Lightstream Presents
Fastball is:
Tony Scalzo - vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards
Joey Shuffield - drums
Miles Zuniga - vocals, guitar
About the band:
"In the past, we'd make a record and then everybody would go their separate ways for a while," says Fastball's Miles Zuniga. "But now, we're feeling so excited about the music that it's 'How soon can we make another record?' We're feeling a sense of urgency about the music that's really refreshing."
Fastball's new album The Help Machine follows on the heels of the band's acclaimed 2017 release Step Into Light. The new set, on the Austin, Texas trio's own 33 1/3 label, once again demonstrates the distinctive songwriting, expressive vocals and inventive melodic sensibilities of Zuniga and his bandmate Tony Scalzo. With drummer Joey Shuffield completing the longstanding lineup, the trio's time-tested creative rapport is as potent as ever on such compelling tunes as Scalzo's "White Collar," "All Gone Fuzzy" and "The Girl You Pretended to Be," and the Zuniga compositions "Friend or Foe," "Holding the Devil’s Hand" and the album's enigmatic title track.
The Help Machine's 11 new originals gain added sonic appeal from the production of Los Lobos member and versatile Grammy-winner Steve Berlin, whose studio resume includes work with the likes of Alejandro Escovedo, Faith No More, Rickie Lee Jones and the Tragically Hip.
Recording at Austin's Treefort Studios with engineer Jim Vollentine, who'd worked on Fastball's 2004 release Keep Your Wig On, the band and Berlin maintained an organic creative atmosphere that allowed the group members to break out of their respective comfort zones. Scalzo didn't even play his usual instrument, bass, on the sessions, instead tackling new challenges on keyboards and guitar. The group brought in old friend Bruce Hughes (formerly of Cracker and Poi Dog Pondering) to handle the album's bass parts. Other guest players on The Help Machine include Austin legend Charlie Sexton, who adds guitar on "Girl You Pretended To Be"; Wye Oak member Andy Stack, who plays multiple instruments on a pair of tracks; and Band of Heathens members Gordy Quist and John Chipman.
With nearly a quarter-century of music-making under their collective belt, the members of Fastball continue to extend and expand the band's widely loved body of work. The trio's catalog encompasses such memorable albums as their 1996 debut Make Your Mama Proud, their 1998 platinum breakthrough All the Pain Money Can Buy (which spawned the Grammy-nominated Top Five hit "The Way"), 2000's The Harsh Light of Day, 2004's Keep Your Wig On, 2009's Little White Lies and 2017's Step Into Light.
The ongoing resonance of Fastball's music is reflected in the passion of Fastball's ardent fan base. Shuffield: "We're always meeting people who tell us how we helped them get through college, and we have whole families that coming to the shows now. At nearly every show, we'll meet people who've flown in from other states, or other countries, to see us play. That kind of thing really warms the heart, and makes us feel like we're doing something right."