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WATCH / LISTEN & SHARE: JD Pinkus - "Woke Up Dead"
JD Pinkus says, "Sometimes your lucky if all ya wake up with is the blues…. I wrote this one about that time I woke up dead."
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"For fans of the cacophony that the Surfers and the Melvins have wrought through their respective careers, JD’s “spacegrass” stylings are a drastic shift towards the minimalistic and quiet."
- Hollywood Life
" rich in the blues."
- Indie Music
JD Pinkus (mem. Butthold Surfers) shares "Woke Up Dead," with the video premiering on Glide. It's the second single off his solo "space grass" banjo album titled Fungus Shui. On the track, JD Pinkus says, "Sometimes your lucky if all ya wake up with is the blues…. I wrote this one about that time I woke up dead."
"the video gives a thump of colorful attitude to Pinkus’ picking that would make the late Ralph Stanley nod in approval."
- Glide
"Pinkus’ plaintive plucks at the banjo are warped to give us a feeling of being half in the nether world"
- BPM
"Sometimes your lucky if all ya wake up with is the blues…. I wrote this one about that time I woke up dead.’ Maxwell Sabastian captured that thing that goes on forever, that thing there are no words for... His interpretation is a beautiful celebration of this thing. I’m so very grateful for his mind and talents!"
- Josh Bishop (Video Producer)
"...pretty much just him, his instrument and some deep thoughts."
- Brooklyn Vegan
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Please Note: The full digital LP will be available on August 20th
The Vinyl LP has been delayed but directs orders still should ship out in early Sept. Due to these delays this LP will not be available via retail until Oct 1st.
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"Fungus Shui"
by JD Pinkus
SHIMMY-2008
- Fungus Shui Trinity
Part 1) In Tension
Part 2) Don’t Forget To Breathe
Part 3) Coming Down Is Half The Trip
- Woke Up Dead
- You Look Funny When You Cry
- Shovel
- Pussyfoot Down
- Gittin’ It
- Short Straw
- Slow Crawl
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You maybe askin' yerself "What is this Fungus Shui you speak of?"
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Here is a few words from JD on the new LP.
"After 35 years on the face of the sun (Austin Texas), I took my wife, dogs, banjo and a bag of mushrooms to the Appalachian mountains of Western North Carolina.
We got settled in and I couldn’t wait to record my second solo banjo record ‘Fungus Shui’. It had been a minute since ‘Keep on the Grass’ was recorded in Texas with the help of my banjo sensei, Danny Barnes.
I’ve always been in love with the sound, range and tunings of the banjo. Just a natural conduit for me to write and play my songs. My playing is, say,....non-traditional. More of a spacegrass than a bluegrass. The addition of my pedal board lets me twist the banjo’s sound when needed or layer an orchestra of ME to bring out what I hear in my head.
In a year where mushrooms have been discovered on Mars,
this Fungal Mountain Breakdown seems ripe for release! Being that I wrote, played, recorded and mixed ‘Fungus Shui’ by my lonesome, it may be the most ME sounding release i’ve ever done.
Glad to have it coming out on fellow Butthole Surfers alumni Kramer’s label, Shimmy-Disc."
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| You maybe askin' "Who is this JD Pinkus?" |
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Jeff 'JD' Pinkus is an American bassist best known for his work with American punk band Butthole Surfers from 1985 to 1994 and since the 2009 reunion.
In 1990, he and Butthole Surfers' lead vocalist Gibby Haynes released Digital Dump, the only album from their psychedelic house music side project The Jackofficers.
Upon leaving Butthole Surfers, Pinkus worked full-time with the Austin trio Daddy Longhead, which he had assembled during his waning months in the band, and which included longtime Atlanta associate Jimbo Young on guitar and Rey Washam on drums. Daddy Longhead retired after 10 years, leaving Pinkus free to explore other projects including Skinny Leonard and Areola 51. Pinkus played with Helios Creed on his albums 'NUGG: The Transport'[1996] and 'Activated Condition' [1998], and has also collaborated with Bad Livers frontman Danny Barnes several times in a live setting.
JD Pinkus then co-founded the band Honky who went on to record five albums and are still currently active.
Pinkus also performs with Pure Luck,who released a self-titled release in 2017 on Heavy Feather Records. He leaves his bass to play Banjo and Guitar in this project.
On their 30th anniversary tour in 2013, Pinkus joined the Melvins in place of Jared Warren (on paternity leave) as well as performing with the opening Honky. He subsequently joined the Melvins full-time, touring with them in 2014 in support of the album Hold It In, which also featured Butthole Surfers founder Paul Leary, and again in 2015. He also plays on the song "Captain Come Down" which was first released in 2015 on Chaos as Usual, a split release with Le Butcherettes, and later included on the 2016 album Basses Loaded.
In 2018, JD Pinkus released a solo album, "Keep on the Grass" on cassette tape on Danny Barnes Minner Bucket Records and later Vinyl and Compact Disc through Heavy Feather Records. It was recorded entirely on banjo and features a rendition of the song "Bride of Crankenstein" from the Melvins album Hold It In. The Keep on the Grass album release show was with Sleep in San Pedro on September 15th 2018.
On February 12, 2018, the Melvins announced that Pinkus would be joining them, alongside current bassist Steven McDonald (Redd Kross), on their next album and subsequent tour. Released on April 20, 2018, the aptly titled Pinkus Abortion Technician features both bass players and four songs written or co-written by Pinkus.
In May of 2021 JD Pinkus and Daddy Longhead released another album titled ‘Twinkle” which was originally recorded but not distributed in 1998.
JD Pinkus is now releasing his second solo “space grass” banjo album titled “Fungus Shui.” The album was written, recorded, and mixed by Pinkus himself at Plastic Cannon Studio in Asheville, North Carolina. The album was mastered by Kramer.
“Fungus Shui” releases on Shimmy Disk on August 20th 2021.
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JD, what are all these songs about?
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Here is the Grand Fungal Mountain Breakdown Tour of Fungus Shui directly from JD
Track 1 Fungus Shui Trilogy
Speaking of in my head, a fine example would be the first track of this album, ‘Fungus Shui Trilogy’. I tried to relay the sounds and melodies from my psychonautical experiences on and off this planet… in just under 9 minutes…
Track 2 Woke Up Dead
A lotta folks sing about wakin up with the blues. I took it a step further with a lil’ country blues jam called ‘Woke Up Dead’.
Track 3 You Look Funny When You Cry
The most traditional sounding song on this record is the perfect tune to cheer your significant other with. ‘You Look Funny When You Cry’. Perfect for Birthdays, Weddings, and Funerals!
Track 4 Shovel
Throughout life there's always been the proverbial man with a shovel and the proverbial man with the gun. That’s how shits gotten done through the ages. ‘Shovel’ is a song of glorious redemption.
Track 5 Pussyfoot Down
‘Pussyfoot Down’ is a joyous, bouncy number about winding down and steppin out.
Track 6 Gittin It
‘Gittin it’ was a song written when I was workin as a hand at a horse ranch in Lockhart, TX. The ranch paid us an hour for lunch, so we’d eat Smitty’s BBQ and drive around smokin weed yellin “Git it Hand!” to anyone we saw workin….Glad to have had our dogs sing along on this recording.
Track 7 Short Straw
I've often fantasized about jumpin off a tall structure and goin splat on a mirror I had placed at the bottom. That way, I would be the last thing I ever saw. ‘Short Straw’ is kind of about the same thing but involves a mirror and a straw.
Track 8 Slow Crawl
Ever been in a relationship that was less than perfect? Those open arms you reluctantly and repeatedly crawl back to? It’s usually a very ‘Slow Crawl’.
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