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L.R.T.R. on Megalith Out NOW!
I am quite proud to announce that Megalith Records, the
venerable home-burnt successor to MoonSkaNYC of the
'80s and '90s, has released eight new tracks in digital
format, and a seven inch vinyl with three of them for you
turntablists out there. The project is called “L.R.T.R.”,
produced by Victor Rice, recorded in New York, and
mixed/mastered in Brazil. It features Ticklah on keyboards,
Mr. Rice on bass, Eddie Ocampa on drums, Agent Jay on
guitar, and Paul Gebhardt on sax. These tracks will be
available online, and the single will be available from my
site, from Megalith itself, and at Easy Star shows that I am
on.
3Dubs (OUT OF PRINT)
It has been two years in the making, actually longer if you
bring it back to the original sessions, but finally it is
finished. Produced by Victor Rice, mixed at Studio Copan,
and mastered by Fernando Sanches at studio El Rochain,
both in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I have seven new songs ready
for release. As pre-release, I am selling "3dubs", a
collection of three mixes that are included in the project.
These tracks are spacious, psychedelic dubs featuring
Eddie Ocampo on drums, Agent jay Nugent on guitar,
Victors Axelrod and Rice on keys and bass respectively,
and Paul Gebhardt on saxes. You can buy these tracks at
the merch booth on the Easy Star All-Stars England/
European tour!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!
On The Road 2010
It has been a dizzying couple of years with Easy Star, and
the dream continues through the fall with extensive touring
throughout the UK, and across mainland Europe. Please
check the schedule for exact dates!
Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band
This is my third time participating with Easy Star in a recording project. This
one came out stunningly. It has been getting rave reviews, and people are
flocking to see the show. Ranking Roger sings 'For the Benefit of Mr. Kite'.
Produced by Michael Goldwasser.
Summertime Summertime...
I don't update this page enough. I should, you know,
because actual websites are... okay, here I go doing the
accent... 'like way cooler' than myface or spacebook...
Oh, the accent - I hear it all the time up here in the East
Village. I think most people are faking it - they just want to
seem young and hip, or something like that. I guess since
the buildings all have facades, then people think that they
should too. Should they also have cornices and
basements?
I digress. This page is 'News', so here it is. Good evening,
here is the news.
1. I just returned from Paris playing with Antibalas
Afrobeat Orchestra. It was great fun. A week in Paris,
then some gigs in Normandy and the foothills. Tres
expensive!! If you want to see some Youtube footage,
follow this link!
I will also be doing some shows with them in Los Angeles,
San Diego, Dublin and SanFrancisco. Right now, their
regular trombonist A.J. is doing the 'Fella: The Musical"
show in New York, so I am filling in. This will end in late
September, when the show closes and he returns. At that
point, I will:
2. ... go on the road with 'The Easy Star All-Stars' to begin
promoting their new project. At this point, it is a secret, so
sorry if I do not spill the beans yet. I can tell you what the
project is NOT! It is not "Dub For Teacher". No, it is not
"The Dub Street Boys". Don't worry, you will find out soon
enough.
In other news, my first seven inch single "I Can't Decide"
has finally sold out! No more, save for my personal stash.
Thank you all for buying copies! It was a good project. I
am currently working on new stuff with Victor Rice, so
maybe I will make a new single out of that.
Well that's about it for now. Like, you know, I'm so hot,
like, oh my new cellphone like ROCKS... blah blah...
Peace, see you soon!!
The Future is Now!
This is now 2008! Twenty or thirty years ago, they were
writing science fiction that took place in this time. 2001: A
Space Odyssey! Space: 1999! Even Blade Runner was
supposed to take place in 2016 or something, and that's,
you know, like eight years from now. Well, there are no
orbiting hotels, moon bases, replicants, or slick flying cars
descending into mammoth buildings. Okay, I can accept
that. It isn't as cool as it was supposed to be, but what are
you gonna do?
Then again, if you are reading this, you are most definitely
on a computer. You may be viewing this on a mobile
device, like an Iphone. Well, that's pretty sci-fi compared
to 1968, when all they had were Ford Falcons, record
players, acid, and stuffy, horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing
republicans.
So, instead of trying to sell you records, I am promoting my
career by telling you about CDs (already fast becoming
obsolete), or better yet, digital downloads! I wonder what
the aliens think about that!
Check out the thumbnails to the left. Easy Star has some
good material that I play on, and it is available if you just
click!
Until that Day is a bunch of songs written by the musicians
in the band. We sell them at our shows in CD form, but as
you are online right now, you can do the download thing!
Radiodread is the big project, recorded a few years ago, it
has already sold a respectable amount of copies, and so
you can buy one at a store!
I will be updating this site with more projects as they come
in, so please check back frequently.
Until that day, scroll down to see past news headlines!
Hello Again!
It has been a long time since I last updated this site. I am
so sorry, I got caught up in that whole Myspace thing.
Lately, I have been getting spammed there with lots of silly
ads... I mean, I like the girlie pictures and all, but I've
always thought that site to be immune from that stuff. Well,
I think that my own secure space is better. So, I will be
tweaking bufordosullivan.com to make it better.
Just to recap, I've been playing exclusively with Easy Star.
The other bands that I'd been active with - Dub is a
Weapon and The Toasters, are also busy as hell, and
there were so many conflicts that I had to step aside for
them to bring in some friends of mine to take over. Its
okay, I mean, I was a bit sad to let them go, especially with
DIAW's recent affiliation with Lee "Scratch" Perry, but the
reality of this business is that consistancy rules. Rather
than have it all be an anxious game of juggling, I chose just
one to be the main thing. So, here I am on the road in Italy
with ESAS, while The Toasters rock the Warped Tour and
DIAW march on with LSP.
I still have my solo career, though, and I'll not let that go.
I'll be playing with Royal Roost ("The Roosters") at the
Knitting Factory on August 4th. I hope you can attend!
Easy Star All-Atars release 'Radiodread"!
The Easy Star All-stars, known for their rendition of "Dub
Side of the Moon", have released their follow-up
"Radiodread", a full-length rendition of Radioheads "OK
Computer". The sessions were done last year - I was in
the studio for a couple of days with Jenny Hill and Pam
Flemming laying down horn charts. The guest vocalistts
(Toots and the Maytals, Israel Vibrations, Morgan
Heritage... et al) were tracked at places like Electric Lady
in NYC, and down in Miami, and then the whole thing was
mixed in Sao Paulo with Michael G and V. Rice at the
controls for the heart of the fun.
When I listened to the mixes, my head blew off. I mean,
this stuff is GOOD! Everyone had been voicing their
skeptisism for so long, that I was so glad to be glad. HA!
Naysayers be damned! Just watch the reviews come in
glowing on this one!
Check the Schedule for live shows.
Toaster Tour Eurolicious!
Went off to Spain and Germany with the Toasters this past
July. I hadn't played with this band for ages, and so I was
not quite prepared for the intensive drinking that this band
requires. My liver will not be the same! Neither will my
pancreas, as much pork as I ate. There was dried pork,
cooked pork, sweinflieisch, frikadellen, schnizel, pork for
breakfast, pork for lunch and pork for dinner. There was
even pork on TV, as I watched a fascinating documentary
of a man who made Goldschlagger-wurst! Flecks of gold
in pork sausage... only in Germany!
Down in Spain, we recorded some tunes and hung out at
Buck's villa in Valencia. We ate some pork, though this
time it was spanish style, drank beer and wine, hung with
the family (thanks, Kim, for the paiella... which contained
no pork, I was told).
We played festivals all over Europe. We stayed out all
night until the premature Summertime Euro dawn, and we
rode in the van - the only time for precious sleep. It was a
great touir - I am a changed man now.
LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY ON TOUR!
The run with Lee Scratch Perry was a trek through the
sprawl with one of the wisest musicians of all time. People
say he's crazy, and indeed he put on the act well, but I
could see that it was just his way of getting through life.
Sun Ra also voiced his allegiance to the great beyond. I
do it too, sometimes, when I wish to add some distance
between me and the shit of this world... I mean, come on!
We're ALL aliens!
There was no rehearsal, barely a pre-gig meeting, and
there we were onstage with him just outside DC in
Bladensberg. The club owner had tried to cancel the
show earlier, and I was prepared to lose my bet with Dan
on the percentage likelyhood that we'd actually do the LSP
set. I was at 95%, he was at 75% when the CO began to
shout at us from the side of the stage. For a second
there, I thought I'd be a dollar shorter, but D Hahn held
some petty awkward huddles as the audience looked on
with a certain amount of recollection that something was
amiss. Then everything was okay again. Lee Perry came
in, and after the break we took the stage to bring him on.
We all just did the show, LSP included, like we were
learning to ride a bike for the first time. Maybe we fell off
that bike once or twice on that first night.
But by the second night in Baltimore, we were already
without the training wheels. It was a great show! Some of
the grandest moments in DIAW history were taking form. I
learned to play the background vocal parts with LSP on
the Marley tunes, and D Hahn started dubbing out his
voice. The only thing that severely disappointed me that
night was that I didn't get the crab cakes - I got Chinese.
Philly was packed! Mike McDermott (Bouncing Souls) was
there with his daughter, who proceeded to tear up the
place. LSP began breaking out the incense in a big way.
The tunes were taking on form, and we were all feeling
comfortable enough to let the good times start taking their
places.
The party raged at New Haven. The dressing room was
packed and smoky, with a big red plastic container full of
beer, and we had to fight off the mooching Yale frat boys
who had no idea who Lee Scratch Perry was, in favor of
their contractual obligation to target the band's pittance of
Heineken. Dan threw them out.
So we finished it in New York, at BB King's, with a good
throng of people who, unlike the beer pillagers of the
previous night, DID have an idea who Lee Scratch Perry
was. We were playing in front of his fans, who had seen
him with other backing bands, and so it was up to us to
honor the man with a good performance. All we really did
was keep on riding the bike. The show had a flow by this
time. LSP really seemed to enjoy himself, especially on his
new song, "Crooks in the Business". We did too!
In the end, it never seemed that we were in the presence
of a lunatic or an alien. LSP has been playing music for
longer than any of us, and THAT is what it felt like. He is
an elder world citizen, his crazy act just a front really. I got
a kind of zen education from him while on stage, the tag
line being simply, "Let us get through the show, and please
make it lovely!"
BRAZIL!
I spell it "Tuto Beign", but that is not how you spell it, really,
in Portugese. I think its "Bene"... The cities are all partially
broken down with abandoned buildings, or unfinished
construction sites, the women are extraordinarily beautiful,
and the food is excellent! We met Markey Ramone! We
played with Firebug in Sao Paulo. I saw the Christ statue
in Rio, went to the beach, got one hour of sleep, flew to
Belo Horizonte and slept for fourteen hours. I liked Buenos
Aires the best probably because of the steak... but more
than other cities, it reminded me of New York back in 1985,
in a good way! Things were cheap, people were friendly,
and I ate the best steak of my life... you know... come on!
Tranquility in print!
Finally, after all of my ballyhooing, boasting, and blah-blah-
blahing, here it comes, my first novel available in
paperback here. I can't be more psyched! Jenny Hill, my
friend the saxophonist, used her experience in proof-
reading to go over this big thing, and she gave me some
editorial advice. The result is, in my humble opinion, one
crazy story, set in the future, with all the excitement of a
Hollywood blockbuster, minus the product placement.
Please check this out, and feel free to send me an email
with your four-star reviews!
Welcome to Eu-rock!
Yay Europe! Hello Strasbourg! We are the Easy Star All Stars! The bus is
dope, my bunk is near the front, so I can get some sleep when the crazy kids
are playing their crazy music at any crazy time they want without me
complaining. We were supposed to be touring in the bus WITH hotels, but
wouldn't you know it, the tour manager and the bus driver both decide dthat
the drives are too long, so we'll be dirving through the night, sleeping in the
pods, just like a punk rock band. Only, this is a reggae all-star band. The
excitement is just about to begin!
Dub is a Weapon with Lee "Scratch" Perry
MAN, WHAT A DEBACLE! A note here about some recent
events in Dub is a Weapon Land. You see, we were
supposed to ... well, we had the opportunity to..., oh, what
a mess! Anyway, way back when, Dub is a Weapon did
this tour of the Eastern Seaboard. It was a tough tour, the
Fall of '04, I believe. There were two hurricanes, and one
circled around to hit us twice, so maybe there were three...
I don't know, some gigs got cancelled, we were stuck in
Asheville NC (which was not bad, because we had a
rocking last minute gig... I hope we go back there, but
anyway,)... on that tour, we played Jacksonville Florida, for
about ten wonderful fans. ONe of them was Lee Scratch
Perry's American manager. He calls up a year later to ask
DIAW to be Lee's back-up band. Oh, we take it, don't you
know! We prepare, we rehearse 'INSPECTOR GADGET,
we fly Dave Wake in from Wisconsin, and we're ready to
do this excellent tour... w
ell, it gets cancelled at the last minute. We are supposed
to play BB King's in NYC, and the Long Beach Arena in
CA! Along comes the cancellation, but we still get to play
BB King's. So, we get a call that the CA show is still on!
We rehearse some more. Then, a day before we're
supposed to fly out, we get a call that instead of playing
the show, Old Scratch wants to take a vacation with his
Swiss wife... well he is a legend and all, so if he wants to
take a vacation, he can take one... but Dub is Weapon is
screwed. Such a sad story, buty that is show business, I
guess. Anyway, I have a word for that: FUCKERY!
Buford O'Sullivan and the Weapons Live AGAIN!
Friday, January 20th, 10:00 pm
Knitting Factory, NYC
Three Floors of Ska!
Time for another Show! Same Club - Knitting Factory,
different floor! This time, we're down at the third floor, set
time is approximately 10:00pm. Some one, come all, and if
you want to hear what we sound like, click here!
Buford O'Sullivan and the Weapons Live!
Sunday, December 18th, 7:30 pm
Knitting Factory, NYC
with The Slackers, and Tri-State Conspiracy
The Weapons are, in essence, Dub is a Weapon; Dave
Hahn, Ben Herson, Ben Rogerson, and Dan Jesselsohn,
with Dan De La Cruz from John Brown's Body on sax.
BOS&TW will be playing second on the 3 band bill - set
time is 8:15pm - supporting The Slackers for their special
Holiday spectacular. This will hopefully be the first of any
number of wild, action-packed shows. If you're in the area,
please come by!
Pacific Jam Down Tour 2005!
The Dub Side of the Moon is coming back to the West
Coast, this time doing a fab run from Seattle down to San
Diego. With us will be John Brown’s Body, the excellent
prog-reggae band from Ithaca NY. If you live on the Pacific
side of things, then get out of your hot tub, drop that
avocado wrap, tell your agent that you are booked for the
night, and drive that hybrid over to the nearest club to
catch this show! You will not be sorry. A little East Coast
action will do you good!
Schedule!
Hopes and Fears on Itunes!
Due to popular demand, my first solo CD, “The Club of
Hopes and Fears” is now available at the Itunes store in its
entirety, or at US$ 0.90 per song. As I did with “The Sexy
Eye”, there is a trailer available for viewing. I’m proud of
it! Please CHECK IT OUT!!!
Easy Star Part Two!
The Easy Star All-Stars have gone back into the studio for
some highly secret action. I am not at liberty to discuss it
at this time, but I can say that the basic tracks have been
recorded, and are being edited by Michael G. Stay tuned
for more updates!
Dub is a Weapon Mixdown!
Dan Jesselsohn and Dave Hahn are in the studio to bring
the new DIAW project to completion. First, the notorious
Dollarman went in and sang “The Clock is Ticking”, and
Dan has made a groovy mix of that one. Then I went in
and blew a few solos. Aaron Johnson and Stewart Bogie
of Antibalas have gone in front of the mic to add more
horns… no I am not jealous or possessive of my space
there, because these guys are great players and good
friends… I can share! The final mixdown is to happen
sometime at the end of October, so you can expect some
action on this front soon!
Tranquility in print?
Say it isn’t So! Well, It could be, and probably will be if I
have my way. In beautiful Flatbush Brooklyn on Cortelyou
Road is this place called “Vox Pop”, a socially conscious
neighborhood coffee and beer bar, where there is
something called an “Instabook Machine”. It produces
these paperbacks, and I have made arrangements for the
newly proofed version of “Tranquility” to be printed up. So,
as soon as the guy can get to it, there will be copies of my
futurist detective novel available for purchase online! I will
certainly keep you all informed!
The Club of Hopes and Fears on Itunes!
Thanks to Bucket (Toasters), my first solo CD “The Club of
Hopes and Fears” is available for digital download on
Itunes! This was recorded back in the nineties, and
released on Ska Satellite records. Musicians include
Victor Rice, Eddie Ocampo, Agent Jay, and more! To buy
from Itunes, click here!
Dub Side in the UK
All right, a few dates in Jolly Old England! After a lousy
American Airlines flight with bland food and pricey drinks
(on an international flight?), we land at Heathrow to await
the fabulous Starliner, a double-decker tour bus! Stee is
the road manager, so Ah, but what a wonderful ride! I
claim my bunk and settle in to cure myself of jetlag.
The Brook, Portswood Southampton. A pub-like affair, two
stories of British wood and pictures of rock stars of yore.
Indian take-out for dinner, a tandoori combination that will
repeat for hours to come. Not the hugest turn-out, but
those who are there love it, crowded up against the stage
and, at least it looks crowded from where I am standing.
Some regular fans who had seen us at the Big Chill festival
last year. We drive away from the gig to park at Brighton
by the sea. Excellent to wake up to the sun through the
mist, rocks on the beach, and a crazy rock and roll coffee
place right across the street, where I have my first nasty
men’s room tooth brushing of the tour.
The Mean Fiddler, London. We were all wondering how it
would be to play London one week after the bombings
(and, as it will turn out, not long before the second failed
attack). I was expecting something akin to NYC in 2001,
but not at all. The club is near Piccadilly Circus, and the
streets are crowded, vibrant, and expensive! London
never skips a beat, does it? Jolly Good there Chaps, I
must say! The club is the basement to the Astoria, a big
venue, and the dressing rooms are small and wretched,
just as any big city should offer. In good form, the All Stars
rant and rave, complain and offer countless suggestions
as to what better dressing rooms we SHOULD have…
Opening band is Pama International, who rock in solid
fashion. Drive back to Brighton this time to check in to a
hotel. It is the longest check in that I’ve ever been privy to
wait for. The guy at the desk must be playing some kind of
game. Too late for a Donner Kebap, so I just lean my
head against the wall of the front office and wait for my key.
Komedia Club, Brighton. What a town Brighton is! We
have the day to walk around and enjoy the Summer Sea
Side. I walk around with Jay Rodriguez and Ivan Katz, with
“Can you see the REEEEEL Me, Can ya? CAN YA????”
stuck in my head (The Who, Quadraphenia for those of
you who don’t know). We walk to the pier, gawk at the
girls, eat some Italian food, and I think to myself, wow, I
could live here! At least for the summer. Later on, the
show is SOLD OUT! Hang out with Stee, his ex-girlfriend,
and Emma, and Anonius Ceaser, who runs a club across
town. Great show!
Custard Factory, Birmingham. We stayed at the Old
Crown, which is supposed to be the “Oldest Inn in
Europe”. Gaps in the walls, old wood beams, I can feel the
ghosts. I sleep from 7am to about 2 in the afternoon, at
which point I go downstairs and have a Guinness for
breakfast. The gig is chaotic, insane like the punk and ska
shows I’ve played. Some drunk bastard tries to grab my
slide while I’m playing, but instead he knocks over Jay’s
music stand. Jay is ready to kick that guys’ ass, but the
drunken girlfriend drags him away. Hang out ‘till dawn at
the club across the street, dancing with Irish and Scottish
girls to a really bad (as in just plain bad) DJ. Great fun,
this UK place.
Glade Festival, Redding. A crazy druggie hippie techno
UK Festival with tents, dust, and nightmare-inducing porta-
loos. We play in the afternoon, and they dance and go
crazy for us. Great fun. Afterwards, we hang out. I
checked out some of the DJs and things. It seems that
magic mushrooms are to become illegal come midnight, so
there is a special tent that is offering great deals on them (I
don’t do that kind of thing, so I just watch the people
hanging around tripping their brains away). As the
evening progresses, the price gets lower and lower, until
come midnight, they are free. Funny stuff. We sleep on
the bus, and then drive through the morning to catch our
flight home.
All in all, a good run. Hope there’s another one soon!
The Sexy Eye
Finally! After all this time, The Sexy Eye is re-released.
Available on the Itunes Store, Rhapsody, and MusicNow.
Napster, and others, are soon to be up and running as
well. The thing about Itunes, is that you don't have to pay
for the service! All the songs are yours, if you like, or you
can just get the ones you like. You'll soon be able to get it
as a ringtone! Imagine, having ME tell you when you're
getting a call. Please remember to put the thing on silent,
when you're in the movie theater!
View the Sexy Eye Trailer!
Easy Star in Cali!
Long Beach! Woa, a big arena show at the Long Beach
Convention & Entertainment Center. First show after one
of the most annoying flights I've had in recent memory, but
at least Jet Blue gave me a free beer! Big crowd
celebrating Bob Marley, and we went on as if we were from
the Dub Side. Good catering over there, man I love
Southern California's Mexican culinary tendencies.
Nothing better than Tillapia, rice beans, cheese, cilantro,
salsa fresca with some nice spicy sauce, all on a flour
tortilla. Rain and mud slides, this looks like it may be the
rain tour of 2005, but we'll see. The mighty Drew is tour
managing, so I will have no worries as far as when to be
where. He's the boss.
Playing four shows with Israel Vibration, a couple with
Alpha Blondie, even Jimmy Cliff.
San Louis Obispo... or however you spell it... was quite a
fun show, opening for Alpha Blondie. The crowd was
definitely into the show (Rock on). It was a crazy all-ages
show, so the alcoholics were banished to stand behind the
divider and watch from the side. The kids owned the
dance floor. Alpha had a rocking band, and a tight horn
section. They didn't hang out that much - and they kicked
us out of the dressing room... but they are French and
African... maybe there's a cultural divide. I DID speak with
Alpha himself, though, and he was gracious, nice, and
reverent, considering that I did not recognize him, and
introduced myself to him by asking "What's your name?"
Oh Buford... well, he didn't seem to mind.
Bakersfield! Oh yeah. Monday night, the end of the
holiday, so it was a bit slow, but still fun. Thanks to the bar
for anesthetizing me with Newcastle. Trying to learn Maya
6, a 3-D animation software, while I'm in the van and
waiting for sound check. Truly a complicated program.
Wish me luck! So far, I can make a cube spin.
One thing about being on the road, is that I watch more TV
(no cable at home). Roomie is Dave Hahn, and we
discovered a SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT MODEL
MARATHON on Spike TV. All day, swimsuit model
contestants go through the rigors of competing for the
coveted position. It was on when we checked out of one
hotel, and when we checked in to the next. Yes, it was a
good day.
On to Sacramento at Harlow's, a nice art deco club. Odd
that a place so close to San Francisco would offer such
mediocre Chinese food! Wouldn't you think that such
close proximity to one of the richest Asian footholds on the
North American continent would influence the take out
joints in Arnold Schwarzenegger City? Nope. The Sesame
Chicken in this city SUCKS!
However, Israel Vibration rocks it heavy. I've never seen
them before, didn't know their history. Check out http:
//www.israelvibration.net/ to get to know them, and then
you should see them at your earliest convenience. A great
band, (though they could use a real horn section, but I
guess Korg has undercut horn players... but that's another
story).
Crystal Bay, Nevada, is really Lake Tahoe with a line down
the center. The Club was in a casino, which was in the
basement of the hotel, which was in the realm of Satan
himself. You had booze, slot machines, and reggae music,
so if you got bored, you could always gamble away your
money. I actually ended up ahead $1.50. All the free
good I could ever want, and Heineken cans. This was a
packed night, hippie kids everywhere milling around the
slumped-over addicts at the tables. Lots of energy. Not to
be too egotistical, but it seemed that Israel Vibration had
heard us the night before, and so they played hard and
mean, as if to have been inspired by... something.
One thing about the scene here: a lot of crazy star
tripping goes on in the reggae scene. Israel Vibration
deserve all the props and respect in the world, but did they
really have to send in their road manager to our dressing
room, just to make sure that we didn't get more than they
did? And, I remember being kicked out of the dressing
room in San Louis Obispo by Alpha Blondi... guess we
were the underlings... bah, I shouldn't worry too much
about it. How many times have I been on the other end of
the stick? "No wait, you opening band maggots, that is
OUR beer, the HEADLINER's beer! Go back to your own
dressing room and drink your sodas!" Reality Check,
Buford!
Santa Cruz, the Catalyst. I've played this club many times,
and it was good to be back. On the drive, Iray, Junior and
Dollarman were on a roll, spirited rants and sermons
regarding Rastafari, injustice, God, all the things which the
music I play is about. All the while, in the other van, I
learned that Jen, Tamar, Jeremy and Dave were ranting
about other injustices, more in line with the current project.
Energy is rising. Tensions are mounting.
So we load in, wait for the "Star Headliners" to Vibrate their
way through sound check... and the tension amongst us
openers explodes, and a few Easy Stars collide in a quite
uneasy fashion. Every band has moments of friction, so
whatever... just calm down there, kids.
In the ska bands with which I've played, there was always
the "rock on" attitude, where everyone is just bashing their
way through the set because it is fun - because playing
music is a fun thing to do. Well, in this here Easy Star
Galaxy, it seems that people want their moments in the
spot light to be "respected". We all blow up, now and
again, but come on, guys, YOU made the decision to be on
this tour, so take the time to appreciate it. Will you be on
stage forever? Will you have the energy to face a room
full of happy fans when you are all fat and old? Okay, so
you got some issues, just be nice about it, don't get all
freaked out, huffy, angry and righteous. Handle it like a
pro. That goes for all of you! This concludes BUFORD'S
sermon for the day.
Healdsurg, CA. The Raven rocks! Finally, we are the
headliners! No more being kicked out of the dressing
room, no more setting up in front of someone else's gear!
Yay! Plus, they have a big paper eclipse already set up
on stage. And, they cook us dinner! Boy, is this where all
the '60's imagination migrated to? If so, I'm dropping out
and turning on right here! Great crowd, good vibes, and
all should be well in the Easy Star universe!
San Francisco, CA. Last gig, easy drive, momentum
building up to the end of this run. We are all tired and
hungry and road rotted out. Drew had said that we would
have had time to sit down for breakfast last night, but
things have changed. Well, I'm with him. We have to get
our breakfast to go. This angers some people, which I
guess is due to fatigue. Doesn't matter to me, but it does
make things a bit tense amongst the troops. The solution?
We split up, one van stays to eat Denny's genetically
modified bacon, and one van goes on to check in to the
next hotel. As they say, it's all good!
Boy, am I glad I got it to go. I GET MY OWN ROOM! Take
that, breakfast eaters! Ah, my own bed, my own shower,
oh it feels so GOOD! That's what I call a Grand Slam!
Huge auditorium, we open the show, and the applause
sounds like a record. Wow, even if it is three in the
afternoon, man this feels good. I could get used to this.
More free food, free beer, and once the show is over, I feel
the gravity of home pulling me back east. Back to the cold,
the snow, the realities of life... not that this hasn't been
real, but now the star voyage is over.
Don't get me wrong, I may rant about the negative a bit,
but all in all this is one groovy project.
Dave Hillyard Tour!
December, 2004 - Well, I had an excellent time with Dave
and the Rock Steady (Weapon). It was the wildest
experience being on a tour bus, I mean LIVING on a tour
bus. My bunk was right behind the TV, so I slept to the
movies that the insomniacs watched. I never changed time
zones. My day was comprised of sleep from about five or
six am to three or four pm while the bus drove from one
destination to the other. Then, I woke up to load in to the
club, breakfast was the deli tray and maybe a beer. Then,
I would walk around town, if there was one and if it wasn't
too rainy or cold. Showers were hit or miss, but everything
smelled all the time. The gigs were great, most notable
Paris, Berlin and Utrecht. Glad to be home, American
holidays, now on to 2005!
Dub is a Weapon in the studio!
DIAW has recorded THREE HOURS of music! Engineered
by Dan Jesselsohn and recorded at Ben Herson's studio in
Bed Stuy, the tracks came out unbelievably rocking. The
band was fueled on Jerk Chicken and Curry Goat from
Golden Crust, not to mention lots Cafe Bustello. After
much editing I'm sure, these songs will find some good
action out there! See the Schedule page for upcoming
shows.Cleveland
I am quite proud to announce that Megalith Records, the
venerable home-burnt successor to MoonSkaNYC of the
'80s and '90s, has released eight new tracks in digital
format, and a seven inch vinyl with three of them for you
turntablists out there. The project is called “L.R.T.R.”,
produced by Victor Rice, recorded in New York, and
mixed/mastered in Brazil. It features Ticklah on keyboards,
Mr. Rice on bass, Eddie Ocampa on drums, Agent Jay on
guitar, and Paul Gebhardt on sax. These tracks will be
available online, and the single will be available from my
site, from Megalith itself, and at Easy Star shows that I am
on.
3Dubs (OUT OF PRINT)
It has been two years in the making, actually longer if you
bring it back to the original sessions, but finally it is
finished. Produced by Victor Rice, mixed at Studio Copan,
and mastered by Fernando Sanches at studio El Rochain,
both in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I have seven new songs ready
for release. As pre-release, I am selling "3dubs", a
collection of three mixes that are included in the project.
These tracks are spacious, psychedelic dubs featuring
Eddie Ocampo on drums, Agent jay Nugent on guitar,
Victors Axelrod and Rice on keys and bass respectively,
and Paul Gebhardt on saxes. You can buy these tracks at
the merch booth on the Easy Star All-Stars England/
European tour!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!
On The Road 2010
It has been a dizzying couple of years with Easy Star, and
the dream continues through the fall with extensive touring
throughout the UK, and across mainland Europe. Please
check the schedule for exact dates!
Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band
This is my third time participating with Easy Star in a recording project. This
one came out stunningly. It has been getting rave reviews, and people are
flocking to see the show. Ranking Roger sings 'For the Benefit of Mr. Kite'.
Produced by Michael Goldwasser.
Summertime Summertime...
I don't update this page enough. I should, you know,
because actual websites are... okay, here I go doing the
accent... 'like way cooler' than myface or spacebook...
Oh, the accent - I hear it all the time up here in the East
Village. I think most people are faking it - they just want to
seem young and hip, or something like that. I guess since
the buildings all have facades, then people think that they
should too. Should they also have cornices and
basements?
I digress. This page is 'News', so here it is. Good evening,
here is the news.
1. I just returned from Paris playing with Antibalas
Afrobeat Orchestra. It was great fun. A week in Paris,
then some gigs in Normandy and the foothills. Tres
expensive!! If you want to see some Youtube footage,
follow this link!
I will also be doing some shows with them in Los Angeles,
San Diego, Dublin and SanFrancisco. Right now, their
regular trombonist A.J. is doing the 'Fella: The Musical"
show in New York, so I am filling in. This will end in late
September, when the show closes and he returns. At that
point, I will:
2. ... go on the road with 'The Easy Star All-Stars' to begin
promoting their new project. At this point, it is a secret, so
sorry if I do not spill the beans yet. I can tell you what the
project is NOT! It is not "Dub For Teacher". No, it is not
"The Dub Street Boys". Don't worry, you will find out soon
enough.
In other news, my first seven inch single "I Can't Decide"
has finally sold out! No more, save for my personal stash.
Thank you all for buying copies! It was a good project. I
am currently working on new stuff with Victor Rice, so
maybe I will make a new single out of that.
Well that's about it for now. Like, you know, I'm so hot,
like, oh my new cellphone like ROCKS... blah blah...
Peace, see you soon!!
The Future is Now!
This is now 2008! Twenty or thirty years ago, they were
writing science fiction that took place in this time. 2001: A
Space Odyssey! Space: 1999! Even Blade Runner was
supposed to take place in 2016 or something, and that's,
you know, like eight years from now. Well, there are no
orbiting hotels, moon bases, replicants, or slick flying cars
descending into mammoth buildings. Okay, I can accept
that. It isn't as cool as it was supposed to be, but what are
you gonna do?
Then again, if you are reading this, you are most definitely
on a computer. You may be viewing this on a mobile
device, like an Iphone. Well, that's pretty sci-fi compared
to 1968, when all they had were Ford Falcons, record
players, acid, and stuffy, horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing
republicans.
So, instead of trying to sell you records, I am promoting my
career by telling you about CDs (already fast becoming
obsolete), or better yet, digital downloads! I wonder what
the aliens think about that!
Check out the thumbnails to the left. Easy Star has some
good material that I play on, and it is available if you just
click!
Until that Day is a bunch of songs written by the musicians
in the band. We sell them at our shows in CD form, but as
you are online right now, you can do the download thing!
Radiodread is the big project, recorded a few years ago, it
has already sold a respectable amount of copies, and so
you can buy one at a store!
I will be updating this site with more projects as they come
in, so please check back frequently.
Until that day, scroll down to see past news headlines!
Hello Again!
It has been a long time since I last updated this site. I am
so sorry, I got caught up in that whole Myspace thing.
Lately, I have been getting spammed there with lots of silly
ads... I mean, I like the girlie pictures and all, but I've
always thought that site to be immune from that stuff. Well,
I think that my own secure space is better. So, I will be
tweaking bufordosullivan.com to make it better.
Just to recap, I've been playing exclusively with Easy Star.
The other bands that I'd been active with - Dub is a
Weapon and The Toasters, are also busy as hell, and
there were so many conflicts that I had to step aside for
them to bring in some friends of mine to take over. Its
okay, I mean, I was a bit sad to let them go, especially with
DIAW's recent affiliation with Lee "Scratch" Perry, but the
reality of this business is that consistancy rules. Rather
than have it all be an anxious game of juggling, I chose just
one to be the main thing. So, here I am on the road in Italy
with ESAS, while The Toasters rock the Warped Tour and
DIAW march on with LSP.
I still have my solo career, though, and I'll not let that go.
I'll be playing with Royal Roost ("The Roosters") at the
Knitting Factory on August 4th. I hope you can attend!
Easy Star All-Atars release 'Radiodread"!
The Easy Star All-stars, known for their rendition of "Dub
Side of the Moon", have released their follow-up
"Radiodread", a full-length rendition of Radioheads "OK
Computer". The sessions were done last year - I was in
the studio for a couple of days with Jenny Hill and Pam
Flemming laying down horn charts. The guest vocalistts
(Toots and the Maytals, Israel Vibrations, Morgan
Heritage... et al) were tracked at places like Electric Lady
in NYC, and down in Miami, and then the whole thing was
mixed in Sao Paulo with Michael G and V. Rice at the
controls for the heart of the fun.
When I listened to the mixes, my head blew off. I mean,
this stuff is GOOD! Everyone had been voicing their
skeptisism for so long, that I was so glad to be glad. HA!
Naysayers be damned! Just watch the reviews come in
glowing on this one!
Check the Schedule for live shows.
Toaster Tour Eurolicious!
Went off to Spain and Germany with the Toasters this past
July. I hadn't played with this band for ages, and so I was
not quite prepared for the intensive drinking that this band
requires. My liver will not be the same! Neither will my
pancreas, as much pork as I ate. There was dried pork,
cooked pork, sweinflieisch, frikadellen, schnizel, pork for
breakfast, pork for lunch and pork for dinner. There was
even pork on TV, as I watched a fascinating documentary
of a man who made Goldschlagger-wurst! Flecks of gold
in pork sausage... only in Germany!
Down in Spain, we recorded some tunes and hung out at
Buck's villa in Valencia. We ate some pork, though this
time it was spanish style, drank beer and wine, hung with
the family (thanks, Kim, for the paiella... which contained
no pork, I was told).
We played festivals all over Europe. We stayed out all
night until the premature Summertime Euro dawn, and we
rode in the van - the only time for precious sleep. It was a
great touir - I am a changed man now.
LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY ON TOUR!
The run with Lee Scratch Perry was a trek through the
sprawl with one of the wisest musicians of all time. People
say he's crazy, and indeed he put on the act well, but I
could see that it was just his way of getting through life.
Sun Ra also voiced his allegiance to the great beyond. I
do it too, sometimes, when I wish to add some distance
between me and the shit of this world... I mean, come on!
We're ALL aliens!
There was no rehearsal, barely a pre-gig meeting, and
there we were onstage with him just outside DC in
Bladensberg. The club owner had tried to cancel the
show earlier, and I was prepared to lose my bet with Dan
on the percentage likelyhood that we'd actually do the LSP
set. I was at 95%, he was at 75% when the CO began to
shout at us from the side of the stage. For a second
there, I thought I'd be a dollar shorter, but D Hahn held
some petty awkward huddles as the audience looked on
with a certain amount of recollection that something was
amiss. Then everything was okay again. Lee Perry came
in, and after the break we took the stage to bring him on.
We all just did the show, LSP included, like we were
learning to ride a bike for the first time. Maybe we fell off
that bike once or twice on that first night.
But by the second night in Baltimore, we were already
without the training wheels. It was a great show! Some of
the grandest moments in DIAW history were taking form. I
learned to play the background vocal parts with LSP on
the Marley tunes, and D Hahn started dubbing out his
voice. The only thing that severely disappointed me that
night was that I didn't get the crab cakes - I got Chinese.
Philly was packed! Mike McDermott (Bouncing Souls) was
there with his daughter, who proceeded to tear up the
place. LSP began breaking out the incense in a big way.
The tunes were taking on form, and we were all feeling
comfortable enough to let the good times start taking their
places.
The party raged at New Haven. The dressing room was
packed and smoky, with a big red plastic container full of
beer, and we had to fight off the mooching Yale frat boys
who had no idea who Lee Scratch Perry was, in favor of
their contractual obligation to target the band's pittance of
Heineken. Dan threw them out.
So we finished it in New York, at BB King's, with a good
throng of people who, unlike the beer pillagers of the
previous night, DID have an idea who Lee Scratch Perry
was. We were playing in front of his fans, who had seen
him with other backing bands, and so it was up to us to
honor the man with a good performance. All we really did
was keep on riding the bike. The show had a flow by this
time. LSP really seemed to enjoy himself, especially on his
new song, "Crooks in the Business". We did too!
In the end, it never seemed that we were in the presence
of a lunatic or an alien. LSP has been playing music for
longer than any of us, and THAT is what it felt like. He is
an elder world citizen, his crazy act just a front really. I got
a kind of zen education from him while on stage, the tag
line being simply, "Let us get through the show, and please
make it lovely!"
BRAZIL!
I spell it "Tuto Beign", but that is not how you spell it, really,
in Portugese. I think its "Bene"... The cities are all partially
broken down with abandoned buildings, or unfinished
construction sites, the women are extraordinarily beautiful,
and the food is excellent! We met Markey Ramone! We
played with Firebug in Sao Paulo. I saw the Christ statue
in Rio, went to the beach, got one hour of sleep, flew to
Belo Horizonte and slept for fourteen hours. I liked Buenos
Aires the best probably because of the steak... but more
than other cities, it reminded me of New York back in 1985,
in a good way! Things were cheap, people were friendly,
and I ate the best steak of my life... you know... come on!
Tranquility in print!
Finally, after all of my ballyhooing, boasting, and blah-blah-
blahing, here it comes, my first novel available in
paperback here. I can't be more psyched! Jenny Hill, my
friend the saxophonist, used her experience in proof-
reading to go over this big thing, and she gave me some
editorial advice. The result is, in my humble opinion, one
crazy story, set in the future, with all the excitement of a
Hollywood blockbuster, minus the product placement.
Please check this out, and feel free to send me an email
with your four-star reviews!
Welcome to Eu-rock!
Yay Europe! Hello Strasbourg! We are the Easy Star All Stars! The bus is
dope, my bunk is near the front, so I can get some sleep when the crazy kids
are playing their crazy music at any crazy time they want without me
complaining. We were supposed to be touring in the bus WITH hotels, but
wouldn't you know it, the tour manager and the bus driver both decide dthat
the drives are too long, so we'll be dirving through the night, sleeping in the
pods, just like a punk rock band. Only, this is a reggae all-star band. The
excitement is just about to begin!
Dub is a Weapon with Lee "Scratch" Perry
MAN, WHAT A DEBACLE! A note here about some recent
events in Dub is a Weapon Land. You see, we were
supposed to ... well, we had the opportunity to..., oh, what
a mess! Anyway, way back when, Dub is a Weapon did
this tour of the Eastern Seaboard. It was a tough tour, the
Fall of '04, I believe. There were two hurricanes, and one
circled around to hit us twice, so maybe there were three...
I don't know, some gigs got cancelled, we were stuck in
Asheville NC (which was not bad, because we had a
rocking last minute gig... I hope we go back there, but
anyway,)... on that tour, we played Jacksonville Florida, for
about ten wonderful fans. ONe of them was Lee Scratch
Perry's American manager. He calls up a year later to ask
DIAW to be Lee's back-up band. Oh, we take it, don't you
know! We prepare, we rehearse 'INSPECTOR GADGET,
we fly Dave Wake in from Wisconsin, and we're ready to
do this excellent tour... w
ell, it gets cancelled at the last minute. We are supposed
to play BB King's in NYC, and the Long Beach Arena in
CA! Along comes the cancellation, but we still get to play
BB King's. So, we get a call that the CA show is still on!
We rehearse some more. Then, a day before we're
supposed to fly out, we get a call that instead of playing
the show, Old Scratch wants to take a vacation with his
Swiss wife... well he is a legend and all, so if he wants to
take a vacation, he can take one... but Dub is Weapon is
screwed. Such a sad story, buty that is show business, I
guess. Anyway, I have a word for that: FUCKERY!
Buford O'Sullivan and the Weapons Live AGAIN!
Friday, January 20th, 10:00 pm
Knitting Factory, NYC
Three Floors of Ska!
Time for another Show! Same Club - Knitting Factory,
different floor! This time, we're down at the third floor, set
time is approximately 10:00pm. Some one, come all, and if
you want to hear what we sound like, click here!
Buford O'Sullivan and the Weapons Live!
Sunday, December 18th, 7:30 pm
Knitting Factory, NYC
with The Slackers, and Tri-State Conspiracy
The Weapons are, in essence, Dub is a Weapon; Dave
Hahn, Ben Herson, Ben Rogerson, and Dan Jesselsohn,
with Dan De La Cruz from John Brown's Body on sax.
BOS&TW will be playing second on the 3 band bill - set
time is 8:15pm - supporting The Slackers for their special
Holiday spectacular. This will hopefully be the first of any
number of wild, action-packed shows. If you're in the area,
please come by!
Pacific Jam Down Tour 2005!
The Dub Side of the Moon is coming back to the West
Coast, this time doing a fab run from Seattle down to San
Diego. With us will be John Brown’s Body, the excellent
prog-reggae band from Ithaca NY. If you live on the Pacific
side of things, then get out of your hot tub, drop that
avocado wrap, tell your agent that you are booked for the
night, and drive that hybrid over to the nearest club to
catch this show! You will not be sorry. A little East Coast
action will do you good!
Schedule!
Hopes and Fears on Itunes!
Due to popular demand, my first solo CD, “The Club of
Hopes and Fears” is now available at the Itunes store in its
entirety, or at US$ 0.90 per song. As I did with “The Sexy
Eye”, there is a trailer available for viewing. I’m proud of
it! Please CHECK IT OUT!!!
Easy Star Part Two!
The Easy Star All-Stars have gone back into the studio for
some highly secret action. I am not at liberty to discuss it
at this time, but I can say that the basic tracks have been
recorded, and are being edited by Michael G. Stay tuned
for more updates!
Dub is a Weapon Mixdown!
Dan Jesselsohn and Dave Hahn are in the studio to bring
the new DIAW project to completion. First, the notorious
Dollarman went in and sang “The Clock is Ticking”, and
Dan has made a groovy mix of that one. Then I went in
and blew a few solos. Aaron Johnson and Stewart Bogie
of Antibalas have gone in front of the mic to add more
horns… no I am not jealous or possessive of my space
there, because these guys are great players and good
friends… I can share! The final mixdown is to happen
sometime at the end of October, so you can expect some
action on this front soon!
Tranquility in print?
Say it isn’t So! Well, It could be, and probably will be if I
have my way. In beautiful Flatbush Brooklyn on Cortelyou
Road is this place called “Vox Pop”, a socially conscious
neighborhood coffee and beer bar, where there is
something called an “Instabook Machine”. It produces
these paperbacks, and I have made arrangements for the
newly proofed version of “Tranquility” to be printed up. So,
as soon as the guy can get to it, there will be copies of my
futurist detective novel available for purchase online! I will
certainly keep you all informed!
The Club of Hopes and Fears on Itunes!
Thanks to Bucket (Toasters), my first solo CD “The Club of
Hopes and Fears” is available for digital download on
Itunes! This was recorded back in the nineties, and
released on Ska Satellite records. Musicians include
Victor Rice, Eddie Ocampo, Agent Jay, and more! To buy
from Itunes, click here!
Dub Side in the UK
All right, a few dates in Jolly Old England! After a lousy
American Airlines flight with bland food and pricey drinks
(on an international flight?), we land at Heathrow to await
the fabulous Starliner, a double-decker tour bus! Stee is
the road manager, so Ah, but what a wonderful ride! I
claim my bunk and settle in to cure myself of jetlag.
The Brook, Portswood Southampton. A pub-like affair, two
stories of British wood and pictures of rock stars of yore.
Indian take-out for dinner, a tandoori combination that will
repeat for hours to come. Not the hugest turn-out, but
those who are there love it, crowded up against the stage
and, at least it looks crowded from where I am standing.
Some regular fans who had seen us at the Big Chill festival
last year. We drive away from the gig to park at Brighton
by the sea. Excellent to wake up to the sun through the
mist, rocks on the beach, and a crazy rock and roll coffee
place right across the street, where I have my first nasty
men’s room tooth brushing of the tour.
The Mean Fiddler, London. We were all wondering how it
would be to play London one week after the bombings
(and, as it will turn out, not long before the second failed
attack). I was expecting something akin to NYC in 2001,
but not at all. The club is near Piccadilly Circus, and the
streets are crowded, vibrant, and expensive! London
never skips a beat, does it? Jolly Good there Chaps, I
must say! The club is the basement to the Astoria, a big
venue, and the dressing rooms are small and wretched,
just as any big city should offer. In good form, the All Stars
rant and rave, complain and offer countless suggestions
as to what better dressing rooms we SHOULD have…
Opening band is Pama International, who rock in solid
fashion. Drive back to Brighton this time to check in to a
hotel. It is the longest check in that I’ve ever been privy to
wait for. The guy at the desk must be playing some kind of
game. Too late for a Donner Kebap, so I just lean my
head against the wall of the front office and wait for my key.
Komedia Club, Brighton. What a town Brighton is! We
have the day to walk around and enjoy the Summer Sea
Side. I walk around with Jay Rodriguez and Ivan Katz, with
“Can you see the REEEEEL Me, Can ya? CAN YA????”
stuck in my head (The Who, Quadraphenia for those of
you who don’t know). We walk to the pier, gawk at the
girls, eat some Italian food, and I think to myself, wow, I
could live here! At least for the summer. Later on, the
show is SOLD OUT! Hang out with Stee, his ex-girlfriend,
and Emma, and Anonius Ceaser, who runs a club across
town. Great show!
Custard Factory, Birmingham. We stayed at the Old
Crown, which is supposed to be the “Oldest Inn in
Europe”. Gaps in the walls, old wood beams, I can feel the
ghosts. I sleep from 7am to about 2 in the afternoon, at
which point I go downstairs and have a Guinness for
breakfast. The gig is chaotic, insane like the punk and ska
shows I’ve played. Some drunk bastard tries to grab my
slide while I’m playing, but instead he knocks over Jay’s
music stand. Jay is ready to kick that guys’ ass, but the
drunken girlfriend drags him away. Hang out ‘till dawn at
the club across the street, dancing with Irish and Scottish
girls to a really bad (as in just plain bad) DJ. Great fun,
this UK place.
Glade Festival, Redding. A crazy druggie hippie techno
UK Festival with tents, dust, and nightmare-inducing porta-
loos. We play in the afternoon, and they dance and go
crazy for us. Great fun. Afterwards, we hang out. I
checked out some of the DJs and things. It seems that
magic mushrooms are to become illegal come midnight, so
there is a special tent that is offering great deals on them (I
don’t do that kind of thing, so I just watch the people
hanging around tripping their brains away). As the
evening progresses, the price gets lower and lower, until
come midnight, they are free. Funny stuff. We sleep on
the bus, and then drive through the morning to catch our
flight home.
All in all, a good run. Hope there’s another one soon!
The Sexy Eye
Finally! After all this time, The Sexy Eye is re-released.
Available on the Itunes Store, Rhapsody, and MusicNow.
Napster, and others, are soon to be up and running as
well. The thing about Itunes, is that you don't have to pay
for the service! All the songs are yours, if you like, or you
can just get the ones you like. You'll soon be able to get it
as a ringtone! Imagine, having ME tell you when you're
getting a call. Please remember to put the thing on silent,
when you're in the movie theater!
View the Sexy Eye Trailer!
Easy Star in Cali!
Long Beach! Woa, a big arena show at the Long Beach
Convention & Entertainment Center. First show after one
of the most annoying flights I've had in recent memory, but
at least Jet Blue gave me a free beer! Big crowd
celebrating Bob Marley, and we went on as if we were from
the Dub Side. Good catering over there, man I love
Southern California's Mexican culinary tendencies.
Nothing better than Tillapia, rice beans, cheese, cilantro,
salsa fresca with some nice spicy sauce, all on a flour
tortilla. Rain and mud slides, this looks like it may be the
rain tour of 2005, but we'll see. The mighty Drew is tour
managing, so I will have no worries as far as when to be
where. He's the boss.
Playing four shows with Israel Vibration, a couple with
Alpha Blondie, even Jimmy Cliff.
San Louis Obispo... or however you spell it... was quite a
fun show, opening for Alpha Blondie. The crowd was
definitely into the show (Rock on). It was a crazy all-ages
show, so the alcoholics were banished to stand behind the
divider and watch from the side. The kids owned the
dance floor. Alpha had a rocking band, and a tight horn
section. They didn't hang out that much - and they kicked
us out of the dressing room... but they are French and
African... maybe there's a cultural divide. I DID speak with
Alpha himself, though, and he was gracious, nice, and
reverent, considering that I did not recognize him, and
introduced myself to him by asking "What's your name?"
Oh Buford... well, he didn't seem to mind.
Bakersfield! Oh yeah. Monday night, the end of the
holiday, so it was a bit slow, but still fun. Thanks to the bar
for anesthetizing me with Newcastle. Trying to learn Maya
6, a 3-D animation software, while I'm in the van and
waiting for sound check. Truly a complicated program.
Wish me luck! So far, I can make a cube spin.
One thing about being on the road, is that I watch more TV
(no cable at home). Roomie is Dave Hahn, and we
discovered a SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT MODEL
MARATHON on Spike TV. All day, swimsuit model
contestants go through the rigors of competing for the
coveted position. It was on when we checked out of one
hotel, and when we checked in to the next. Yes, it was a
good day.
On to Sacramento at Harlow's, a nice art deco club. Odd
that a place so close to San Francisco would offer such
mediocre Chinese food! Wouldn't you think that such
close proximity to one of the richest Asian footholds on the
North American continent would influence the take out
joints in Arnold Schwarzenegger City? Nope. The Sesame
Chicken in this city SUCKS!
However, Israel Vibration rocks it heavy. I've never seen
them before, didn't know their history. Check out http:
//www.israelvibration.net/ to get to know them, and then
you should see them at your earliest convenience. A great
band, (though they could use a real horn section, but I
guess Korg has undercut horn players... but that's another
story).
Crystal Bay, Nevada, is really Lake Tahoe with a line down
the center. The Club was in a casino, which was in the
basement of the hotel, which was in the realm of Satan
himself. You had booze, slot machines, and reggae music,
so if you got bored, you could always gamble away your
money. I actually ended up ahead $1.50. All the free
good I could ever want, and Heineken cans. This was a
packed night, hippie kids everywhere milling around the
slumped-over addicts at the tables. Lots of energy. Not to
be too egotistical, but it seemed that Israel Vibration had
heard us the night before, and so they played hard and
mean, as if to have been inspired by... something.
One thing about the scene here: a lot of crazy star
tripping goes on in the reggae scene. Israel Vibration
deserve all the props and respect in the world, but did they
really have to send in their road manager to our dressing
room, just to make sure that we didn't get more than they
did? And, I remember being kicked out of the dressing
room in San Louis Obispo by Alpha Blondi... guess we
were the underlings... bah, I shouldn't worry too much
about it. How many times have I been on the other end of
the stick? "No wait, you opening band maggots, that is
OUR beer, the HEADLINER's beer! Go back to your own
dressing room and drink your sodas!" Reality Check,
Buford!
Santa Cruz, the Catalyst. I've played this club many times,
and it was good to be back. On the drive, Iray, Junior and
Dollarman were on a roll, spirited rants and sermons
regarding Rastafari, injustice, God, all the things which the
music I play is about. All the while, in the other van, I
learned that Jen, Tamar, Jeremy and Dave were ranting
about other injustices, more in line with the current project.
Energy is rising. Tensions are mounting.
So we load in, wait for the "Star Headliners" to Vibrate their
way through sound check... and the tension amongst us
openers explodes, and a few Easy Stars collide in a quite
uneasy fashion. Every band has moments of friction, so
whatever... just calm down there, kids.
In the ska bands with which I've played, there was always
the "rock on" attitude, where everyone is just bashing their
way through the set because it is fun - because playing
music is a fun thing to do. Well, in this here Easy Star
Galaxy, it seems that people want their moments in the
spot light to be "respected". We all blow up, now and
again, but come on, guys, YOU made the decision to be on
this tour, so take the time to appreciate it. Will you be on
stage forever? Will you have the energy to face a room
full of happy fans when you are all fat and old? Okay, so
you got some issues, just be nice about it, don't get all
freaked out, huffy, angry and righteous. Handle it like a
pro. That goes for all of you! This concludes BUFORD'S
sermon for the day.
Healdsurg, CA. The Raven rocks! Finally, we are the
headliners! No more being kicked out of the dressing
room, no more setting up in front of someone else's gear!
Yay! Plus, they have a big paper eclipse already set up
on stage. And, they cook us dinner! Boy, is this where all
the '60's imagination migrated to? If so, I'm dropping out
and turning on right here! Great crowd, good vibes, and
all should be well in the Easy Star universe!
San Francisco, CA. Last gig, easy drive, momentum
building up to the end of this run. We are all tired and
hungry and road rotted out. Drew had said that we would
have had time to sit down for breakfast last night, but
things have changed. Well, I'm with him. We have to get
our breakfast to go. This angers some people, which I
guess is due to fatigue. Doesn't matter to me, but it does
make things a bit tense amongst the troops. The solution?
We split up, one van stays to eat Denny's genetically
modified bacon, and one van goes on to check in to the
next hotel. As they say, it's all good!
Boy, am I glad I got it to go. I GET MY OWN ROOM! Take
that, breakfast eaters! Ah, my own bed, my own shower,
oh it feels so GOOD! That's what I call a Grand Slam!
Huge auditorium, we open the show, and the applause
sounds like a record. Wow, even if it is three in the
afternoon, man this feels good. I could get used to this.
More free food, free beer, and once the show is over, I feel
the gravity of home pulling me back east. Back to the cold,
the snow, the realities of life... not that this hasn't been
real, but now the star voyage is over.
Don't get me wrong, I may rant about the negative a bit,
but all in all this is one groovy project.
Dave Hillyard Tour!
December, 2004 - Well, I had an excellent time with Dave
and the Rock Steady (Weapon). It was the wildest
experience being on a tour bus, I mean LIVING on a tour
bus. My bunk was right behind the TV, so I slept to the
movies that the insomniacs watched. I never changed time
zones. My day was comprised of sleep from about five or
six am to three or four pm while the bus drove from one
destination to the other. Then, I woke up to load in to the
club, breakfast was the deli tray and maybe a beer. Then,
I would walk around town, if there was one and if it wasn't
too rainy or cold. Showers were hit or miss, but everything
smelled all the time. The gigs were great, most notable
Paris, Berlin and Utrecht. Glad to be home, American
holidays, now on to 2005!
Dub is a Weapon in the studio!
DIAW has recorded THREE HOURS of music! Engineered
by Dan Jesselsohn and recorded at Ben Herson's studio in
Bed Stuy, the tracks came out unbelievably rocking. The
band was fueled on Jerk Chicken and Curry Goat from
Golden Crust, not to mention lots Cafe Bustello. After
much editing I'm sure, these songs will find some good
action out there! See the Schedule page for upcoming
shows.Cleveland
