Available tomorrow on Shimmy-Disc, Grow A Pear began life as JD Pinkus’ contribution to what was supposed to be a new Butthole Surfers LP. Pinkus played bass for the band from 1985 to 1994, and he’s participated in reunion activities since 2009. But when the album didn’t pan out, he wasn’t about to waste some ripe and juicy ideas.
“Grow A Pear mostly bridges where I came from and where I’m at right now,” says Pinkus, noting that its 12 tracks combine “heavy psychedelia, drum-and-bass grooves, bouncy boogie, catchy tunes and sprinkles of tasty horns, keys and strings. It’s a kind of like a thumb over the genre-hose nozzle—something for everyone and nothing for someone‚ guaranteed.”
Aside from Grow A Pear, more recent Pinkus solo efforts have included 2018’s spacey, banjo-centric Keep On The Grass and 2021’s Fungus Shui. Right after Pinkus left the Butthole Surfers in 1994, he dove full bore into his Austin trio Daddy Longhead, which hung in there for a decade. Pinkus also played with Helios Creed on a pair of late-’90s albums and co-founded the band Honky, which continues to this day. When Honky opened for the Melvins on their 30th-anniversary tour in 2013, Pinkus did double duty, filling in for bassist Jared Warren while he was on paternity leave. The Melvins returned the favor by bringing Pinkus on as an official member for the next six years.
When asked about Grow A Pear’s latest single, “If I Could Read My Mind,” Pinkus offers this: “It was written about the ages-long journey of trying to figure out where your happy place is—and hoping it comes with fries and a toy. The video was shot by photographer/cinematographer Hunter Barnes, a close buddy of mine. It’s got an underlying theme involving a traveling roach salesman who’s addicted to face painting in a rough-and-tumble face-painting community somewhere between Meth Mountain and Pillbilly Hill in western North Carolina. We spent two days filming 12-and-a-half minutes. Hunter wanted to do it using the two Super 8 cameras he loves. We didn’t know what we had until weeks later, when everything got developed.”
We’re proud to premiere JD Pinkus’ “If I Could Read My Mind” video.
—Hobart Rowland
