Mike Watt
Ball-Hog Or Tugboat?

December 23, 1985: the magnificent trajectory of the "Minutemen" suddenly came to a halt when that cursed evening, Dennes Boon, the singer and guitarist of the ingenious band, left this world in his car at just 27 years old.

The bassist Mike Watt did not give up and continued... demonstrating extraordinary musical vitality. First he created with his wife Kira Roessler (former bassist of the Black Flag) the first all-bass band in music history, the "Dos", and later recalled George Hurley, the extraordinary drummer of the "Minutemen", to form the experimental-hardcore-abstract "fIREHOSE".

In 1994, Mike Watt released his first solo album titled "Ball-Hog Or Tugboat", and to record it he had a killer idea: call some of the best musicians
of indie-alternative-folk-slo-jazz-blues-core-hard-rock and skillfully alternate them for the beauty of 17 songs!
The recipe is simple: in every track Mike only plays his faithful bass and the rest he generously entrusts to roughly 50 high-level musical friends (who likely were shaped by listening to his "Minutemen")!

And here goes the incredible list: among the singers, he managed to convince people of the caliber of: Eddie Vedder of "Pearl Jam", Frank Black of "Pixies", Mark Lanegan of "Screaming Trees", Evan Dando of "Lemonheads", Henry Rollins, Dave Pirner of "Soul Asylum", Carla Bozulich of "Geraldine Fibbers"... On the guitars, there are great virtuosos and noisy experts like Nels Cline and Joe Baiza of "Saccharine Trust", J Mascis of "Dinosaur Jr.", Chris Kirkwood of "Meat Puppets", Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of "Sonic Youth", Todd Rigione of "Liquid Jesus"...
Among the drummers, there are Dave Grohl of "Nirvana", Steve Shelley of "Sonic Youth", Adam Horovitz of "Beastie Boys", Michael Preussner, Wayne Griffin, Brock Avery, John Molo...
The only bassist to whom he grants a small part is naturally Flea of "Red Hot Chili Peppers". Among other instrumentalists, the pianist is Paul Roessler, the organist is Bernie Worrell, Max Well on cello, Tony Atherton on sax... but the list would really be too long to mention them all!

The songs: we start with the luxurious blues-rock of "Big Train", the only track sung by Watt himself, then move on to the hard-rock of "Against The 70's" (with a great Vedder), and then rest with the splendid folk ballads like "Drove Up From Pedro" and "Chinese Firedrill" (with a pleasingly calm Frank Black). There is also room for the pop-rock of "Piss-Bottle Man" and the angry rap-metal of "Tell 'Em Boys". Suddenly, the classy swing of "Sidemouse Advice" peeks out, but also the furious "Sexual Military Dynamics".
"Waxwell" is perfect for the dark register of Mark Lanegan. A fun test of skill is the dreamy instrumental "Intense song for Madonna to sing". "Heartbeat" is a mixed blues with jazz and folk echoes. "Maggot Brain" is all for Mascis fans: over 11 minutes of solo supported by bass and organ. "Tuff Gnarl" is almost the emblem of this album: noise, technique, melody, and imagination.

In the midst, here and there in the pieces, filtered voices on the phone, crying children, incomprehensible speeches like in the best tradition of Indie Lo-fi. Two words on the truly delightful artwork: the idea is centered on the wrestling world, and Mike Watt lists the various performers of the songs as if they were to face each other in the 17 pieces/matches of the album! Undeniably an album to have, but probably not an absolute masterpiece.

Paradoxically, its merit is also its flaw: the lack of cohesion. Listening to this first work of Mike Watt is like entering a wonderful and colorful candy store: every single treat is very appetizing and well made, but if you want to eat everything at once, you'll get a terrible stomach ache...

Better two or three chocolates at a time, just to savor them better.