The Pinx embrace ‘Freedom’ with ‘Boss Man’

Adam McIntyre, frontman and producer for Atlanta rock ’n’ roll staple the Pinx has been talking about a new record he’s had in the works for about a year. Now, he’s about to deliver a career-defining LP. Freedom (out May 27) is the title for this latest offering from the Alabama-bred singer and guitarist. And, to put it simply, Freedom is a rock ’n’ roll record that pulls from a rich lineage, giving nods to MC5, Cheap Trick, Muddy Waters, Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones, along with Peach State heroes Otis Redding, and the Georgia Satellites.

But what’s even more revealing about the record is that every song tells a story from McIntyre’s past — a story that hinges on the album’s namesake: Freedom. “Boss Man” is no exception:

“I was 21 years old, never did drugs in my life. I’d confiscated a bag of weed from my bride at our wedding reception and was freaking out about it. I didn’t want to throw it away, as it was potentially worth hundreds of dollars ... I didn’t know how much it cost. At the reception, she was telling people she didn’t know why she married me as she drank two bottles of wine and smoked a joint. About two miles down the road, en route to the honeymoon she asked me to pull over. She vomited gracefully through the open door and gave me the go-ahead to resume driving. The weed and wine then worked their combined magic. I got another mile down the road and she gave a much more urgent signal and I pulled over just in time for her to fall out of the car and vomit and shit all over the place. She spent about 30 minutes urgently voiding everything from her system with her eyes rolling back and getting vomit and mud on the veil she was still wearing. It was lightly raining and I was in a hurry to get to the beach, so I tried to lift her back into the car only for her to unleash the most horrific scream. You’d think I’d stabbed her, and apparently the nearest neighbor thought the same. Their outside light turned on in the distance and I set the lady back down in the grass.
About 10 minutes later a car drove up and turned on blue lights and gave me the ‘woop woop!’ Still in a tux, I made my way toward the state trooper’s car to explain the situation. He shone a flashlight in my eyes and called me ‘boss man’ a bunch and eventually lowered his light once I was able to explain that I grew up nearby, he knew my dad’s business, and that I was trying to make it to the beach but my bride was not having it. He tried to speak to her but she mumbled at him and gave him a shrill scream when he attempted to move her. It was around then that I smelled the obvious, minty, skunky smell of the weed in my pocket. It was the loudest smell in the world, and as I spoke to the trooper and got called ‘boss man’ some more, I became convinced he could smell it. It was terrifying to me, an almost-21 year old white kid that had never been anywhere or done anything. If he did smell it, I got the white privilege pass. Something clicked for the trooper before he left and he said ‘now wait a minute, this is YOUR wedding night? Aw man. I’ll be right back.’ And he had me pose next to her, crossing my arms next to a sort of dead-looking bride propped against a tire. I assume that photo is still up in that trooper station today as some sort of cautionary tale. Now, she never did consummate the relationship with me once we were married; she was clearly hesitant and thought she’d made a mistake, which was just as well. It later turned out that our parents had been adopted from the same family so we were second cousins. I wonder if a trip to jail that night might not have snapped us out of the marriage and annulled it and saved me a lot of heartache. But that’s how things go in Alabama — life’s hard and then you divorce your cousin. Obviously I’m very thankful that the officer was nice to me. It could have been a lot worse.”
Let Freedom ring!

The Pinx play the Earl on Tues., May 24, with guitar legend Dick Dale. $30. 7 p.m. (doors). The Earl, 488 Flat Shoals Ave. S.E. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com.