Following the recent release of his solo “space grass” banjo album Fungus Shui, JD Pinkus (mem. Butthole Surfers) shares the Fungus Shui Trinity featuring tracks “In Tension,” “Don’t Forget to Breathe,” and “Coming Down is Half the Trip.” On the video, JD Pinkus says: “‘Fungus Shui Trinity’ is the cornerstone of what this album was built off of. ‘In Tension’, ‘Don’t Forget to Breathe’, and ‘Coming Down is Half the Trip’ are the three parts that make this song a whole. As I may be too short for my height, Fungus Shui Trinity may be too high for its depth…”

JD Pinkus says: “‘Fungus Shui Trinity’ is the cornerstone of what this album was built off of. ‘In Tension’, ‘Don’t Forget to Breathe’, and ‘Coming Down is Half the Trip’ are the three parts that make this song a whole. As I may be too short for my height, Fungus Shui Trinity may be too high for its depth…”

For context, Fungus Shui is a trippy banjo time warp that combines nostalgic Americana/bluegrass tropes with Pinkus’ punk-rock roots. A modern twist on an old-timey sound, Fungus Shui is a musical journey filled with stomps, hollers, raucous banjo melodies and gritty punk vocals. The album was written, recorded, and mixed by Pinkus himself at Plastic Cannon Studio in Asheville, North Carolina, and was mastered by Kramer. Fungus Shui was released on Shimmy-Disc on August 20, 2021.

JD Pinkus
Fungus Shui
Track List
Shimmy-Disc/Joyful Noise Recordings

01. Fungus Shui Trinity
Part 1) In Tension
Part 2) Don’t Forget to Breathe
Part 3 ) Coming Down Is Half the Trip
02. Woke Up Dead
03. You Look Funny When You Cry
04. Shovel
05. Pussyfoot Down
06. Gittin’ It
07. Short Straw
08. Slow Crawl

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), in addition to performing with the opening band, 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.