Released on Friday, July 11, 2025, Peach on a beach's latest single "Bad Tomatoes" is a whimsical and nostalgic hip hop tribute to a classic Jerky Boys prank phone call from 1996.
I have always thought Johnny Brennan's Nikos character from The Jerky Boys 3 album had a lot of untapped potential to unleash hijinks on unsuspecting callers.
Along with staples Frank Rizzo and Sol Rosenberg, adding the old school Greek deli owner would have created a veritable trifecta of tomfoolery wrecking havoc for a few more albums.
But alas, Nikos only appeared on one track that shares the name of this single.
Listen to the Nikos character (or is it Nico?) on the original Jerky Boys prank call Bad Tomatoes on YouTube below:
Naturally, "Bad Tomatoes" is a quirky track, blending Sesame Street era synths and (wannabe) Beastie Boys vocals to create a nostalgic vibe.
The single is silly by design, intended as escapism.
The lyrics playfully contemplate who is responsible for a shipment of dried-up tomatoes to Nico’s Deli.
In fact, the synth riffs for "Bad Tomatoes" were created three years ago during the demos for my first album Flashbacks, and would not have seemed out of place if it had been included.
Before the song transformed into its current version, it was originally called "1980 Something" and then "Browsing Some Vinyl". Perhaps I'll release those as well in an EP online...
