By Juan R Govea (From a Press Release)
Someone once said, “If Tom Waits started a surf rock band in the back of a Dallas, Texas pawn shop, it’d be The Prof.Fuzz 63.” That might be the nicest thing anyone’s said about the weirdo lo-fi rock trio from the north Dallas suburbs, but it’s not wrong.
Imagine Leonard Cohen fronting The Cramps, or Lou Reed joining forces with The Fall, and you get some sense of what The Prof.Fuzz 63 is all about fuzzed-out guitar, grinding organ and pounding drums.
Established in 2014, The Prof.Fuzz 63 have played over 200 shows across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, as well as toured a broad stretch of middle America. Three full-length albums and an EP (all on Fort Worth’s @dreamyliferecords ) document the weird lo-fi vibe of the band, as well as the warped lyrical musings, literally “phoned-in” by The Professor. They play nice with just about everyone, and look forward to fuzzing up your hometown soon.
The Prof. Fuzz 63 will release a full 8 song album on June 15th with a livestream event Friday night to celebrate the video/single, and another livestream event on Sunday 6/14 to celebrate the album release.
Using this as fuel for their songwriting fire, The Prof. Fuzz 63 created one hell of single as the title track for their upcoming album on Sister Raygun Records. “Owls” is a fun, upbeat, and alarmingly catchy song that you’ll surely find irresistible. Adorned with a music video that is just as colorful and obscure as they are, “Owls” will help remind you that not everything needs to be so serious. (And also that owls are kind of assholes…)
The group says, inspiration can come from any fleeting moment in time, and when it strikes, you have to answer the call to nature.
“But at the end of the day, I couldn’t justify passing blanket judgment on an entire species, so this song takes aim at “THAT Owl,” and not all owls. “Owls” is a clangy rockabilly-ish number that sounds like The Fall covering George Jones (think “White Lightning”). It’s stupid catchy and your kids will sing the chorus really loud and embarrass you in public. My biggest takeaway in writing this dumb ditty was that while not all owls are assholes, a lot of people are “THAT owl.” So yeah, it’s more metaphorical than zoological. Feel free to call “THAT guy” an owl next time he makes some self-righteous know-it-all statement on social media. We’ll all know what you mean.”
– The Prof. Fuzz
The Prof. Fuzz 63 at Haltom Theater | Photo: Juan R Govea
“On 21 October 1997, The Onion: America’s Finest News Source boldly proclaimed “Owls are Assholes”. I’ve pondered that statement ever since, making mental notes of which owls were cool (Woodsy Owl, employee of the US Forest Service of “Give a Hoot—Don’t Pollute” fame) and those who were in fact assholes (the smug Owl from Winnie the Pooh, and Mr. Owl the Tootsie Pop thief).” – The Prof. Fuzz
Building on the sound and twisted wordplay found on 2019’s Kirvin Streetman’s Sugar Bride Blues, The Prof.Fuzz 63’s fourth full-length LP Owls delivers a slightly heavier sound and a new label to match – Sister Raygun Records. The title track is a sardonic tale about an annoying owl who deserves a good ole fashion ass-kicking and will have you singing along with mischievous glee: “That owl’s an asshole!” “Sheena is a Soccer Mom” imagines the life cycle of The Ramones’ Sheena from punks and Goth gangs to suburban domesticity, yoga pants, and Adderall.
The first single from the album “Nadine Codeine” is perhaps the catchiest, most college radio-friendly song the band has recorded to date. And who else would dedicate a song to the Velvet Underground’s Sterling Morrison, but go on to sing about two other famous Morrisons (Jim and Van) in the song itself? The album is rounded out by inspired cover songs by two of the band’s biggest influences: Tom Waits and Flipper.
The group gives a garage rock spin to Wait’s “Goin’ Out West” (even sneaking a lyric from The Mummies into the mix), a reverb-drenched lo-fi version of Flipper’s “Love Canal” and a bombastic, organ-heavy version of their song “Sacrifice” which sounds like it was demonically possessed by “In-A-Gadda-Da- Vida.”
Enjoy the “Owls” single and music video and keep an eye out for the full-length Owls album. Owls was recorded and mixed by Alex Bhore at Elmwood Recording in Dallas Texas and mastered by Matthew J. Barnhart at Chicago Mastering Studio in Chicago Illinois.
Music Video By Illustrator and Videographer, Ryan J. Gill of The Other Ass
