The Black Gang was a rock music trio formed in 1997 by American musician Mike Watt to record and tour behind his second solo album, Contemplating The Engine Room (Columbia Records, 1997). Of all of the "project" (short-term bands) Watt has formed since the disbanding of Firehose in 1994, The Black Gang (named after Navy slang for sailors who work on a boat's or submarine's engine room) has gone through the most permutations of any of Watt's backing groups.
For the recording of the album in May 1997, Watt tapped guitarist Nels Cline (whom he had recorded and toured with on his previous solo album, Ball-Hog or Tugboat?) and sometime Tom Waits drummer Stephen Hodges. in between Cline's commitments with Wilco and as a solo artist, and Watt's own schedule with Iggy Pop & The Stooges and as a solo act.
Watt reformed the Nels Cline/Bob Lee version of The Black Gang for a new album, recorded in 2009 in a marathon three-day recording session. The album has yet to be released but was originally set for a 2015 release on Watt's own clenchedwrench label.
Watt and Hodges reunited when the latter was tapped to play drums with mssv, replacing Jim Keltner who had recorded with Watt and Mike Baggetta on the album Wall of Flowers but was averse to touring.