Rescued From Obscurity: Prescott Curlywolf

 

While you may not have heard of them, Prescott Curlywolf was a beacon of real-deal rock ‘n’ roll righteousness in an era — roughly 1994-2003 — saturated with jam band bloat, overwrought emo caterwaul, calculated and pretentious Euro-pop (and their American derivatives), and all manner of disposable, fashion-first “alternative” music, which is to say, pop music with loud guitars. Even the alt.country scare of the mid-’90s only included them by the barest of margins. Essentially, Prescott was part of the last wave of the flannel-and-jeans, post-punk American underground, and as such, doomed to fail.

A couple generations removed from The Replacements, Minutemen, and Hüsker Dü, and direct descendants of Nirvana and Dinosaur Jr., Prescott were either way ahead of or way behind the times. Oops. And where many bands struggle to find one decent songwriter, Prescott had three uniquely gifted songwriters, each with the musical chops to complement the group’s musical vision. What follows is my attempt to rescue a sorely underappreciated Austin band from the bowels of obscurity. Let us take a look at their four-album discography, to which I add for you a slow-smoked Prescott Curlywolf sampler platter.

Dang (1994) [buy]

“Our first gig! We were like, ‘What the hell?’ You know? I thought we had to work harder than this. It was pretty funny. We said sure, what the fuck, let’s sign this and make a record. We thought it was great that anybody would give a shit, especially our first fucking show. So we signed to Doolittle.”
–Rob Bernard to Christopher Hess, Austin Chronicle, July 30, 1999

Prescott’s debut isn’t bad, but they sound like a group that’s only played a handful of shows, so is still in the process of figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Oh wait, they sound that way because that’s exactly what happened. Jeff Cole of Doolittle Records signed them after their first show (!) at the Austin Outhouse. Interestingly, Cole would soon repeat this see-’em-once-and-sign-’em formula with Slobberbone. Whatever the case, Dang does have a few high points, but it’s clear the band was working their way through the post-grunge compulsories. The tenacity of their all-around game wouldn’t reveal itself for another year or two.

Prescott Curlywolf – Don’t Breathe Me
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – Don’t Breathe Me

A great acoustic-driven number that sounds like Kurt Cobain fronting Superchunk (think “Throwing Things”). Love the couplet: “Millions of martyrs make a nation/Runnin’ and fallin’ on their money.” While atypical Prescott fare, it does show their facility with this “unplugged” phenomenon all the kids were talking about in the mid’90s.

Prescott Curlywolf – Hoodwink
Lead singer: Ron Byrd
Prescott Curlywolf – Hoodwink

Byrd’s incipient talent for anthem construction was gaining traction. This song is an album highlight, not only because it manages to incorporate the underrated word “hoodwink,” but because it showcases Bernard’s deceptively simple guitar heroics (which is either harmonizing with Byrd’s guitar or is doubled, which I suspect) as he rides over the rhythm section’s heavy lurch.

Six Ways To Sunday (1996) [buy]

In the summer of 1995, Prescott left Doolittle to sign with Mercury Records. The major label wooed the Wolf with promises not to spend money on them, not to promote their record, and definitely not get them on radio. What band could possibly turn down a come-on like that?!?! Major label shitbaggery aside, the resulting record, Six Ways To Sunday is a better, more focused version of Dang. The post-grungification is still in evidence, but the musicianship and songwriting is more assured and the production and arrangements are more sympathetic. It’s like the difference between CCR’s first and second albums. It’s not that Bayou Country was a world away from the self-titled debut, it’s that in between the two recordings, Creedence simply became a better band with better songs. The comparison isn’t accidental either, as Prescott — Bernard, in particular — owed at least a minor debt to John Fogerty‘s swampy choogle.

Prescott Curlywolf – Hooray
Lead singer: Ron Byrd
Prescott Curlywolf – Hooray

Byrd channels Bob Mould and Green Mind-era Dinosaur Jr. to deliver a rootsy anthem that would become a template for Brent Best of Slobberbone. In fact, the similarity in Byrd’s and Best’s voices is uncanny. I think this is also a song where you can hear a bit of the Creedence influence, as well as Jay Farrar’s heavy rock songs in Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. Rob Bernard’s guitar crunch from 1:21-1:49 is pure J. Mascis and totally badass.

Incidentally, the voice you hear on harmony from 1:55-1:58 (“Well, I’ll bring hell, smile hard”) is Kevin Russell of The Gourds. Russell, Byrd, and Bernard all hail from Shreveport, Louisiana, and in the mid-to-late ’80s, Russell, Bernard, and bassist Jimmy Smith were all in a band called Picket Line Coyotes (pictured left). After Picket Line dissolved in Austin circa 1991-92, Russell, Byrd, Smith, and Rob’s brother, Claude, joined forces in a pre-Gourds band called The Grackles. When Byrd abandoned that nest, he hooked up with Bernard to form Prescott Curlywolf with Kinard and drummer Keith Langford. Langford, incidentally, is Russell’s brother-in-law, and would later join him in The Gourds, which we’ll cover later. But yes, it’s all very confusing and incestuous, which is the way things work down here in Austin. I’m pretty sure it’s some sort of law.

Prescott Curlywolf – Rather Be
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – Rather Be

“The world is much too small a place
For you to not think about me”

Like The Kinks by way of Nirvana, this is a great upbeat rocker with a myriad of cool production and arrangement touches. There’s the punchy and slightly offbeat Dave Davies-esque acoustic guitar in the left channel, the “Paperback Writer” backup “Yeaaahhhhs,” the subtle use of trumpet, pianos, sound effects, and percussion, and the great barroom singalong to close out.

 

Prescott Curlywolf – Long Way Down
Lead singer: Tim Kinard
Prescott Curlywolf – Long Way Down

If you caught Prescott live on the right night, they’d play two sets and open both with Kinard singing Pink Floyd‘s “In The Flesh.” For a band that obviously cut its teeth on no-frills post-punk, it always seemed odd, and possibly heavily laden with irony. However, that wasn’t the case at all. Kinard’s taste simply ran toward the eccentric and his love for the Floyd was genuine. His artsy songwriting tendencies worked for the same reason Black Francis was able to get away with kissing mermaids and riding the El Nino in The Pixies. Whatever pretensions existed were offset by huge swaths of balls-out rock. In fact, I think Kinard’s musicality was the band’s secret weapon in its early years. His frenetic bass playing herked and jerked around Langford’s solid, in-the-pocket drumming, he added trumpet parts to give several Prescott songs underrated harmonic depth, and like Black Francis/Frank Black, he was a good singer and a great screamer who could stay in tune in both circumstances. Ultimately, I think his skewed songwriting was the perfect foil to Byrd and Bernard, like a knuckleball pitcher coming in after two fastball/slider pitchers. That’s right, a baseball analogy. Don’t make me get Joe Niekro on the phone!

Prescott Curlywolf – Ironsides
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – Ironsides

Any doubts as to whether the rhythm section had tightened up like Archie Bell is addressed by this 2 minute and 15 second blast of punk rock fury. At its best, Prescott Curlywolf was a badass rhythm machine out for blood and no band in Austin could touch ’em.

Funanimalworld (1998) [buy]

“It became obvious to us pretty quick that we couldn’t tour, because everyone in the band had careers. We pretty much put that part of it behind. We were still gonna be a band, play locally and occasionally out of town and do records and all that, but we weren’t gonna pursue a career that way any more. Ron’s a doctor and Tim is going for his master’s in anthropology (and is now a professor at Texas State), so he’s really busy. I was the only one with time, basically.”
–Rob Bernard to Christopher Hess, Austin Chronicle, July 30, 1999

OK, so Prescott’s failure to blow up like Zeppelin wasn’t entirely the fault of Mercury Records. Fact is, if you don’t (or can’t) tour, you won’t be a priority for your label, ergo, you won’t “make it.” So, the band concentrated on writing more songs and honing their live game. In a couple different sessions in late ’96 and late ’97, they recorded their third album live to two-track, which was eventually released in 1998 on Austin indie, Freedom Records.

I have trouble deciding whether Funanimalworld or its follow-up, Arkadelphia, is the band’s masterpiece. While Arkadelphia is more insanely ambitious, Funanimalworld distills all that was great about the original Prescott lineup in 20 songs of muscular, melodic, and economical brilliance. Like Guided By Voices, with whom they shared an affinity for dressing up hummable melodies in punk rock dissonance, there’s little wasted space. The longest song clocks in at 3:39, the second longest song clocks in at 3:02. Also like GBV, this may not be according to hoyle pop music, but it’s ridiculously accessible. This is pop music that plays hard to get.

For anyone who cut their teeth on Twin-Tone-era Replacements and Soul Asylum and thinks Nirvana’s best album is In Utero, Prescott Curlywolf is a layup. For anyone who loves Spoon, Grand Champeen, You Am I, and Slobberbone, this is a chance to hear a band who was both an influential peer, or in the case of YAI, a like-minded fellow traveler. With a decade’s hindsight, there is no question in my mind that Funanimalworld was one of the best albums released in 1998 — and certainly my #1 — despite its commercial irrelevance and relative obscurity. As always, let yer ears be the judge.

 

Prescott Curlywolf – Baldachino
Lead singer: Ron Byrd
Prescott Curlywolf – Baldachino

If “Hooray” was a template for Slobberbone, this Byrd song was a template for Grand Champeen, another Austin band who emulates the classic P-Wolf sound. There was a reason that in some circles Champeen was known as Prescott, Jr. But hell, that’s a compliment in my book.

Prescott Curlywolf – Prodigal John
Lead singer: Tim Kinard
Prescott Curlywolf – Prodigal John

I’ve always considered “Prodigal John” to be a kind of “Son Of Happy Jack.” I think it’s a combination of the deadpan humor realized in The Who’s promotional video and the way both songs deftly alternate between relative quiet and controlled chaos. As we’ll hear on the next song, “Prodigal John” also shows Prescott developing a facility for the build, the way a song is arranged to slowly increase in intensity.

Prescott Curlywolf – Starkweather
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – Starkweather

This might be Bernard’s high water mark in Prescott and while I’m not that much of a lyrics guy, I love the various meanings inherent in this song. Starkweather is obviously a reference to the infamous serial killer, Charles Starkweather, born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Springsteen, of course, wrote about Charles on the title track of his Nebraska album. Finally, stark weather made Nebraska, if by stark weather you mean the tornadoes, blood curdling summer heat, and sheets of winter ice that cripple Nebraska’s tourism trade.

I discussed “the build” earlier. Well, the build in this song is perfect. The first half features only Bernard’s muted electric guitar riff, Langford’s hi-hat, and Byrd occasionally harmonizing vocally with Bernard. At 1:34, Langford kicks in with a train beat; at 1:40 Kinard enters with a sweeping bassline; at 2:03 we get Bernard’s crooning “ooooh” that might echo a cold Nebraska wind or a tornado siren; at 2:22 Langford picks up the intensity and at 2:27 the band kicks into another build as Bernard whips through a restrained, but effective single-string solo. The way the band weaves in and out of multiple sections is impressive, but that it’s over and done in only 3 minutes is brilliant. Economy, thy name is Prescott.

Prescott Curlywolf – Surf-N-Turf
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – Surf-N-Turf

Speaking of economy, “Surf-N-Turf” is a two-minute song that packs in six minutes worth of ideas, and I think works as a bridge between the dissonant, but fairly straightforward pop-rock of Funanimalworld and the experimental, kitchen-sink pop-rock of Arkadelphia. Opening with ascending chords that evoke a silent movie, damsel-in-distress soundtrack, the song turns into Minutemen-style prog-rock (scientist rock?), and Bernard’s brief guitar solo is straight outta the Dick Dale player’s handbook (no doubt the implied “surf” in the title).

Prescott Curlywolf – Thicker
Lead singer: Ron Byrd
Prescott Curlywolf – Thicker

Fist-pumping anthem rock at its best. I defy you to turn this Byrd song up to 11 and not run a chainsaw through your neighbor’s patio furniture.

Prescott Curlywolf – Sacred Girl
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – Sacred Girl

“All the rules are bent
Bent in favor of the sacred girl
We’re blind, as blind can be, yeah!”

Like a combination of The Ramones and one of those great mid-’60s Rolling Stones singles (“19th Nervous Breakdown” and “Mother’s Little Helper,”e.g.), it’s like Prescott has no concern for your well-being. Another combustible rocker that purées your innards into a tangy froth and has you chest-bumping complete strangers.

Arkadelphia (2001) [buy]

Where Funanimalworld was the logical extension of Dang and Six Ways, Arkadelphia was like Funanimalworld at hyperspeed. I don’t like to throw around the word “riffgasm” casually, so when I say it, I mean it. The band offers up 22 songs in 44 perfectly sequenced minutes, including the dynamics-rich Nirvana and Pixies flavors of old.

However, there’s a frenetic experimentalism at work here that encompasses prog-rock (prog-punk, really), country-folk, Beatles pop, more piano than usual, a trumpet-led funeral dirge, and a wistful dixieland coda. Comparisons to Double Nickels On The Dime and GBV’s two-headed dog, Bee Thousand/Alien Lanes are apt. Hell, in its own way, Check Your Head is an appropriate reference. It’s like Prescott threw everything against the wall to see what stuck and discovered that it all stuck. Even a :41 track featuring Byrd’s son is a pleasant diversion. While fierce experimentalism can be off-putting, the band sounds totally inspired, especially the rhythm section.

Which takes us back to late 1997/early 1998, just prior to the release of Funanimalworld. It was then that Prescott lost the services of original drummer, Keith Langford. It wasn’t a surprise, really. Because the band rarely toured, he gigged with multiple bands, including the Diaz Brothers (a P-Wolf/Gourds offshoot that kinda sorta evolved into Mandible, whom we’ll discuss later) and The Damnations^ (another Prescott offshoot with Rob and a pair of sweetly harmonizing sisters, Deborah Kelly and Amy Boone). But, it was the offer to join The Gourds^ — and brother-in-law, Kevin Russell, remember — that ultimately proved to be the dealmaker.

^ FWIW, I’ve written about both The Damnations and The Gourds on Star Maker Machine. As both bands are part of the extended Prescott family, I encourage y’all to visit these pages, take copious notes, and pass along this vital information to your friends. Read about The Gourds here and here and about The Damnations here and here. Word.

Langford’s replacement was Chris Deaner, who previously played with an Austin band called The Adults. I didn’t mention the switch before because Funanimalworld actually featured Langford’s drum stylings, despite being released after his departure. But the move to Deaner was inspired. Langford is an amazing drummer, with a heavy right foot and a complete command of the pocket, but qualities that probably made him a better fit for the honky-tonkin’ swamp rock of The Gourds. Because of the overflowing musicality available in Prescott — especially Kinard on bass and trumpet and Bernard on buzzsaw guitar — Deaner (who also played clarinet) brought out the band’s latent jazz and math-rock tendencies. It was as if Levon Helm was replaced by Mitch Mitchell, and to Prescott’s credit they took full advantage of Deaner’s talents.

Prescott Curlywolf – Ski Apache
Prescott Curlywolf – Ski Apache

Case in point. This instrumental showcases the revitalized rhythm section, including Bernard’s rhythm-centric guitar playing. One thing that still knocks me out about this band is how they could whip through multiple parts, play with dynamics, Deaner going wild on double kick drum, Kinard swooping around on bass, Bernard hacking through the jungle with a Tele, and the whole thing is done in 1:39. No wasted moves or unnecessary self-indulgence, like Van Halen with a first-rate editor. Just get in, get out, thankyouverymuch, next song please.

Prescott Curlywolf – Martini And A Wiretap
Lead singer: Ron Byrd
Prescott Curlywolf – Martini And A Wiretap

Another of Byrd’s great Cobain-esque anthems, even down to the lyrical paranoia, this one is made by a great riff, Ron’s scratchy voice, and the overdrive of the rhythm section. The only misstep is that it should’ve been called “Rob Bernard Will Have His Revenge On Austin.” Heh.

Prescott Curlywolf – Dignity Of Action
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – Dignity Of Action

The sound of authentic punk rock taking flight, Bernard channels Paul Westerberg circa Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash and Stink, adding inspired Bob Stinson guitar squall between :52-1:04. Of course, maybe I hear the Mats because of the obvious “Fuck School” homage in the outro (“Missed the bus to stay cool!”).

Prescott Curlywolf – Barrels Of Fun
Lead singer: Tim Kinard
Prescott Curlywolf – Barrels Of Fun

“We do what we do ’cause we’re just a little bit stupid.”

Talk about a great bumper sticker. Kinard is the dynamics puppetmaster on this spastic rocker, which is a bit reminiscent of classic Superchunk and has more great chugging riffs from Bernard.

Prescott Curlywolf – Gold In The Mud
Lead singer: Ron Byrd
Prescott Curlywolf – Gold In The Mud

Prescott was never really an alt.country band, although “Cider And Blood” from Dang was Kinard goofing his way through a Bad Livers type thing. This, however, shows the folk musician at the heart of many Byrd tunes. Not folk like Cat Stevens, but more like a guy whose songs could translate to acoustic guitar. In fact, he and Kevin Russell used to do guitar/mandolin swaps at The Chicago House in Austin, way before both Prescott and The Gourds were formed. So, that singer/songwriter was always there and “Gold” proves that he could tap into his inner Ronnie Lane when needed.

I also love Deaner’s deep kick of the bass drum, which sounds like a something Keith Langford would’ve done. Minimal accompaniment, but by working against the beat, the drums give the song a cool, unexpected tension.

Prescott Curlywolf – Thanks, Mean Joe!
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – Thanks, Mean Joe!

“You’ll sell out the band
All traces of what we’ve learned
And the silence you thought you could steal
Turns you out and it cheapens the deal that made you”

A fairly scathing lyric, I’m curious if this was written about anyone in particular. Whatever the case, it’s another song with a great use of dynamics, like David Bowie-via-Nirvana. I love Bernard’s ragged vocals and the soaring harmonies on the chorus, and how Bernard adds a Mick Ronson-style harmony part on guitar during the outro. You got it, man.

 

Prescott Curlywolf – Go Down Kissing
Lead singer: Tim Kinard
Prescott Curlywolf – Go Down Kissing

Like “Ski Apache,” this one seems to betray a Van Halen influence, which shouldn’t be too surprising given Bernard’s early love for Eddie Van Halen and the band’s faithful cover of “Hot For Teacher.” In fact, Bernard seems to tap into (sorry, couldn’t help it) Eddie-esque guitar fury from 1:01-1:12. No sign of spandex or a Jack Daniels bass, so I think we’re safe from arena-rock friendly fire.

Prescott Curlywolf – My Life
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – My Life

Spurred by Deaner’s muted backbeat and Kinard’s melodic bass figure, this Bernard song sounds like a Beatles cop, even reaching all the way back to Six Ways and “Rather Be” for those same “Paperback Writer” backup “Yeaaahhhhs.” Actually, the drums remind me of the demo version of “Tomorrow Never Knows” and the bass has a kind of “Rain” flavor. Not to be a picky Beatles psycho about it or anything.

Prescott Curlywolf – Think Tank
Lead singer: Ron Byrd
Prescott Curlywolf – Think Tank

Byrd’s finest moment as a songwriter and a song that should be heard daily throughout this nation. I’m thinking about petitioning a third world country to have this become their national anthem. It’s an absolutely perfect pop song, similar in vein to the best of You Am I and Guided By Voices. Everything works here: Byrd’s slightly gravelly vocal, Kinard’s propulsive bassline, the harmonies with Bernard in the chorus (Byrd singing “Wings of an angel” and Bernard on top singing, “Wings like an angel).

“Think Tank” is also perfect in that it, as much as any song, demonstrates Prescott’s mastery of economy. Any good corporate rock lackey will tell you they should’ve followed the two verses and choruses with a guitar solo, another verse and chorus, maybe another guitar solo, and an extended fadeout to give us a 4:30-5:00 song, rather than its natural 2:13. But why? Maybe early in their career they’d stretch out songs a bit longer than necessary, but by the time Funanimalworld came along, Prescott was like GBV and Minutemen in that they focused on the best 1:30-3:00 of a particular song and stripped away anything resembling chaff. That they did this despite having monster musical talents in the band speaks to their appreciation for the “less is more” principle, probably the most undervalued concept in all of music, if not entertainment. Say it with me: less is more. Learn it, live it, know it.

Prescott Curlywolf – Vietnam
Lead singer: Rob Bernard
Prescott Curlywolf – Vietnam

I have to end the festivities with the penultimate (and final vocal) track from Arkadelphia. A beautiful lament — perhaps in melody, concept, and sequencing referencing “Good Night” off The White Album? — with Bernard’s simple guitar strum and vocal doubled and slightly off-kilter, giving the song a dreamy, but hopeful tranquility.

GET ME SOME

I know what you’re thinking. You wanna invest in the Prescott Curlywolf catalog, but aren’t sure where to start. I’d recommend buying their albums in the following order:

1. Funanimalworld [buy]
2. Arkadelphia [buy]
3. Six Ways To Sunday [buy]
4. Dang [buy]

Arkadelphia is probably my favorite album, but this is a matter of economics. You can usually find Funanimalworld for super cheap, whereas Arkadelphia can run you close to $10. So, if for some reason Funanimalworld doesn’t take, you’ll be less inclined to hold a grudge against the band for burning a few bucks. But hey, if you’re Mr. Moneybags and want to dive in headfirst, then by all means, get yerArkadelphia on.

THE “WHERE ARE THEY NOW?” FILE
Updated October 2012

While Prescott Curlywolf is technically not broken up, Deaner hasn’t lived in Austin in years and is still a member of New York indietronic outfit, +/-. They’ve since slowed down, but were actively touring through 2009. Deaner was also serving for awhile as Kelly Clarkson‘s drummer, and yes, I do mean that Kelly Clarkson. Not sure if he still has that gig, but let’s just say that outside of a one-off weekend, the Wolf is “effectively defunct.”

In the mid-2000s, Byrd and Bernard played together in One Mississippi, a less experimental version of Prescott with Alex Livingstone of Grand Champeen on bass. They have two EPs floating around the googlenets, but only one is readily available, their set at the 2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival. If you can track down the Fe Fi Fo EP, mister you’re a better man than I.

Bernard and Kinard (on guitar and trumpet, not bass) are still technically active members of Mandible (pictured right), Phillip McEachern’s wildly experimental rock band. I say it this way because, as with P-Wolf, the band rarely played out during their 2005-08 heyday, but with McEachern now living in Dallas, they may get together once or twice a year, if that. Mandible should appeal to fans of They Might Be Giants, Star Wars, Paul McCartney‘s Ram, video games, and the cartoon symphonies of Raymond Scott and Carl Stalling.

I am proud to say that I helped finance their 2007 album, (Here Come The) Mandible, which literally sold in the upper double figures. You know how albums can go gold or platinum? This one went aluminum. Oh well. Earlier this year, Chicken Ranch Records released their Mandible’s sophomore effort, Second ‘N Ten. Check it, yo.

“A million stars describe the sky
As all good sinners say good night
We say good night
We say good night.”