New Release: Trizo 50 (Demo-Return Requested)

For the uniformed, Trizo 50 is a chemical injected into pigs when they get X-rays. A teenaged Bob DePugh, who grew up in the family business making veterinary pharmaceuticals, this was the name he picked when glancing at a vial of this stuff on the lab shelf. The band never really got off the ground outside of the small farming community of Norborne, Missouri about an hour east of Kansas City, but what a story DePugh weaves. Reading the liner notes in the impressively packaged release of the bands’s private press demo from 1973, DePugh writes, “It took three bands to make this record. First off, there was the J Walkers. That was 1965. In 1969, it was Phantasia, and in 1973 it was Trizo 50.”

The quintet included DePugh, his brother John, David Johnson, Bob Walkenhorst, and Jim Bell. The whole thing was recorded on a TEAC 4-track recorder in a burned out beauty parlor from July through November of 1973. The newly remastered on 180 gram vinyl, 15-song demo bridges the gap between the sixties and the seventies, which remains the most notable transition of any two decades in rock ‘n’ roll history. The expanded three disc CD set includes the 15 tunes from the vinyl version with an additional 36 tracks and a disc of live songs from the studio. A total of 70 tracks, 35 first ever released. All remixed by Bob DePugh and remastered by Mario Viele, 2023. 

The apparent labor of love has resulted in some fine rock tunes from the heart of America. Leadoff track “Take a Ride” showcases the hook-filled songwriting prowess of John DePugh, Johnson, and 20-year-old Walkenhorst. This track exemplifies the album’s sound and direction with that sixties/seventies concept. “Rock Me Roxie” is pure Walkenhorst, who may be the more well known name coming to prominence later with Steve, Bob & Rich who morphed into The Rainmakers. Walkenhorst even recorded “J Walkers” as an ode to his previous band.

Although the album never really hit the streets, this reissue of sorts comes in a stunning package, with pictures, original handwritten track lists, and DePugh’s extensive, 7300-word liner notes. This novelette deftly walks listeners through the band’s evolution from birth to dissolution. The writing is informative, exciting, and thoughtful.

“I’m Not Gone” may transport the listener to that sixties California sound with wonderful melodies and harmonies. Fuzzy psychedelia is on the menu on “Naughty and Nice” while the guitar intro on “You Make Me” may jog memories of the opening riff from The Rainmakers’ “The Other Side of the World” some 14 years later.

DePugh has provided us with a snapshot of a band on the verge. These tracks have waited a half-century to be remixed, remastered, and revisited from the heart of Missouri. While band members eventually went their separate ways, the sounds of Trizo 50 can now live on forever.

For more info or to purchase, check out Bob DePugh’s eBay page. Note: The 50th Anniversary CDs are a limited edition of only 200 copies so order yours now!

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