&quot;Ring Spiel&quot; Tour '95&quot;Ring Spiel&quot; Tour '95 "Ring Spiel" Tour '95 "Ring Spiel" Tour '95 is a live album by former Minutemen and fIREHOSE bassist, songwriter and vocalist Mike Watt. The album material is from the tour to accompany Watt's first solo album, "Ball-Hog or Tugboat?". Tour. The "Ball-Hog or Tugboat?" album had 48 contributors so Watt never thought he could tour the album. Dave Grohl called with an idea for how to create a small touring band with Eddie Vedder's band Hovercraft and Dave Grohl's newly formed Foo Fighters opening for Watt. Watt's touring band consisted of Grohl, Vedder, Pat  Smear, and William Goldsmith. Grohl wanted to play more guitar so he only played drums on eight songs with Goldsmith handling the rest. Wanting to keep things under the radar, promoters of the tour were instructed to not use Grohl or Vedder's names to promote the tour but word leaked and MTV showed up at one tour stop. Album release. When Columbia/Legacy approached Watt about releasing the album he was initially hesitant and suggested the label contact the other musicians to see how they felt about the idea. Watt was afraid some of the others would be embarrassed  to have an album from twenty years earlier released. "It turns out they weren't embarrassed. They wanted it out." Pat Smear urged Watt to release the album as well. Track listing. All tracks composed by Mike Watt; except where indicated Reception. SLUG magazine praised the album calling it an "astonishing sonic time capsule." Pitchfork said "At their best, live albums capture not just a concert performance, but also document the energy and the context around the music. "ring spiel" tour '95 manages to accomplish all of the above; it's a nice time capsule if you were there, and  it's a great document to have if you weren't, commemorating early years of musicians who are now canonic." "Ring Spiel" Tour '95 "Ring Spiel" Tour '95 is a live album by former Minutemen and fIREHOSE bassist, songwriter and vocalist Mike Watt. The album material is from the tour to accompany Watt's first solo album, "Ball-Hog or Tugboat?". Tour. The "Ball-Hog or Tugboat?" album had 48 contributors so Watt never thought he could tour the album. Dave Grohl called with an idea for how to create a small touring band with Eddie Vedder's band Hovercraft