The Prof.Fuzz 63
“Peaches & Herbicide”
A PF63 Release (PF63-01)
2022
“Peaches & Herbicide,” the fifth full-length album from “The AC/DC of Richardson TX,”* The Prof.Fuzz 63, is scheduled for release on 27 May 2022.
The album is self-released, in association with Sister Molecule Collective.
The eleven-track album, recorded and mixed by Michael Scarborough at Echo Base in Bryan TX and Fort Collins CO, and mastered by Stephen Finley at Sugar Hill in Houston TX, finds the PF63 family revisiting some old songs and exploring new possibilities of Open D guitar tuning on a number of plague-years tunes. The guitars are loud, gritty, and fuzzy; the organ lays a heavy sonic foundation, punctuated by dirty piano accents; while the drums pound and punch relentlessly. There are maracas too. And as always, the lead vocals are literally phoned-in by The Professor.
The opening track is an amped up remake of a signature song from the band’s 2016 debut. In “Van Stoner’s Stoner Van (over the limit),” the titular character finds the accelerator pedal of the titular vehicle and burns rubber down the highway to hell.
“(Do the) New Plague!” opens with a brief homage to The Fall before launching into a heavy danceable riff backed by a second fuzzed-out guitar, courtesy of Michael Scarborough (Ex-Optimists, Charm Bomb). The lyrics urge the listener to dance, even as the world suffers through the twin plagues of ignorance-and-misinformation, and coronavirus.
“Spaceman Fist (Buzz Aldrin’s Greatest Hit)” honors the second man on the moon for his most significant accomplishment: punching a moon landing denier in the face. The chorus will have you singing along and punching the air (or idiots) in no time.
“Alien Tow Truck Driver” parades a cast of oddball characters through a narrative landscape that is vague and suggestive, yet it’s ultimately unclear what exactly is going on. Two versions of this song appear on the album: this surf-tinged take, and a faster and fuzzier rendition that closes the album under the abbreviated title of “AAAlien TTD.”
Side XXX (of the LP edition) closes with a cross-fade of “The Ballad of Los Panchos,” a short maraca-driven ditty praising a Texas all-you-can-eat Mexican diner (Pancho’s), into the Flipper-esque enviromental anthem “The Forestry” (originally written in 1981 by Professor Fuzz and his high school friend George Spelvin).
On the flipside (LP edition only; please do not attempt to flip your CD or digital files!), Side 63, the album’s title track, “Peaches & Herbicide,” kicks off with an open-tuned slide guitar riff that segues into a droning 1-2 1-2 beat in an unabashed love song, punctuated with the chorus-declaration “I’m drunk on peaches and herbicide!” Is there any other way?
“Fire on a Chain” stays in the Open D tuning but twists it into the service of a minor-keyed post-punk ode to a woman with good genes (i.e., red hair), before blowing up and out with a somewhat familiar sounding fuzzed-out walk-down outro.
Once again, the band adopts a Flipper song and warps it into something recognizable yet entirely their own. “Ha Ha Ha,” the flipside of Flipper’s 1981 “Love Canal” 7” (also covered by PF63 on their 2020 album “Owls”) becomes a laconic organ-driven sing-along. Legally licensed, so the Flipper guys get paid.
“Plastic Cup / The World (Still) Needs Nevada” revisits a tune originally recorded for the Dreamy Life Records “Group Therapy 4” tape. Stolen from The Fibs in a dream, the 2017 version clocked-in at just over six minutes, and painted a dirgey abstract commemoration of the life of the late north Texas musician Nevada Hill. Here, the band ramps up the tempo (to under five minutes of run time) and transforms the tune into a joyous celebration of life, suitable for both the memory of the late Mr. Nevada Hill, and those we collectively lost during the plague years.
“AAAlien TTD” closes out the album with a fuzzed-up re-take of “Alien Tow Truck Driver” (from Side XXX), with its images of love triangles, Elvis, aliens, tow trucks, and a dead boyfriend careening along some dark desert highway into oblivion and feedback. Sure. Why the hell not?
“Peaches & Herbicide” is (initially) available on CD and digital download (an LP version is in the works; stay tuned!) on the PF63 bandcamp page:
https://prof-fuzz63.bandcamp.com/album/peaches-herbicide
Cover painting by Maren Farmer Art.
*Thanks to Kelly Menace for this description.
Track List [runtime]
A01 van stoner’s stoner van (over the limit) [1:59]
A02 (do the) new plague! [3:48]
A03 spaceman fist (buzz aldrin’s greatest hit) [2:41]
A04 alien tow truck driver [3:41]
A05 the ballad of los panchos [0:53]
A06 the forestry [3:37]
B01 peaches & herbicide [3:27]
B02 fire on a chain [3:40]
B03 ha ha ha [2:53]
B04 plastic cup/the world (still) needs nevada [4:50]
B05 AAAlien TTD [3:57]
the prof.fuzz 63 