17 minute read
BUZZARD BUZZARD BUZZARD INTERVIEW
from CLUNK Magazine 002
THE WELSH RENEGADES Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard first flew onto our radar during their 2019 performance at Leopallooza, Cornwall. The band brought a retrospective sound that was reminiscent of the greats such as Queen and T-Rex, albeit with a very modern flair that stopped it being a simple copy and paste.
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With an eagerly-awaited debut album ‘Backhand Deals’ arriving on 25th February Via Communion, the band are sharing their latest slice of glam-rock goodness. We join frontman Tom in his studio in Cardiff to discuss their debut album and more!
WORDS: KIERAN WEBBER PICTURE: LILY BROWN
Hey Tom, how you been doing?
“I’m all good mate. Just in the studio at the moment and there is shit literally everywhere!”
Ha! Love it.
Well, I’m going to jump straight in. How did Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard form and what was the influence behind coming together as a band?
“It started with just me really, which sounds a bit egotistical but that’s just the way it is sometimes. I was in an indie band called Tibet but that fizzled out unfortunately. We did have a tour booked but no one was buying any of the tickets.
It led me to look for a new band but it was a weird time, I was living at home with my mother and I wasn’t very happy. I had just finished University as well and this whole “follow your dream” rhetoric that had been sold to me by my parents was starting to fizzle out. Something I feel a lot of post-graduates will understand. When you graduate you seem to have an existential crisis that just keeps coming. So, I decided to just do something for me and I started writing some new music whilst I waited for a new band to form. During that time, I wrote a good number of songs and recorded them myself and it was a really gratifying time as well as an emotionally sustaining process. I realised just what a great thing this is and my mindset shifted in terms of musical outlook.
I used to be sort of corporate minded when I wrote music previously, in the sense I would write what I thought people wanted to hear. Whereas now I write music for me, music that I really enjoy and music that is fun. I stopped worrying what others thought and just focused on it being fun for me.
In terms of the band forming it was pretty natural. So, Ethan, (drummer) he was in the previous band and we got together. Then our friend Zac joined in on guitar and then my brother who just started playing bass joined. He’d just got into The Beatles in a big way and was super keen to play. Although, he was never a big music guy (he was always the sporty one).”
The ideology behind the band is very natural and it’s something we want to continue too.
I find that this is something you can definitely feel through your music. It’s clear you’re all having fun and enjoying what you’re creating.
Thank you very much! I think of this more and more often, and I don’t know if it’s a generational thing, but we realise that the empires around us that we’re sold as being stone cold solid empires, especially the United Kingdom is dying in its ass. It has been for some time. However, the last decade we’ve all become hyper aware of that and I think people are tired of the commentary. People are fatigued, and I think people are just wanting some escape whilst the world around us burns.”
It certainly does feel like the end days at times and if we do have to watch society collapse at least the music can be good. “Yeah (laughs) at least when people look at our politics with disdain they can at least say the music was good!” So, when you sat down and thought about a sound were there any particular people or artists that influenced you? “I was working on my own for such a long time I had a really focused on the element of sound in the music. When I was in indie band before I felt like I was denying myself the music that I actually liked. At heart I am just a true rock fan, I love rock music. When I made the decision to start writing music for myself I made a very conscious effort to lean into the music that I liked growing up, such as David Bowie and T-Rex. As well as leaning into some of the harder rock I liked during my rebellious teenage phase. The phase where I was straightening my fringe, wearing shag bands and hanging outside Blue Banana smoking fake cigarettes. It’s been great playing with the other band members though and each one has brought their own style and sound to the music. I really didn’t want to ask them to change their play style or endlessly picking apart how they play, I wanted them to have the same gratification I got from making music. It’s worked really well. Ed has brought his own bass style, Zac especially has transformed the band with his guitar playing and Ethan is just a massive powerhouse. You can hear the difference between the debut EP and the album as well. The EP was written and played by me in the entirety but with the album it’s all of us playing our respected instruments. The difference between the two is really palpable and tangible. All these contributions have made the band a better sounding one.” the way of recording equipment so all vocals are recorded on an SM57, which I think is actually a great vocal mic for my voice, but I tend to put lots of effects on my vocals anyway. 2 of my guitar amps are out of order and one is in Brighton, so I’m going direct with my guitar into the computer. Literally all guitar amplification is simulated in this project. Sometimes I’m trying to make it sound like a real amp, sometimes I’m just going all out and experimenting with the digital sound. All drums are programmed, which is something I really enjoy doing, most of the bass is a pitched down guitar because I don’t have a bass with me. Some of the bass is synth.”
“Being inspired to actually get into a writing session can be difficult at the moment. Sometimes it just all gets on top of you. Corona, the mad bastards in charge of the world, craving an international
One thing I want to chat with you about is your disdain for statements such as “rock is dead”, and I totally agree.
Why do you think people are constantly looking backwards with rock music? Why do people always call new bands the next big band since say Led Zeppelin?
“That’s a tricky one. The thing we have experienced as a band is hearing oh great, someone is finally bringing rock n roll back. It’s always been here! There’s a tangible feeling in anybody who just want to experience their youth again. I think that is a big thing and deal. I feel people fear change in big ways and small ways. I always think to the example, imagine you’re 21 and Oasis have just broken up, a band that were hailed as saviours of rock music. Then you get to the early 2000’s and a band like The White Stripes arrive and you’re probably thinking, well who are these two people who think they can play rock music. It’s all a fear of change. It’s classic “good ol’ days” thinking. You only have to go as far back as your parents to find yourself in a similar conversation, where they’re telling you how much better it was in the 80’s. I had a conversation with my father during the lockdown actually and he just clearly stated “I JUST WANNA GO BACK”.
That’s the whole thing isn’t it. It’s a human condition. For me the beauty of rock is that it doesn’t need to be constrained to the same formula. For example, I think Lizzo is one of the biggest rock stars to have ever existed. It’s always changing and always morphing. People who think rock music only
existed in the 90’s backwards are silly. We all do it though, we all want to go backwards. I remember being 21 and saying to friends do you remember being 16 and all you had to do was cycle around, I want to go back to that. Nobody is ever young enough.
People need to let go and just enjoy music but it’s hard. It’s hard to just let go what you preconceive to be good
music and actually enjoy what’s happening right now. It’s not easy to just admit you’re wrong though.
Point and case, case I don’t like Fontaines D.C. musically and there would have been a time I would have just written them off. I committed myself to making sure that I didn’t like them, I went to see them at Greenman Festival and thought this isn’t for me. So, I also grabbed a ticket to see them later in the year at a venue, and still came to the same conclusion. Fontaines D.C. aren’t for me but I respect what they’re doing. I feel people aren’t ready to go through that process to get to the conclusion. It’s in this lack of wanting to go through the process where the vitriol and phrases like rock is dead come from.” Moving on from that I want to discuss what you meant when you said, “If we were ever considered the band that brought rock music back I think I would shed a tear”.
It’s kind of on the same lines as previously mentioned really. There are so many great bands that have been maintaining rock music. It’s of my belief that it never went away and if you ever think it went away, then perhaps something went away in you. There have been so many bands that have been sustaining the idea of rock so to think we’re bringing it back just makes me think oh my god. By saying something like that it denies the hard work that other bands have been doing during this time to keep it alive. Even bands like Sports Team, who are now huge, they’ve put so much hard work into keeping guitar music alive. Keeping it fresh and making it modern as well as tying into the lives we all lead today. I just think it is a very blanketed statement to say you’re bringing it back. I understand why people say it, they want to say a nice thing, but I just think it does a disservice to those who have been holding up the rock mantel.”
Okay, so let’s chat about the new album ‘Backhand Deals’, out February 25th. How long has that been in the making and what was the recording process for that?
“Very good questions! So, we had about 20 songs in late 2019 and we went to our studio in Cardiff and put around 8 or 9 of them together. We collectively thought that perhaps this wasn’t
an album, more just a collection of songs. So, in January of 2020 I took a couple of weeks to write songs specifically for the album. I had been writing sporadically for a few years, but I felt that for an album it needed a bit more focus. The sporadicness had worked in the past when it was just me, it was just how I worked. Then after that two weeks we had around 30-40 tracks and then we collectively trimmed the fat and recorded 14, which ended up with 11 tracks in total in the end. We recorded it all in our lovely studio in Cardiff, which is in this beautiful Victorian building just behind an optician. Also want to note just how cheap the rent is thanks to Cardiff been dirt cheap. It’s certainly a benefit of staying here.
We’re in a very fortunate position where we have our own studio as well as a record company that is happy for us to make our own album. It’s very rare to be able to have such creative control over the album. The recording took us about two months and then I mixed it around late summer 2020. The process was pretty easy as we’re in a situation where we can be very honest about every element, from recording, to writing, to mixing. It’s really easy for us as we’re in control of everything, which is an opportunity that is not afforded to enough musicians.”
A lot of your tracks have a political element to it or a commentary, yet the music remains fun and carefree. How do you balance that out and is that a conscious decision when you’re writing the music?
“Yeah, it’s very intentional. I’m basically very bad at writing love songs and I feel a lot of artists write from the The Beatles perspective. As in people tend to just write what come in to their heads and in a way that appeals to a mass audience. I just can’t do that, and it doesn’t feel right for me. I found when I was writing music that I was taking the piss out of things that I have seen and that could be political or about seeing someone in double denim. It was just fun shit that I liked to talk about. With the political stuff though, I would hate for people to think I am telling them how to live their lives. It’s a bit of a catch 22 for me actually. People have had enough of this awful political discourse where they are shamed if they don’t have a certain mindset or don’t think a certain way, on both sides of the fence, they’re considered outsiders. We need discussion and I think a lot of times people who aren’t qualified to hold the opinions they hold, tend to ram them down people’s throats. Which is why I caveat the songs as a lyrical warning, the truth is I am just a guy in a band, I am
just a person. I prefer to highlight the hilarity of things or shine a light on it and be like hey isn’t this funny!? I always try to make light of it or take the piss is so that we can all just get along, because there is a lot of bands out there who take themselves seriously. A lot of bands want to have that Buffalo Springfield moment. People still look back at the ‘For What It’s Worth’ track and still quote it today, those guys really tapped into something. However, the truth is they were just a bunch of guys in a band. At the end of the day they’re going back home to light one up or kick it with their friends, they’re not running for office. As a band you don’t have to have that moment I think the most important thing is to at least spark a conversation. If people listened to our music and then decided that’s how they’re going to live their lives, I would be horrified. I am just big on conversation and don’t want people to think we’re telling them how to live. Everybody in an ideal world should be able to take the piss out of themselves and political beliefs.
There is a track in the album actually called ‘On The Kill Again’ which people might take very seriously. It’s basically about politicians who are addicted to power as if it was heroin. For me though that’s funny, it’s hilarious. I really hope people don’t think we support positions of power. No, we don’t it’s just us having a laugh.”
Is there any particular track on the album that you would consider a favourite and if so, which one and why?
“I would say my favourite, as it was very satisfying to write and perhaps my best writing, would be a song called ‘Faking A Living’. I like this song a lot from a musical perspective as it’s got some amazing harmonies and lyrically it’s really cool.”
You’re also heading on tour in March and April, are you looking forward to hitting the road again? “We are.. BUY TICKETS. I am very excited for that, but I get so so worried about ticket sales. I find it hard to imagine people buying tickets to just see us. I think it’s because we’ve spent so long being a support band, so I get really nervous. I am trying to get everyone to buy tickets at the moment, I want your nan and your weird aunt at the show. Everyone is welcome within sensible limits of course!”
Not to make you more nervous but you actually have your largest headline show to date at The Scala, London?
“That is correct!”
How would you prepare for a show like that? Do you have any pre-show rituals?
“We rehearse as much as possible, maybe too much to be honest. We are competing with bands who playing backing tracks who also create amazing performances.
I like to treat our live shows like theatre, meaning I want it to be a real show for the audience and that each one is of the same quality. In terms of a pre-show ritual I guess the only thing I do is shit buckets (laughs), honestly it’s ridiculous. The weirdest part is that it is consistent each show as well, the next show we have I will shit just as much as the night before, I often wonder where I store it (laughs). It doesn’t matter how big the show is either, we’ve played to 50 people and I have still been running to the toilet beforehand. The only thing that is comforting is that it is consistence, I think if we’d play to 250,000 people I would be the same.”
Well at least it’s consistence and frequent *laughs*
Lastly, what’s next for Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard after the tour and album?
Well, if we don’t crash and burn spectacularly then we have some ideas for new material which we’re very eager to get to. Covid delayed the album release by just over a year, so we’re very ready to get back to recording. There may be an EP possibly, but we’re not sure. Personally, I would like to release another record, but we will have to see. I know that we’ll be trying to play live as much as we can. We’re also trying to get out to America to play as well not to mention as many festivals as we can. We’re hoping for a year with no Covid-19 but we will see.
Hopefully we will get to see you in Cornwall again, you guys smashed Leopallooza in 2019!
Ahh that festival was great. Seasick Steve was there wasn’t he? Actually, we had the most awkward encounter with him (laughs). Just as he was about to go on we asked him for a quick photo, but he was telling us he was about to go on. The problem is that we had to leave so we had to get the photo then. He was less than impressed but did oblige, the photo is hilarious, he’s not smiling at all and we’re all buzzing. I think it’s on our Instagram actually, go check it out as it is hilarious.
Well, that’s a story! Thank you so much for having a chat with me Tom It was a real pleasure. Thanks for taking the time to chat and see you on tour!
