 Grubbs' hometown friend Clark Johnson, who'd played bass in Squirrel Bait, joined Grubbs, and the duo recorded the six-song EP "Rode Hard & Put Up Wet", backed by a drum machine and engineered by Steve Albini for Homestead Records in 1988.After their first release, Bastro toured with the band My Dad Is Dead, whose drummer at the time was Oberlin College percussion major John McEntire.McEntire soon joined Bastro, replacing the drum machine, and the trio recorded a full-length album with former Squirrel Bait engineer Howie Gano.