formative in establishing his career and his sensibilities as an artist.
"I think in the '80s there were a lot of musicians who saw a different way of doing things," he said. "Looking back at that period of time, the movement was very politically motivated, what with (Ronald) Reagan taking office and all. You learned to do things on your own terms and carry your own weight."
Mould took his music in vastly different directions after Hüsker Dü's disbandment in 1988, first with the solo releases Workbook and Black Sheets of Rain. Both albums found Mould pushing away from his prior work with the Huskers. In 1992 he formed Sugar, a blistering three-piece outfit that served as a return to form of sorts to his alternative roots. The band found mild success on MTV and radio with its debut, Copper Blue, but went on hiatus in 1995. Since then, Mould has functioned as a one-man act. His latest offering, 2002's Modulate — his most ambitious and eclectic to date — finds Mould pushing the envelope further into the realm of sampling and electronics.
"Life is short, and it's nice to try and do different things," he said of expanding his sound into new arenas. "You always bring the good things with you, who you are at that time and what you're about as an artist. There's so much to be done with sound these days. It's more than just being a part of a three-piece. I mean that works, but why limit yourself?"
He may not be the same person he was 20 years ago, but Mould said he embraces change and the things that await him down the road.
"I'm not even close to where I was 20 years ago, and I doubt I'll be the same 20 years from today," he said. "I probably won't be the same one year from now, or even a month. People change. It's just natural."
Bob Mould plays at 8 p.m. Monday at Shank Hall, 1434 N. Farwell Ave. Martin Zellar opens. Tickets are $20. More information is available by calling 276-7288 or at www.shankhall.com.