Guillermo CastroWhereas most bands try to avoid the stigma of genre labels, the Buzzards of Fuzz warmly embrace their self-appointed status as desert rock ambassadors. Led by Van Bassman (vocals, guitar) and Ben Davidow (vocals, guitar), the Atlanta rockers have been banging out sun-baked riffs and swinging grooves since their inception in 2014, all the while worshipping at the altar of beloved titans such as Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, and Fu Manchu. You need look no further than their name—a moniker that invokes both the stark freedom of the desert and the dirty, bourbon-soaked tones that drive their music—to understand where the group’s loyalties lie.
“Unlike most genres, desert rock does not have a specific sound but is more a unique set of ideals, so it can be kind of hard to identify out in the wild,” Bassman explains. “We fly Fred Drake’s freak flag high so that others can spot us.”
On Friday, the band will release their sophomore EP, a four-song blend of barnstorming rock n’ roll and subdued psychedelia called Hey! Hate City—a not so subtle nod to Atlanta’s longstanding reputation as “the city too busy to hate.” Although the record runs just a tad over seven minutes, the group manage to cover considerable ground and conjure a variety of atmospheres—from adventurous euphoria, to moods more dark and contemplative.
Opening with the Southern-fried stomp and growl of the title track, the EP quickly shifts into high gear, launching like a rocket into the raucous and freewheeling blues rock jam “I Think I Hit My Head on the Cactus.” From there, however, things take a decidedly heady turn, as the Buzzards spiral down into the dreamlike dirge “Moon Shadow Drive.” But of the EP’s four tracks, it’s the stirring closer “Like a Drug” that serves as the record’s emotional and spiritual peak. A cover of one of Josh Homme’s experiments from the Desert Sessions, the dark and sultry song features guest vocals from Sasha Vallely (Sash the Bash, Midnight Larks), and can be streamed exclusively below.
Ahead of the group’s release show this Friday at the Star Bar, we had an opportunity to speak with Bassman about the new record, their allegiance to the ideals and culture of desert rock, and the state of the rock scene in Atlanta.
Credit: Ashley Kauschinger
From your press release it’s tough to decide whether the EP title is meant to be snarky or if it’s a loving wink to Atlanta. Can you get into the specifics of how and why you came up with the title?
That’s Hate City for you, right? You just never can tell. It’s definitely from a place of love. Our scene is amazing but what makes it so fantastic is also why it can feel so hard sometimes. Trying to keep up with all the happenings in this city can be exhausting and, from a musician’s point of view, sometimes you may feel left out.
Hate City is a term I hear in the music community more than anywhere else, from bands in-town and out. Atlanta books something like five or six months out, [and] there are ninety killer shows here on any given Monday. There’s not a whole lot of markets that operate that way; it’s a very busy scene. As a result, bands assume there’s some sort of cabal that controls the scene or that people only get shows or go to shows because of who they know rather than what they do. If you’re not part of the in-crowd then everyone hates you or whatever. The reality is that Atlanta is too busy to hate you. Atlanta doesn’t know you!
There’s so much cool stuff going on here. How do you keep up? How do you stand out? How do you keep from being another jaded, starving artist talking shit about the other working bands in the city? You focus on what you love and you work your ass off. That’s the key to Atlanta’s heart, it always will be. It’s such a waste of time to approach this scene with negativity; Atlanta’s too busy for that, too!
Why is the desert and desert imagery so important to the band?
Our obsession with the desert initially started with the bands that influenced us the most—from Gram Parsons to Yawning Man to Chris Goss to Kyuss, etc. They all wrote about what was around them; they were all heavily influenced by the desert and with plenty of reason. The desert is a really really, interesting place. It’s unbelievably hot during the day, [and] a lot of the different bugs and critters don’t come out until nighttime. They spend all day storing up their energy and then at night it’s a totally different world. Everything is alive and free, enjoying the cool air and finding something to get into. Buzzards are that way, too. We bloom at night! I’m nowhere near as interesting at eight in the morning as I am on stage around nine at night.
Unlike most genres, desert rock does not have a specific sound but is more a unique set of ideals, so it can be kind of hard to identify out in the wild. We fly Fred Drake’s freak flag high so that others can spot us. We get so excited when we run into other desert rock bands on the road or at home, too. There’s not a ton of us so we try to look out for each other; the desert imagery makes it all a lot more visible. This EP is our way of combining both homes: Atlanta meet desert; desert this is my friend, Atlanta.
As one of the most active rock bands performing in Atlanta, how would you describe the current state of rock and roll in the city?
That’s a huge compliment; we’re very lucky to be a working band in this city. The rock scene in Atlanta is both excellent and growing. There are a ton of amazing rock bands in the city and the competition makes us all work harder. When we’re on the road I always see a piece of home everywhere we go: a CHEW flyer, a sticker from the Stir, BABY BABY carved into the wall, etcetera. Venues outside of Atlanta crave music from our scene. We’re welcomed everywhere we go, and we don’t take it lightly. We’re representing our town and we want people to know we work hard here, we grow rock and roll here. Come visit, you’ll have a great time! I’m sure it’s reciprocal to a degree, but the fact that I feel the tones of home everywhere we go let’s me know we do it right here. We’ve got a movement that’s not confined to the perimeter and that’s a big deal!
Credit: Ashley Kauschinger
This EP has the band sounding more relaxed and, in a way, more confident than in the past. Is the band in a more comfortable space or was there something specific about these sessions that allowed the band to cut loose and let it flow, per se?
I’m glad that came across! There were a number of factors and people that allowed us to do our best work here. As a band the jump across state lines to perform helped a ton. There’s a thousand yard stare you get on stage that only comes with doing it until it’s muscle memory and that certainly translates to any recording or writing. The more and more we do it, the better we’ll get.
Personally, I did a lot of work with Adam McIntyre of the Pinx prior to this record. His advice, mentorship, and friendship awoke a confidence from me that I didn’t previously think possible, and thanks to him I can take it anywhere I go. This was our first time working with Kris Sampson (Sampson Sound), and he just crushed it. It was absolutely our pleasure to work with him; he made himself available on extremely short notice and had the dials where we were thinking before we could even ask. Additionally, we’ve had a fantastic long standing relationship with Damon Moon of Standard Electric Recorders. He always knocks it out of the park, and he worked his ass off to make sure we made the best record possible. It takes a(n East Atlanta) Village!
The Josh Homme cover and collaboration with Sasha Vallely is one of the highlights of the record. How did that all come together?
One of my favorite little known record series from the desert are from The Desert Sessions. They began in the ’90s and most are out of print and limited to 1,000 copies, so if you weren’t there you probably missed it. Homme and company would bring different musicians who didn’t know each other out to Dave Catching’s Rancho De Luna Studio, introduce them, and give them a short time period to write and record songs to be released on Man’s Ruin Records.
“Like a Drug” was on Volume 6: Black Anvil Ego and was a collaboration between Josh Homme and Brant Bjork (Kyuss, Fu Manchu). It was such an interesting narrative about this train wreck of a couple that were missing each other, both literally and figuratively. It was so cool, so ’50s, so surf—but desert, too. As a band, we’ve been performing the cover for a year or two. We recently played with Sash the Bash at an A. Rippin Production show and she just threw down! Again, it’s so rare to meet another group who identifies as desert rock in Atlanta, and we thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to lay this cover down and include the female point of view?” I messaged Sasha and with a days notice she agreed to come record with us. She was an extreme pleasure to work with and such a pro. We had the best time! Only after we recorded did we find out that she was not only aware of the tune, she’s also on an unreleased Desert Sessions recording. These people who sparked the music movement that gave us life, she’s friends with them, she’s worked with them. An extreme case of birds of a feather flocking together.
The Buzzards of Fuzz will celebrate the release of Hey! Hate City on Fri., June 1 at Fuzzstock at Star Bar alongside Fantomen, Flashback Flash, and Twin Criminal. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $15. 21+ to enter.
More Info
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