''Ball-Hog or Tugboat?'' is the 1995 debut solo album by American musician Mike Watt, previously known for his work as the

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...

and songwriter for the punk rock groups Minutemen and fIREHOSE. The title references the difference between being a team player or being a glory hog. Watt explained it as "Are you going to be the

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

which helps boats dock in rough surf safely? Or are you going to be like some glory hound who shoots the fucking ball every time you get it?" Watt recorded the album with a rotating cast of

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

all-stars.

Background

It was recorded in 1994, and came at a personal and professional career crossroads for Watt. fIREHOSE had broken up after eight years and six releases earlier in 1994, and his marriage to

Kira Roessler Kira Roessler (born June 12, 1961) is an American musician and two-time Emmy Award-winning dialogue editor. She is best known as the bassist for the influential hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1983 to 1985. Since the mid-1980s, she has been ...

(former Black Flag bassist) had ended in divorce, though they remained on good terms and worked as a duo in

Dos DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...

; Kira also contributed some computer graphics to the album's artwork. Without a full-time band, Watt recruited a wide variety of friends and fellow travelers to participate in the recording of the album. These included fellow

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equipm ...

alumni like former Black Flag vocalist

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Roll ...

, members of Sonic Youth,

Curt Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

and

Cris Kirkwood Christopher "Cris" Kirkwood (born October 22, 1960) is an American musician who is the bassist and a founding member of the Meat Puppets, an alternative punk rock band. Biography Raised in Paradise Valley, Arizona, Cris took up the banjo after ...

of the

Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothe ...

, former Saccharine Trust guitarist Joe Baiza,

Dinosaur Jr Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlo ...

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo art ...

, and former SST house producer Spot. Other contributors included members of bands who had either toured with and/or been influenced by the Minutemen and Firehose, including Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder,

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

Krist Novoselic Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...

and Dave Grohl (making their first recorded appearance on a record since Kurt Cobain's death),

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands fr ...

and Porno for Pyros drummer

Stephen Perkins Stephen Andrew Perkins (September 13, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter. A drummer and percussionist, he currently plays with Jane's Addiction and Hellride. Following the dissolution of Jane's Addiction, Perkins continued to play w ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered th ...

Kathleen Hanna Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band B ...

Soul Asylum Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit "Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of Dav ...

Dave Pirner David Anthony Pirner (born April 16, 1964) is an American songwriter, singer, and producer best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the alternative rock band Soul Asylum. Early life and work Pirner was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin and gr ...

, former Germs and Nirvana guitarist

Pat Smear Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guita ...

, former

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

singer

Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. F ...

, former The Screamers and Twisted Roots keyboardist Paul Roessler (who was Watt's brother-in-law),

The Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tour ...

frontman

Evan Dando Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and frontman of the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015 Dando was inducted into the Boston Music Award ...

The Circle Jerks Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Ci ...

Zander Schloss Zander Schloss (born August 7, 1961) is an American musician, actor and composer. He is known as bass player for the Circle Jerks, the Weirdos, his many collaborations with Joe Strummer musically and in film and for his contributions to inde ...

, former

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the time ...

vocalist Mark Lanegan and guitarist Gary Lee Conner, jazz/punk guitarist

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...

and his drummer Michael Preussner,

that dog That Dog (styled as that dog.) is a Los Angeles-based rock band that formed in 1992 and dissolved in 1997, reuniting in 2011. The band originally consisted of Anna Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and vocals, her s ...

's Petra and

Rachel Haden Rachel Haden (born October 11, 1971 in New York City) is an American musician and one of the triplet daughters of jazz bassist Charlie Haden. In the early 1990s, Haden played bass guitar for That Dog, a band that also included her sister Petra. ...

and Anna Waronker, and

Mike D Michael Louis Diamond (born November 20, 1965), better known as Mike D, is an American rapper, musician, and music producer. He is best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Early life Diamond was born in New York Cit ...

and

Ad-Rock Adam Keefe Horovitz (born October 31, 1966), popularly known as Ad-Rock, is an American rapper, guitarist and actor. He was a member of the hip-hop group Beastie Boys. While Beastie Boys were active, Horovitz performed with a side project, BS ...

of the Beastie Boys. Also participating on the album were

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

organist

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Rol ...

Carla Bozulich Carla Ragin Bozulich (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician based in Los Angeles, known as the lead singer, lyricist and founder of The Geraldine Fibbers and Evangelista as well as a founding member of Ethyl Meatplow and Scarnella. The ...

of the

Geraldine Fibbers The Geraldine Fibbers were an alt-country band founded in 1994 by Carla Bozulich. Initially, band members included Bozulich, Daniel Keenan, Julie Fowells, William Tutton and Kevin Fitzgerald.Strong, Martin C.:"The Great Alternative & Indie Discog ...

, Vince Meghrouni and Tony Atherton from the jazz band

Bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the ...

and

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

drummer John Molo. In interviews and on his online tour journals, Watt has nicknamed ''Ball-Hog...'' "The Wrestling Album", as he considered the various lineups we worked with on the album as "people getting into the ring" with him. Watt has also mentioned in interviews that

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

is one of the few things he regularly watches on television (He once named The Magnificent Muraco as a favorite wrestler.) Watt's longtime friend, artist Raymond Pettibon (another wrestling fan), added to the wrestling theme by contributing to the artwork a panel cartoon with the caption "Sex with you is like watching scientific wrestling".

Singles

"Big Train" was the first single from the album and one of only two songs Watt sang lead vocal on (the other being the closing track, "Coincidence Is Either Hit Or Miss".) The album's other singles, "Against The 70's" and "Piss-Bottle Man", featured Eddie Vedder and Evan Dando on lead vocals respectively. The initial plan was for Vedder to sing on a cover of Captain Beefheart's " Dirty Blue Gene" but at the last minute they decided to record "Against the 70s" instead. All three of the singles were airplay hits on both modern rock and college radio, with "Against The 70's" peaking at #21 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Videos were also shot for "Big Train" and "Piss-Bottle Man"; the former video originally featured models of

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

trains in the footage, which was blurred out in a subsequent version of the clip after the company raised a copyright objection. As part of the label's push behind the album, Columbia released the album as a limited-run double-vinyl LP, pressed on deep blue vinyl, and in a limited edition cardboard 12-inch by 6-inch sleeve that included both the standard CD insert as well as a second CD booklet that contained a " glossary of

Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, mean ...

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-g ...

Tour

Watt assembled an all-star grouping for his initial tour for the album in early 1995, attracting a great deal of attention from the alternative music press. Watt was backed by Vedder on guitar and vocals, Smear on guitar, William Goldsmith on drums, and Dave Grohl alternating on guitar and drums. The tour also featured Vedder's band Hovercraft and the Foo Fighters on their first national tour. Watt's ensemble performed on '' The Jon Stewart Show'' during this tour. Special guests such as

and Perry Farrell appeared at select shows. A May 1995 tour date in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

was recorded and later released as '' "Ring Spiel" Tour ’95''. Later in the year Watt toured with a four-piece nicknamed The Crew Of The Flying Saucer with guitarist Nels Cline and two drummers, Michael Preussner and Vince Meghrouni, who served as an opening act for Primus on their 1995 US tour.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Mike Watt; except where indicated # "Big Train" (Tony Kinman, Chip Kinman) – 3:21 # "Against the 70's" – 3:28 # "Drove Up from Pedro" – 4:32 # "Piss-Bottle Man" – 3:16 # "Chinese Firedrill" (Watt,

Joe Carducci Joe Carducci is an American writer, record producer, and former A&R executive, formerly most closely associated with the influential record label SST Records. Carducci lived for a time in Chicago before moving to Hollywood in 1976. From 1981 to 1 ...

) – 3:25 # "Intense Song for Madonna to Sing" – 3:05 # "Tuff Gnarl" ( Sonic Youth) – 3:10 # "Sexual Military Dynamics" (Watt,

) – 2:39 # "Max and Wells" – 3:11 # "E-Ticket Ride" – 4:27 # "Forever... One Reporter's Opinion" – 3:41 # "Song for Igor" – 2:46 # "Tell 'em Boy!" – 3:29 # "Sidemouse Advice" – 3:31 # "Heartbeat" – 5:34 # " Maggot Brain" ( George Clinton,

Eddie Hazel Edward Earl Hazel (April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 19 ...

) – 12:05 # "Coincidence Is Either Hit or Miss" – 2:20

Personnel

* Mike Watt - Bass, Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, Spoken Word * Dave Grohl - Drums, Guitar *

- Guitar, Slide guitar, Lead Guitar, Nylon Guitar * Eddie Vedder - Guitar, Lead Vocals, Background Vocals *

- Guitar, Drums *

- Banjo *

Curt Kirkwood Curtis Matthew "Curt" Kirkwood (born January 10, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and primary songwriter for alternative rock group Meat Puppets. Biography Curt Kirkwood formed the Meat Puppets along with hi ...

- Lead Guitar * Gary Lee Conner - Lead Guitar *

Farfisa Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professio ...

Organ *

- Vocals, Background Vocals * Michael Preussner - Drums * Joe Baiza - Guitar * Paul Roessler - Piano * Danny Frankel - Percussion * Spot - Mandolin, Viola *

- Vocals * Bob Lee - Drums *

- Guitar * John Strohm - Guitar * Anna Waronker - Background Vocals *

Petra Haden Petra Haden (born October 11, 1971) is an American musician and singer. She is the daughter of the jazz bassist Charlie Haden, and is the triplet sister of bassist Rachel Haden (her bandmate in That Dog) and cellist Tanya Haden (married to ...

- Background Vocals, Violin *

- Background Vocals *

- Vocals * Keith McCaw - Acoustic Guitar *

- Percussion, Drums *

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Mo ...

- Guitar *

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth (guitar and vocals). In 2004, ''Rolling ...

- Guitar * Steve Shelley - Drums *

Epic Soundtracks Epic Soundtracks was the stage name of the British musician Kevin Paul Godfrey (23 March 1959 – 6 November 1997). Born in Croydon, Surrey, he was brought up in Solihull, Midlands with his brother Adrian Nicholas Godfrey, who was known as Nik ...

- Tambourine *

- Vocals * Wayne Griffin - Drums * Butler - Guitar * Mark Lanegan - Vocals * Brock Avery - Drums * Todd Rigione - Guitar * Michael Diamond - Vocals * Tony Atherton - Alto Saxophone * Coco Hayley Gordon Moore - Background Vocals *

- Lead Bass, Pocket Trumpet * John Molo - Drums * Vince Meghrouni - Percussion, Background Vocals, Vocals, Drums, Tenor Saxophone *

- Vocals *

- Vocals * Tiffany Anders - Vocals * Richie West - Drums *

- Spoken Word *

- B3 Organ * Adam Horovitz - Drums, Guitar, Background Vocals * Ronda Rindone - Bass clarinet * Mario Caldato Jr. - Background Vocals *

Tony Maxwell Anthony D. Maxwell (born June 3, 1968) is an American musician. From 1991 to 1997, he was the drummer for the band That Dog, for which he also played for a 2019 reunion album, ''Old LP''. After the breakup of the band, he worked as composer on th ...

- Cello

Track credits

The album liner notes list the following performers by track:

References and footnotes

External links

Mike Watt's Hoot Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball-Hog Or Tugboat? 1995 debut albums Mike Watt albums Columbia Records albums Albums recorded at Robert Lang Studios