produced
by Phil Tepley and the buzzrats
engineered
by Phil Tepley and Dan Allen
mixed by Phil Tepley
recorded
at Fecal
Productions, Ypsilanti (MI)
mastered by Chris
Goosman at Solid Sound
design,
photography and digital manipulations by Jeff
Westover
additional
photography by Matt
Clara
replication by World Class
musicians
Steve
Leggett
acoustic
guitar, vocals, hums, jawharp
Vino Veasley electric
guitar, e-bow, handclaps, vocals, walking stick
Charlie Murphy djembe,
gongs, bells, tablas, jug, vibraslap, blocks, cowbell, tambourine, claves,
shaker
Rob
Crozier bass,
fretless bass, harmonica, whistles, handclaps, slide guitar
Phil Tepley electric
guitar, slide, bass, vocals, sax, clarinet, recorder, handclaps, acoustic
12-string
Dan Allen drums, guiro, cowbell,
glockenspiel, claves, tambourine, jungle bells, shaker, spoons, wood
block, triangle, handclaps, vocals
&
thanks to:
Todd Perkins bass
on emotional world
Nick Petroff electric
guitar on if you haven't any hay
Andrew Wheat guiro
on mongoose
Special
thanks to the guys in the Mixing Clinic, Rascal (for being so good during
the sessions). Bran Leggett (for almost being good during the
sessions) & Japhy Leggett (for constant encouragement and feedback).
from
Allmusic.com
(4
1/2 out of 5 stars)
In
2002, the Buzzrats released the ingenious John Train, a record that
investigated and confronted the spectral presences that have haunted
American music since the Civil War. It was a compelling exercise that
decided to use the spirits they found in the cracks to their full advantage.
But where does a band go after this kind of exhaustive look into the
ether? Inward, that's where. On Wondering Where You Are, the Buzzrats
go looking for romance, not in endless love songs, but in the inherent
romance in rock & roll. Wondering Where You Are is the sound of
a band going under the radar looking for the sound that comes out of
the radio late at night (or at least used to). This is easily the most
melodically savvy record the Buzzrats have come up with. The production
is, for the most part, pillowy and soft; its edges are rounded, but
not without teeth. But it is never excessive; it always serves the song.
The album roars to life with digitally delayed guitars on "Belief,"
before falling back as frontman and lyricist Steve Leggett tenderly
wanders into the mix as the instruments drop to the background. His
protagonist offers advice to a loved one about remaining steadfast in
her or his own vision of the truth. "Emotional World," one
of the most beautiful songs Leggett has ever penned, follows it. It's
a heart-to-heart for someone in trouble with himself or herself. The
guitars drift and gently wind around his soothing creaky voice, as percussion
shuffles and whispers underneath.
The
rootsy early rock sound of the title cut is propped by a faux doo wop
chorus that is haunting, not corny. Things do get spooky on "Cool
Papa Bell," where dub reggae and ambient effects meet the cough-syrup
slowness of Neil Young's Crazy Horse. And "Mingus on the Bandstand"
is easily the most inventive thing here. Its elliptical lyric hovers
over time and space as the future meets a past that is not fully understood.
Out-of-kilter rhythmic passages meet hypnotic ones; acoustic guitars
encounter electric ones and fall away or disappear into the night. It's
all like this really, a series of songs that poke around the fringes
of timeworn rock and pop music, cracking codes and ciphers along the
way. The only complaint are that tracks like the shrill "Greaser,"
with its owl-screech guitar and metal clichés, and "Mongoose,"
with its Greetings from Asbury Park vibe meeting the rhythmic strut
of a Caribbean steel band, are in the middle of the record. They're
both overly long, and just don't fit into this warm sonic blanket. Wondering
Where You Are is not above engaging nostalgia in a bittersweet way,
not as a cheeky insider reference but as the hallmark of memory itself.
The deeper the night gets, the more one lets one's emotional guard down,
and what flows from those reflections is instructive and honest —
check "If You Haven't Any Hay," with its country-ish creep,
and the strolling garage rock of "Under the Carnival Skies"
for more proof. Welcome to dreamland
—
Thom Jurek
The
Buzzrats
Wondering Where You Are
ZEITGEIST
September, 2004
Pretty
damned good this. Lots of nice songs delivered almost dead pan by singer
Steve Leggett, music described by one reviewer as inhabiting the 'gaseous
hazes and swampy bogs of the American musical landscape'. I kind of
know what he means.
What
I do know about the Buzzrats (Their web site www.thebuzzrats.com is
still under construction) is that they seem to write quite a bit of
music for films and comparisons have been made with the musical approach
of Phil Ochs. More telling perhaps is the number of musical genres reviewers
compare the band with. They seem to straddle the genres like a colossus
(Sorry about the cliche!) I heard them described as 'ambient folk punk'
who are capable of sounding space rocky (Listen to the end of 'Fireproof
Box') There some pretty telling lyrics on this album, like on 'Belief'
(Be careful there!) 'Cool Papa Bell' and 'Mongoose' are almost sing
alongs (Well they are really!) while 'Mingus on the Bandstand' is real
haunting stuff. Nice to hear the band having a little bit of a 'blast'
on 'Greaser' with some wild guitar from Vino Veasley.
The
Buzzrats adopt a truly eclectic approach to music using a wide array
of instruments, lots of percussion, Charlie Murphy leading that end
of things nicely. Neil Young would be proud of 'If You Haven't Any Hay'
while I thought of Lou Reed at the start of 'Fireproof Box' (Also on
'Monday (What I Know)') The 14 track album ends with a lovely little
ballad entitled 'Six Degrees'- that one's definitely not from any swamp!
An atmospheric, quite unique album that will repay repeated listening.
(Reviewed
by Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist)
The
Buzzrats - Wondering Where You Are
Written
by Sebastian Frye / Lucid Forge.com
The
thing about praising new bands that return to the roots of old music
is that the 'old' music has always been around and it still is. Groups
are writing new songs using the same old structures that worked for
blues and folk musicians of the past, the only difference is that it's
guys like The Buzzrats that are doing it instead of, let's say, The
Strokes. Probably some guitarist is playing Chuck Berry in a bar room
over in Halifax right now. It's just a shame that the current trend
isn't into looking to the past to correct our mistakes in the present.
Bands
are still making songs like Neil Young was doing when he wrote classics
such as "The Old Laughing Lady", although they are not quite
as timeless. The Buzzrats produce songs which have that old country
and folk tinge to them, but utilize a slightly nauseating form of rock
and roll with it. With singer Steve Leggett's quavering voice, sounding
like Neil Young's current incarnation of a frank and honest every man,
the songs move along like a widening river. One thing that the group
does incorporate though, which is actually becoming a trend, is utilizing
various instruments to experimental and often successful effect.
Trends
and history aside though, the band is simply a few guys getting together
to jam and have a good time. They aren't trying to revolutionize and
become famous; they just want to make honest music that makes them feel
good. The feeling comes across eloquently on songs such as "Where
the Rockets Go" and "Wondering Where You Are". On "Wondering
Where You Are" the band creates an ode to the more classic rock
and roll gems from the golden days of Buddy Holly. The band does well
to make an atmospheric and airy sound; reminiscent of something that
might be coming from a red Chevy Impala's radio, parked in 1950, watching
constellations gently turn.
"Where
The Rockets Go" is a reflective song which quite literally takes
off. The lyrics are honest and display a place in the mind as well as
on the map. Leggett even mentions Ontario in one line, without sounding
like a 'canuck'. You get the sense that he was at his desk one night
after a bad night of love and wrote this song with the melody swimming
in his head. It's the highlight of the album and displays the entire
bands ability to bring their instruments to one highly involving sound.
The
rest of the album delivers a somewhat banal experience. The instrumentation
borders on bluesy and folky, but never really connects with either side.
If there is going to be a revival of blues and folk, then let's do it
right.
(2
1/2 out of 5 stars)
ALT-WHATEVER
The
Buzzrats' fourth album breaks new ground
by Ray Wagel
Ann Arbor Paper (Issue #22, July 2004)
Over
the past ten years, the Buzzrats have been a vital and reliable thread
in the Ann Arbor music scene, blending subgenres of American music,
fusing old with new and, most importantly, remaining true to their focus
of perpetual recording. Their fourth and latest release, Wondering
Where You Are, revisits the blend of droney, Pink Floydish, dream-pop
and Americana folk, with tinges of alt-country, that defined the band’s
first two albums.
Formed
in July of 1994, the Buzzrats played their first gig as a trio consisting
of singer/songwriter Steve Leggett, guitarist Vino Veasley, and percussionist
Charlie Murphy. They continued as a trio for several years, but by the
time they’d completed work on their debut album, A Tiny Speck
In A Ruthless Universe, in 1997, the Buzzrats were a six-piece,
adding Phil Tepley on guitars, Rob Crozier on bass and Nate Higley on
drums. With the exception of Higley being replaced years later by Dan
Allen, the band has remained the same. Their sophomore release, Cartoon
Twilight, proved to be one of the toughest challenges the band faced,
after longtime friend and producer/engineer Geoff Streadwick passed
away just before the record’s completion. Both albums had been
recorded at 40oz. under the instruction of Streadwick so when it came
time to record their third album, John Train, they headed back
to that studio and Chris Goosman stepped in on production.
John
Train moves like a musical. The album follows the timeline of American
music, escorting you though saloon music, old folk songs, a little rock
‘n’ roll and, of course, plenty of room for gritty swamp blues,
creating a sort of aural landscape of the last two-hundred-and-some-odd-years.
Wondering
Where You Are sounds more like the first two records, but structure-wise,
the Buzzrats have never sounded better. Part of that has to do with
Tepley’s production, and part has to do with Allen’s obsession
with arrangements on drums. However, it’s safe to say that the
Buzzrats sound so good on this record because that’s what working
together for a decade will do.
Ann
Arbor Paper: Let’s talk about the new Buzzrats CD. I noticed
right away it’s graduated considerably from the last three. John
Train was an absolute genius album in many respects—what would
you say the Buzzrats learned from making John Train and how did
you apply it to Wondering Where You Are?
Steve
Leggett: On John Train we were doing that sort of Americana
thing and a lot of the songs come from different timelines in American
music. For Wondering Where You Are, we tried to write more personal
songs. This was the also first album on which we did all the engineering
ourselves. It was much more of a band effort. If it sounds different,
it’s because there were more people making decisions. Over the
ten years, it’s gone from “Steve Leggett’s songs”
to a band, and I like that.
A2P:
How do you feel you guys have evolved from one album to the next?
SL:
When we started, we would just do whatever new song I had. We loved
recording and the whole process without putting a whole lot of thought
on ‘how does this come out in the end?’ As we evolved, there
was an element of ‘what are we doing here?’ or ‘how can
we make this better?’ On the new album there are no keyboards and
I only play acoustic guitar and vocals rather than ten things. I like
giving the guitarists room to move on the album. It’s a guitar
album, but not like Television or Cream. Another thing is that Dan [Allen]
is a marvelous drummer and his approach helps set up those guitar layers.
In general, we’ve really learned how to be a band. I bring in a
song, but then everybody bends and shapes it. They come out the other
end totally different from what I imagined. Also, over the last ten
years, I’ve actually learned how to sing. To the average listener,
they might say ‘hey, he doesn’t sing like shit anymore’,
which is good.
A2P:
There seems to have been a lot of emphasis on Americana or alt-country
or alt-whatever bands over the last couple years. Do you feel the Buzzrats
are part of that?
SL: I think some people would stick us in that camp, but a lot
of the Americana bands have a really narrow range. What our guys bring
to the table is often too spacey to be called Americana. That comes
from Vino’s [Veasley] influence with all his boxes and pedals.
John Train was especially Americana, but I think what we go for
a lot is merging musical forms of the past and twisting it with new
ideas. “Cool Papa Bell” is a song about an old African-American
baseball player, but the sound is really spacey. There’s too much
Flaming Liprs and Pink Floyd in us to fit us in the Americana category
and there’s too much banjo to call us space rock.
A2P:
So why are there no live shows for the Buzzrats?
SL:
It just adds an element of stress that we just feel isn’t important
to what this band is about. We’ve never had any knock-down-drag-out
fights between any of us, but if we’ve ever come close to it, it’s
been over something to do with a live show. Also, the songs that I write
exist as they’re recorded. When I’m long gone, what’s
recorded is what will still be around, y’know. We’ve all been
in bands for years. I was young and played in bands and played live
shows all the time, I did it for the beer. I’m going to be fifty-five
in a few weeks and I can afford beer if I want it.
A2P:
Who are some artists or particular albums that influence the Buzzrat
sound?
SL:
I am constantly moving in what I listen to and drawing from what I listen
to. There’s a lot of folk in John Train, but a lot of the
rhythms are Caribbean and Jamaican in influence. For the last album
I was really into jazz. Vino loves Pink Floyd and King Crimson, Phil
is really into Neil Young, Charlie likes the Dead and Rob is into jazz.
All of us at one time or another have worked in music stores and were
exposed to a whole lot of different things.
A2P:
Which album is your favorite?
SL:
I’ll go with the cliche answer to that and say it’s like picking
which one of your kids you love best. The album that will be most important
for me and probably everyone else would be Cartoon Twilight because
of Geoff Streadwick’s work on it. The whole thing was done; it
just had to be mixed a little when he passed away. I can’t describe
the loss of a friend and someone who was such a vital part of what we
were doing. We laughed and cried when we finished mixing that album
because he was all over those tapes. Because of losing Geoff during
that project, that will always be the album that’s a miracle to
me—y’know, that it came out as coherent as it did.
A2P:
Advice to other bands?
SL:
I think that even though a band might have a limited audience, it’s
important to feel that what they’re doing matters. It’s all
about thinking it’s important—even if it’s important
only to you. A2P
Email
Ray Wagel at rwagel@annarborpaper.com
more buzzrats albums: