Honky

by Patrick KennedyFormed by vastly talented Butthole Sufer expatriate Jeff Pinkus (vocals, bass), Lance Farley (vocals, drums), and Houston tattoo artist Carson Vester (vocals, guitar), Honky began rehearsing and playing live around their hometown of Austin, TX, in 1996. Fortunately for the band, Austin has long been famous for its well-established and boisterous rock & roll audience. Flexing their blend of Texas boogie via ZZ Top and Southern twang via Blackfoot and Black Oak Arkansas, Honky also adds a dash of Butthole Surfers LSD into the punchbowl, as well as a generous portion of hammer-down rock riffs. With all three band members handling vocal duties, the band developed as an immediate personality act, an equilateral triangle of Texas gentlemen in ten-gallon hats plowing through a set of rump-shaking punk rock boogie. 1997 saw the release of Honky's debut recording, a vinyl-only EP for Frank Kozik's Man's Ruin label. Later that year, those four tracks found themselves remastered and included on Honky's self-titled debut album. In 1999, touring had taken its toll on guitarist Carson Vester, whose Joe Walsh-like chicken-scratch playing had helped define the band and he left on good terms. His replacement, interim guitarist Gable Barber, lasted a few tours and the live album Attacked By Lesbians, before the band secured the exceptional picking services of Bobby Landgraf, the perfect compliment to Pinkus' gifted, tasteful, and well-tested bass playing. With that lineup firmly established, the band recorded its sophomore effort, House of Good Tires, in 2000.