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JAM WITH US: HABANERO HONEY BEN BRUUD THE BROOK & THE BLUFF
The Auburn Plainsman
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contents THE AUBURN PLAINSMAN — LOCAL MUSIC — APRIL 19, 2018
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HABANERO HONEY see story on page 3
They love pizza and black clothing. Performing with some of Auburn’s most well-known artists, Habanero Honey tells the story of how a night jamming turned into a nightly affair.
BEN BRUUD see story on page 4
You hear him in Jordan-Hare stadium. You here him at Sky Bar, 17-16 Bar and Quixotes. Ben Bruud is an Auburn go-to, and we can tell you all about him.
THE WAVERLY BOOGIE see story on page 5
It’s the 18th year of the Boogie, and the little town of Waverly is opening its doors once more. It’s coming up, and you will want to know what’s up. The Boogie will go down on April 21.
THE BROOK AND THE BLUFF
see story on page 6
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These Auburn students are garnering attention for their eclectic sound. Currently on tour, the boys are sharing their passion and sound across the Southeast.
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Thursday, April 12, 2018
The Auburn Plainsman: Local Music
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Habanero Honey “WE ARE ALL HEADED IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, BUT WE ARE ALL STILL CONNECTED.” By KAILEY BETH SMITH Community Reporter Laura Prestridge, Leo Smith, Ataman Billor and Madison Lupica are the four artists that make up Auburn’s newest sound: Habanero Honey. The band formed four weeks ago and has played a show in Auburn every weekend since. People are catching on quick to the good vibrations exuding from the drums, guitars, and microphones that connect these rock’n’roll souls. The band officially formed just four weeks ago. She said she remembered that because it was right after her mom’s baby shower that she went to the first show. “Ata hit me up on a Monday, and told me that we had a show on Friday,” Smith said. “This was before we even had our first practice.” “We didn’t even have any songs written,” Prestridge said. The first show was at the Commune, which is the house of another local group, Dogwood Lung. The group has been hosting shows at their residence for several years, and it has become a home base for many local musicians looking to break into the underground scene. The band reminisced on their first show together. “I couldn’t even sing into the mic,” Prestridge
siad. “It kept falling over, so people had to hold it. We had a podium with the music on it, but that also kept falling over. I also kept forgetting the words we had written, so I just made some up. It was great.” Billor said the songwriting abilities across the board foster compatibility. Smith said he had experience playing with other people before. “It’s always a little uncomfortable when you tell them you want them to do something different,” Smith said. “But with these guys it’s easy. We are comfortable together.” Each of the band members has been playing for several years, but they have all only remained solo in their music endeavors. Lupica attended an art school and began playing music when she was in the sixth grade. She said she knew from a young age that she wanted to be a performer and that the energy and the life she could bring to other people through her music is what encourages her. Billor played piano and tenor saxophone when he was younger, and he recently picked up the guitar. “I started jamming with people, and now we are here,” he said, referring to the band project that fell into his lap a few weeks ago. “It was amazing, and it’s always something I have fallen back on.”
Prestridge laughed as she told the group that she did not actually know how to read music. She said her parents tried to get her to play the piano when she was younger, but she thought it was too girly. She wanted to play the electric guitar. Smith picked up the guitar from his brother after his father passed away and said that it was a place of comfort and of escape for him. “In these last four weeks, I feel like I have grown so much as a musician,” Smith said. “It’s great playing with people you love and people you vibe with.” The group spoke of their dynamic and the chemistry within the group. They all laughed when they described the formation of their band, as they had not really hung out until a few weeks ago. It all started at Shady Glenn. The group would run across each other and say hi or mention playing together sometime, but none of the members knew that this would come to fruition as quickly as it did. The band played at Avondale on Saturday night with Dogwood Lung, Solar Fleur and The Burning Peppermints. Smith said that all the bands were good, and Lupica added in that the dancing was good, too. “We had been listening to all of those bands in Auburn for a while, and it was
» See HABANERO, 4
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The Auburn Plainsman: Local Music
BEN BRUUD
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Q: If you could only listen to three bands or artists for the rest of your life, who would they be? A: We’ll go with Linkin Park. Man, three, that’s a tough one. Diplo is another one. You got to pick somebody who has range. I don’t have many favorites. I kind of just listen to everything. Let’s just go with those two because I can’t think of a third off the top of my head right now. Q: What are some songs that you know are crowd pleasers, but you don’t personally like? A: This might be a long list. We got “Get Low” by Lil Jon. I’ve heard that song many times, and it loses its luster after about the millionth time you’ve played it, but it’s still a good song. “No Hands” is one of those ones I’m starting to get over. I’ve played that song for many, many years, and I feel like people still feel like it came out yesterday whenever I play it. “Wobble” is one that I’ve actually retired unless I’m at a wedding. I will not play it at the bars or at clubs or anything like that. “God’s Plan” is one of those songs that’s starting to hit its peak for me because I’ve heard it so many times. Q: What’s one thing that most people who listen to you play music wouldn’t expect from you? A: I don’t party, and I’ve never really partied in my life because I enjoy seeing everybody else have a good time. I don’t actually drink. I’ve never been drunk in my life. That kind of surprises people. I don’t have anything against it. I’ve just never had a desire to do it. I actually enjoy when people drink when I’m DJ’ing. It makes my life a lot easier. Q: Is there a phase in your life that you wouldn’t be proud of the most played songs in your library? A: No, I’m pretty confident in my music choice. Some people might be embarrassed by the songs I listen to, but I try to keep an open mind, and I’ve always been that way. The most played songs aren’t that embarrassing; it’s those like Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe.” I’ve had those in my library, and I’ve listened to them in my own time. Q: How is your taste in music different from your parents’ taste? A: My parents don’t understand the electronic music of today. That’s a big thing. They say it sounds like robots, or it doesn’t sound like music at all. I enjoy a lot of the electronic genres, and my mom has grown to like it a little bit, my dad not so much. He enjoys the James Taylor-esque type of music. My mom is more of a rocker. She likes the 80s rock and hairband-type stuff. BY STEPHEN LANZI / CAMPUS WRITER
HABANERO » From 3
great to finally get the chance to play with them,” Smith said. After a night of jamming with Billor during a homework break, the group formed. Smith said the indie scene sticks together and people take turns throwing house shows
in Auburn. Billor echoed him and pointed out there are shows coming up nearly every weekend, and he is excited to see what direction the local music scene takes. “There are so many great people here and so much creativity,” Lupica said. Pizza holds a special place in the band’s heart, as Billor works at Little Italy down-
town. “We always have the scent of pizza in our noses, so it’s always with us,” Billor said. One of their songs is dedicated to the fact that the food brings them together. The band always matches when they play together, from striped shirts to yellow pants to space suits to denim overalls. Smith said when there is a show, everyone
finds out about it, and the house pack out with locals who want to be a part of the good vibes and good times happening in Auburn. “We definitely appreciate the support for the local music in Auburn,” Smith said. They have nine songs at the moment and are excited to create more together. “We are all headed in different directions, but we are all still connected,” Smith said.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
The Auburn Plainsman: Local Music
THE WAVERLY
BOOGIE is coming
By KAILEY BETH SMITH COMMUNITY REPORTER
Warm sun, a cool breeze and the reverberations of soulful and sultry music pervade the air each year at the Waverly Boogie. This is the Boogie’s 18th year, and natives of Alabama and Georgia anticipate the Boogie’s return, along with the friendships and good vibes it brings. Standard Deluxe, self-described as the little red dot on the map in the middle of a 100 person town, hosts dozens of concerts each year. The locals know this place for its simplicity and it’s ability to showcase some of the greatest up-and-coming artists in the Southeast. Artists to be featured on Saturday are Shinyribs, Rev. Sekou, Revel in Dimes, Chris Stalcup & The Grange, the Pine Hill Haints and Marshall Ruffin. Relaxing out in the yard, jamming to Southern music and greeting old friends is this event’s idea of a good time. The yard welcomes guests of all ages and organizers encourage guests to bring lawn chairs and small coolers to the yard. Located at 1015 Mayberry Ave. in Waverly, Alabama, Standard Deluxe was named one of Southern Living Magazines’ Top 15 Venues for Live Music in Alabama. Music begins on April 21 at noon, and guests will be grooving until well after the sun goes down behind the house. Each of the featured artists has their own twist on music and diverse sounds will ring in the air on Saturday in Waverly. Shinyribs, self-described as the Shakespeare of Swamp Pop, is an eight-member band that hails from the lone-star state. Frontman Kevin Russell leads the project, which is the latest of his musical endeavors. The band has roots in Beaumont, Texas, and Shreveport, Lousiana. “A shinyribs show is an exaltation of spirit,” boasts the band’s website. “It’s a hip-shaking, belly-laughing, soul-singing, song-slinging, down-home house party.”
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The Auburn Plainsman: Local Music
Thursday, April 12, 2018
The Brook &
THE BLUFF By PAUL BROCK Campus Writer
For the members of The Brook & The Bluff, playing in a full-time band has been a life-long dream and passion. “I’d say definitely for all us, we’ve all been playing music from a pretty young age,” drummer and vocalist John Canada said. “I’ve been playing drums since I was in 7th grade, so not since I was like a toddler, but since that time period, I kind of knew that music was something that I would be taking really seriously.” The band started in Birmingham when lead vocalist Joseph Settine and lead guitarist Alec Bolton formed an acoustic duo at the end of their senior year at Auburn. The band’s name is based on Settine and Bolton’s hometowns — Bluff Park, Alabama, and Mountain Brook, Alabama. respectively. Settine and Bolton were already familiar with making music together as they were both members of a band
during their freshman year known as the Freewheelers. After the Freewheelers broke up, Settine and Bolton began to create acoustic music together. It was spring 2016 when Canada joined the band. “I saw them playing at a bar one time, Moe’s BBQ actually on the strip and I just thought they were super awesome,” Canada said. “Offered to play drums and sing with them as well, and shortly after that, we played a couple of gigs in the Auburn area.” The band’s first single “Masks” was released in September 2016, and the band has seen much success since then charting on Spotify’s US and Canada Viral 50 Playlists and selling out concerts in Atlanta, Nashville and Birmingham. “The hardest part is the uncertainty,” Canada said. “It’s a hard part of it but also an exciting part. It’s not every day we’re doing the same thing, and we know that we’re going to have stable income, you don’t know that, and you have to work at it each day to kind of create that success
for yourself.” The band is currently on tour and has been playing at locations across the Southeast. On April 20, they will be playing at the Red Clay Brewery in Opelika. “I would say, collectively, one of our favorite places to play is Charleston, South Carolina, and Ashville, North Carolina, are just two really awesome spots, and we love going to those towns,” Canada said. “Austin, Texas is the live music capital of the world, the energy there is great.” Three of the band’s four members graduated from Auburn in spring 2015. Canada received a bachelor’s in accounting and then received a masters in accounting the following year. Settine majored in music education with an emphasis on voice, and Bolton graduated with a degree in business management. “Playing in a band is like owning a small business,” Canada said. “You have to create something good, but you also have to make it valuable.”
Thursday, April 12, 2018
The Auburn Plainsman: Local Music
Sign a lease by April 27, and you could win a YETI Hopper AND tickets to Hangout Fest! Drop in to our crawfish boil at The Beacon on April 27 from 2–5 p.m. to find out if you won — and for a chance to win even more cool prizes.
1255 S. College St. Auburn, AL 36832 (334) 826-1202
TO RSVP, VISIT: THEBEACONAUBURN.COM/CRAWFISH
FOR MORE INFO, TEXT THEBEACON TO 47464.
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