In de late jaren 80 en begin jaren 90 braken ze door met albums als "Buffalo Tom" (1988) en "Birdbrain" (1990), geproduceerd door J Mascis van Dinosaur Jr. Tijdens de alternatieve rockscene van die tijd stonden ze bekend om hun dynamische liveoptredens en werd vaak vergeleken met bands als Hüsker Dü en The Replacements. Nummers als "Taillights Fade" en "Soda Jerk" behoren tot hun bekendste werken.

Met een mix van melodie, introspectieve teksten, prachtige harmonieën en krachtige liveoptredens veroverden ze snel een trouwe fanbase en een plekje in de alternatieve rockgeschiedenis.

Het aankomend concert in De Roma in Antwerpen op 3 oktober was meteen uitverkocht, wat de blijvende populariteit van de band onderstreept.

BIO

It’s been 38 years since Bill Janovitz (vocals, guitar), Chris Colbourn (bass, vocals), and Tom Maginnis (drums) formed Buffalo Tom in the fall of 1986 in Northampton, MA while students at the University of Massachusetts in neighboring Amherst.

“We are happy to still be around and have anyone coming to see us, never mind to release our tenth long-player Jump Rope,” says guitarist Bill Janovitz.

It’s been six years since 2018s album, Quiet and Peace, but with the rest of the world, the pandemic put a halt to their momentum. “Being locked down in our homes, with instruments and recording gear, we kept on writing, accruing a sizable backlog of song ideas, and sending each other ideas for arrangements and parts.”

A sort of direction made itself apparent from the ideas they were trading; most of the songs called for an acoustic, quieter production. Eventually, emerging from their basements, they slowly got to actually working together on the songs in the same room, rehearsing quietly (especially for the super-loud Buffalo Tom), with acoustic guitar. 

“When we finally were ready to start recording, we again turned to Dave Minehan at his nearby Woolly Mammoth studio.” Dave has worked with Buffalo Tom on Quiet and Peace. As a musician (Dave led the Boston legends, the Neighborhoods and played guitar with Paul Westerberg and in the reunited Replacements), Dave brings both production and engineering expertise and a sympathetic musical ear and sensibility. “He listened, perhaps bemusedly, as we explained our intended approach. And sure enough, all of the basic tracks were played with Bill on acoustic guitar, which definitely changed the feel and attack of Chris on bass and Tom on drums.”

Still, intentions got put on the back burner as the band started to give the songs what they needed. “We were not going to make a folk record for christsakes.” No, most of the songs received a good amount of overdubs, and a lot of electric guitars after all, albeit few that pummel. There’s more attention paid to textures and the layering of vocals. The process was done most in sessions of a few days, spread out over a year, with one or two longer stretches as they finished up. “Our days of the band being a full-time pursuit ended as the Nineties closed out. We had to schedule around jobs, family, and other grown-up stuff.”

When they were done, John Agnello, who produced and mixed Sleepy Eyed, and mixed Quiet and Peace stepped in for the final touches. “We think the project evolved beautifully and are thrilled with the results. We look forward to adding these songs alongside BT classics when we take on whatever limited touring we are able to do.”

Discography

Buffalo Tom (1988)

Birdbrain (1990)

Let Me Come Over (1992)

Big Red Letter Day (1993)

Sleepy Eyed (1995)

Smitten (1998)

Three Easy Pieces (2007)

Skins (2011)

Quiet and Peace (2018)

Jump Rope (2024)