BIOGRAPHY
PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN traces its roots back to the early 1990s when Alfie and Sean, both guitarists in the Southern California punk band D.I., forged a strong musical and personal bond. While they shared a love for punk, they felt limited by its rigid confines. Sean introduced Alfie to jazz chords, and in return, Alfie showcased his piano-based compositions. This exchange sparked the realization that they could create more musically adventurous songs than what D.I. allowed. However, life circumstances interrupted their budding collaboration. Alfie, striving to balance touring with D.I. and his college education, ultimately decided to prioritize his studies. In 1994, he left Los Angeles to attend graduate school at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, stepping away from band life for the next two decades while remaining an avid music listener.
In contrast, Sean continued to immerse himself in music. Growing up in Newport Beach, he began playing guitar at the age of eight. His first job as a parking lot attendant at the Balboa Market allowed him to practice guitar, thanks to a gift from his brother. Notably, surf music influenced his early musical journey, and by sixth grade, he had formed a band, with his mother serving as their chauffeur. The following year, Sean embraced punk rock and established the Critens, a cover band that still performs today. In 1987, he played bass for Mind Over Four, a band signed to Caroline Records, which transitioned from psychedelic punk to heavy metal. Sean joined D.I. in 1988, remaining with the band until 1992, during which he contributed guitar to three albums: Team Goon, Tragedy Again, and Live at the Dive, all released by Triple X Records. After D.I., Sean reunited with former bandmate John “Bosco” Calabro in Crash Kills Four and later turned to composing music for television. He also returned to touring with D.I. from 2000 to 2001.
Years later, Crash Kills Four would play a crucial role in bringing Alfie back to music. After earning his PhD in 1999 at Oregon State University and completing post-doctoral work at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, Alfie accepted an assistant professorship in mathematics at Cal-State Fullerton, returning to Southern California in 2001. He became a full professor in 2010, which earned him the moniker “The Professor” in PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN.
In 2012, John “Bosco” Calabro reconnected with Alfie on Facebook, inviting him to record tracks for a Crash Kills Four album. The aim was to document the unrecorded repertoire of their middle school band, Almost 21, and other songs from various Crash Kills Four lineups. This led to live performances as well.
In 2014, Sean welcomed Alfie back into the music scene by asking him to play bass for a special gig with the Critens. During rehearsals, Alfie expressed feeling constrained by the limitations of Crash Kills Four. Sean proposed they finally collaborate on original music, either as part of the Critens or as a new project. Alfie reflected, “Sean and I have always been prolific songwriters, and we write in whatever style fits our mood at that time.” They agreed to form a duo, PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN, where they would handle all instruments, songwriting, and creative decisions independently. They began demoing songs using GarageBand, aiming to recreate the cohesive experience of classic albums.
In 2015, an unexpected third member joined them during a Christmas performance with the Critens. Founding Damned drummer Rat Scabies, who was present at the show, joined them on stage for an encore. This collaboration led to a recording session at Alfie’s home studio, Hollydale, resulting in Rat drumming on all tracks for their first two digitally-released albums, Elixir I: Good Evening, Sir! (July 2016) and Elixir II: Election (November 2016). These sessions were conducted via file sharing, with Alfie and Sean in Orange County and Rat in London. Notably, Elixir I: Good Evening, Sir! marked only the second occasion that Alfie and Sean recorded together, the first being D.I.’s Live at the Dive.
Alfie's musical background is deeply rooted in his Southern California punk heritage. As the younger brother of prominent musicians Rikk Agnew and Frank Agnew, he was exposed to various musical influences from an early age. His brothers’ passion for music, coupled with the sounds of the British Invasion and punk, shaped his early experiences. At 14, he joined D.I., performing live and contributing to recordings from 1983 to 1987. He also briefly replaced his brother Frank in the Adolescents during their Brats in Battalions phase.
The final member of PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN, bassist Paul Gray, joined when Sean discovered him on Facebook. Having not spoken to Rat since the early '90s, Paul was receptive to listening to demos Alfie and Sean had created for a third album. Impressed by their music, he participated in the project, contributing to eight of the nine tracks on Disintegrate Me.
Paul and Rat had previously collaborated on two classic Damned albums, The Black Album (1980) and Strawberries (1982). Before joining the Damned, Paul was a bassist for Eddie & The Hot Rods, a band known for their energetic rock sound and their hit “Do Anything You Wanna Do.” He later played with the long-standing band UFO from 1986 to 1987. Currently, in addition to his work with PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN, Paul has returned as a bassist for the Damned and collaborates with guitarist Ray “Captain Sensible” Burns under the name Sensible Gray Cells.
The studio lineup of Alfie, Sean, Rat, and Paul made their live debut at London’s 100 Club on August 10, 2018, leading to the release of the album Live at the 100 Club in summer 2019.
