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The music side of Krusty

What: Punk Night Who: Mr. Plow When: Sunday, Sept. 30 Where: Garfinkel’s “You are joking, right?” I say, not once but twice, and I’m still not convinced by Mr. Plow’s response.

What: Punk Night

Who: Mr. Plow

When: Sunday, Sept. 30

Where: Garfinkel’s

  “You are joking, right?” I say, not once but twice, and I’m still not convinced by Mr. Plow’s response.

A guy who works in a pornography magazine warehouse and produced four albums with track titles such as “Just because you want to fuck me, doesn’t mean I want to fuck you” and “Are You Really a Guy?” is writing a children’s album?

He’s dead serious — for once.

It’s hard to take him seriously with his over the top humour penning comedy into punk music.

He calls it “acrustic”, a mixture of punk and folk.

I don’t think I’ve heard punk music so strung out.

Mr. Plow is one part acoustic guitar and two parts growl rants, with all of the remaining score dedicated to lyrics that can only be appreciated by listeners who enjoy fart jokes in all the wrong places.

Think The Trailer Park Boys living next door to an R rated The Simpsons episode, one in particular.

Yes, he confirms, he is named after the episode where Homer Simpson runs a plough business as Mr. Plow.

“It’s just a way to get the word Plough out there in the open,” Mr. Plow explains.

The Vancouver musician takes every opportunity to put a spin on the word. Almost all of his albums play on the word with It’s Plow or Never, Mad Plow Disease and his new album currently in the works, Apocalypse Plow.

A children’s album starts to seem a little more believable. Anyone who loves a good pun can’t be all bad.

“A lot of people don’t use the word. It’s funny how it comes into context,” he said. “I’ve been a huge fan of The Simpsons since they did short cartoons for The Tracey Ullman Show, which they did even before they had their television show. That was a long time ago. That is how much of a fan I am, but don’t get me started on how the writing has gone to crap.”

Writing is the secret to Mr. Plow’s success.

“Udderly folking hilarious,” wrote Rek Magazine.

“Mr. Plow is not trying to produce a great art he’s being funny for his people (the jackasses),” wrote Skratch Magazine.

If Mr. Plow was going to pick one Simpsons character that best appreciated his humour, it would have to be Krusty the Klown — also the name of his record label, Krusty Records.

So other than ambitions to join the Real Life with Hilary Duff, Corey Feldman, Hulk Hogan and George Bush, Mr. Plow runs his own label with a handful of local punk bands signed on. His children’s album credibility crawls another step forward as we learn he has opened for some of the biggest punk legends around, including D.O.A., Fishbone, the Dayglo Abortions, NoMeansNo, SNFU and the Hanson Brothers.

“I was touring with D.O.A. mostly as a roadie and acting as the opening act on select shows,” he said. “From doing that tour I met with Fishbone, who ended up digging what I was doing and decided to take me on the road, so I did three tours with them.”

Selling a one-man acoustic show to punk venues is not always easy, but more than a decade later, Mr. Plow has convinced booking agents that if he is good enough for punk legends like Dayglo Abortions, and can survive their crowd, he can survive anything.

So finally, I am convinced enough to delve into a discussion on his children’s album project.

“A lot of people who come to my shows are parents,” he said. “And they play my music for their young children and they can’t really figure it out why (the kids) like my music so much. It’s something about the songs and the gruff vocals that little kids really pick up on.”

So much so, one of Mr. Plow’s friends banned the Mad Plow Disease album from his car. His two year old asked his mother if she were a Crack Head Mama, the title of one of Mr. Plow’s songs.

“I’ve been hearing (a need for a children’s album) for quite a while now, so I am making it for my friends and their kids; I’m making it for ourselves, shits and giggles and parents of punk rock babies… Besides I don’t want to be the one to teach them the word, fuck. It’s long overdue.”

Mr. Plow even sells T-shirts with “Little Plow in Training” written across the front for children up to two years old. The same wording on baby jumpers with bum flaps is also in the works.

“It’s all about building the Mr. Plow Empire,” he said.

You may not be able to take seriously Mr. Plow’s lyrics relaying the surprise of discovering under his date’s skirt that she is a he, but as a musician marketing himself and his music, he is no laughing matter.

Mr. Plow carries on his opening for punk legends tradition with his Crusty humour opening for Toronto’s The 3Tards for Punk Night on Sunday, Sept. 30 at Garfinkel’s.