I saw an interview one time where Mascis said he was originally a drummer, and when he picked up the guitar he wanted to play it like the drums.... like a percussion instrument. I think he found what he was looking for.
I'm going to shamelessly promote my cousins band one more time. They just played at Eric Wilsons B day party at his house a few weeks back (Sublimes bass player. His side project Spray Allen also played. You can check them out on Sound cloud. Different than Sublime, but I thought it was pretty good.). I almost flew out for that one, he brought half my fam, including the Sasquash Rosin Press crew. Lots of cool guests, including Bam Margera. They are finishing up a new cd in the studio. I love it cause my cuz is older than me, and is not about to stop anytime soon. It keeps him young. Quick shoutout to his guitarist Jimmy's other band, Bag Of Humans, from Baltimore. I dig them too.
Chicago had a crazy music scene growing up. Not like the west coast, or dc, or nyc. House music was huge in the early to late 80's, you couldn't get away from it. It blended with all the punk, hardcore, and metal to form Industrial. So many crazy clubs, Medusas, The Shelter, Smart Bar, The Crow Bar, Lounge Ax, it was fun. Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Big Black, I can go on, and these guys, so fun live.