Buffalo Killers

Posted by Paul

I saw these guys this year at The Pub, in Athens Ohio while in school with my brother Michael and my cousin Matt Reed who will be opening for them on their next tour. They were probably the best rock band I have ever seen. Below is a interview with Zack from Buffalo Killers and a song to check out. I would post more but im at camp right now and internet is slow, so bare with me.

My father was the first music critic I ever met. He didn’t have a rating system or use clever analogies; hell, he didn’t even have an outlet. His method was simple. If he heard a song he liked, he pounded his hand on the nearest solid object (tabletop, steering wheel, my head, etc.) and proclaimed to no one in particular, “Good music. Good music.” In time I figured out that “good music” translated loosely into big guitars and no bullshit.

If my father were writing about Buffalo Killers, this post would be done already, so I’ll try to keep it short.

Buffalo Killers flat out rocks. With amazing chops and commendable restraint, brothers (and former Thee Shams) Andrew and Zachary Gabbard along with drummer Joseph Sebaali deliver rock music distilled to lethal potency. No band should be this good and flying under the radar. On their eponymous debut, producer (and fellow Trentonian) John Curley, seems to have simply pushed everything into the red and rolled tape. The music stomps and snorts without pretense. Playing guitar rock is a tightrope. Too earnest and you risk becoming a tribute band, but play it too loose and people think you’re having a laugh; just ask the guy who yells Free Bird at every show you’ve been to in the past ten years. Buffalo Killers thankfully manages to avoid both of these traps.

A new record, produced by Dan Auerbach, is a few months off. While you’re waiting, I recommend you scoop up their debut and come out when Buffalo Killers hits the road with The (woefully under-appreciated) Black Crowes in late September. I’ll be there when the tour hits Minneapolis. Hell, I might even bring my father.

In the mean time, bassist Zach Gabbard chatted with MOKB…

MOKB: Listening to your record, one can recognize many obvious influences; however, when I heard my first Buffalo Killers’ song, I was almost certain it was a Crazy Horse track I somehow missed. Who are some underappreciated artists/bands that folks may be surprised to learn influenced you?

Zach Gabbard: We have been influenced by many underappreciated artists…New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Flame, Gilberto Gil, Rockin’ Horse, The Dillards, Osbourne Brothers, “Spider” John Koerner and on and on.

MOKB: I think the Afghan Whigs are one of the most underappreciated bands ever. What was it like working in the studio with John Curley?

ZG: John is a good friend, a down to earth guy and has a fucking tight studio, Ultrasuede Studios, that is right around the corner from my house. It is the kind of studio that looks like what you thought of a studio would look like when you were a kid. Great laid back atmosphere and John was able to capture the sound that we were after. He helped us a lot with this record and even played bass on two of the tracks.

MOKB: Any thoughts about going on the road with the Black Crowes?

ZG: The Tour of Brothers. We played a couple dates with them in early August and they came right up to us, introduced themselves, their crew was helpful, it was a really surreal experience. Ya know, we are used to playing smaller venues, so this is a big opportunity for us to be exposed to more ears with the larger crowds and giant venues and we are looking forward to it.

MOKB: What will happen first? Reds win another World Series or the Bengals win a Super Bowl?

ZG: Who Dey!

MOKB: In the 70s we had a slew of great rock bands making great records, many of which would be ignored if they were performing/released today; I’m thinking about Grand Funk Railroad, Foghat, Blackfoot, the list goes on and on. These bands, without gimmicks, relied on solid songs and strong live performances. By the 80s we were down to Tom Petty and a few others. The 90s, there was pretty much only the Black Crowes. What’s the best a great, gimmick-free rock band, like Buffalo Killers, can expect in this musical climate?

ZG: We can expect whatever we want to make happen. Sell records and put on wild and sweaty shows whether we are playing in front of 10 people or 3,000, we are giving it everything that we got. Our job is to make records and play music. We know what we are. We just want to do what we love, go on tour, make new friends and enjoy it.

MOKB: Your songs seem to lend themselves to improvisation, but if a song goes over four minutes, people start throwing around the term “jam band.” Where do you draw the line between inspired musical exploration and self-indulgence?

ZG: Self-indulgence is not exclusive to “jam bands” and can occur way before the four minute mark. I suppose the line is fine and to be honest, I don’t even think about it. If you think about it you are being self-indulgent, right? We play what we feel and maybe that is self-indulgent…

MOKB: Complete this sentence: Dave Matthews is ________________.

ZG: Who?

MOKB: How much new material are you working out on the road?

ZG: About a quarter of the set will include new material. We don’t normally have a written set list, we just go with how it feels, so if it feels right, we bust out the new ones.

MOKB: Any plans for the new record?

ZG: We’ve recorded half a record with Dan Auerbach at Akron Analog and it is currently in the mixing process. We plan on recording the rest after our fall/winter tours. No release date as of yet.