What do you get when you take a guitarist whose first
instrument was a clarinet, a Dallas Cowboys loving bassist, a guitarist that
demands to play the drums and a vocalist that is waiting on a call from Dream
Theater? You get the gents from the band
Buzzürd. Four old guys that just dropped
an EP of exquisite frankensteinian doom titled “Uncreation” and the recipients
of this round of Fistful of Questions.
What is your full name and role in the band?
Daniel Anderson- Guitars
Ryan James- Bass
Colin Drake- Drums
Richard Loew- Vocals
Do you have any aliases?
Daniel- Nope.
Ryan- None I care to
share
Colin- That British
Guy
Richard- Jasenko
If you had an alias what would it be?
Daniel- Budda
Colin- Drake, Colin
Drake, Licensed to Bill...
What bands are you actively involved with?
Daniel- Buzzürd
Ryan- Buzzürd
Colin- Buzzürd; I’m a
One Band Man...
Richard- Crambone,
Rise to Die
What’s the name of the first band that you were in?
Daniel- I don’t
remember
Ryan- Prodigy was the
name of the high school talent show band I played bass in. We covered Down Boys
by Warrant and Seek and Destroy by Metallica.
Colin- 27; I played
guitar in that band. Buzzürd is the first band I’ve played drums in.
Richard- Yours Truly
in high school.
You were formerly called Justinian, correct?
Yes
What inspired the name change?
Ryan- Justinian was a
decent name but didn’t fit old dudes playing doom like Buzzürd did.
Colin- Lot’s of
people kept asking us ‘So…., what’s Justinian?’
Where did the name Justinian originate from?
Ryan- We threw random
names in a hat and that one got pulled. I suppose it refers to the Roman
emperor.
What inspired the name Buzzürd (which I love by the
way)?
Ryan- Trying to
describe ourselves with a proper name “old buzzards” I guess. The name Buzzard
was taken so we got creative with bad spelling.
Colin- Thanks!
Punctuation was really important to us as well; hence Buzzürd. The u felt
awkward…
Richard- I resemble a
buzzard as well.
Tell me about the formation of Buzzürd?
Ryan- Me and Daniel
met back in 2015 playing with a guy named Ron. After a month we decided to try
and do something ourselves and found some guitar player from London named Colin who absolutely insisted on
playing drums. We saw Richard play in a band we really dug called Plough and
thru mutual acquaintances asked him to sing for us.
Colin- We start each
gig in the I formation and usually move to a gullwing inverse V by the 3rd
song… I’d played guitar in bands back in the UK
and in a band in Texas,
and wanted to try a new challenge. I’d always dabbled with drums and liked the
idea of sitting down all the way through a gig…
Richard- I was real
impressed with these guys every time we played with them on a bill. It’s been a great evolution since I
joined. A real collaborative effort
here.
What instruments do you play?
Daniel- Guitar. Bass.
A little drums.
Ryan- Bass and Guitar
Colin- Drums, Guitar,
Ukulele, Banjo, Bass, Keyboards.
Richard- Throat
What musician or musicians have most influenced your
approach to music and or the way you play?
Ryan- Hendrix is my
favorite musician of all but I’m a rhythm player never really got into soloing.
Steve Harris is a huge influence as far as songwriting approach but I’m nowhere
near the player he is. I’m a huge Kiss fan and IMO Gene Simmons is one of the
most underrated bass players ever and that’s kinda the main influence.
Daniel- Billy
Gibbons, chet atkins, chuck berry. My dad worked at DBU as head librarian I would
go all summer and Listen to every record I could. Then I came across a Queen
album
Colin- On Drums; Jean
Paul Gaster, Chuck Biscuits, Joey Castillo, Buddy Rich, Brann Dailor. On
Guitar; Yngwie J(!) Malmsteen, Duane Allman, Brian May, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van
Halen
Richard- Bruce
Dickinson, Ronnie James Dio, James Labrie, Russell Allen, Freddie Mercury
What was the first instrument that you played?
Daniel- Clarinet
Ryan- Well I used to
beat on Kleenex boxes as my friends would strum the guitar. As far as trying to
actually learn a song, it was bass in 9th grade.
Colin- I started
classical guitar lessons aged 7.
Richard: I waited on recorder back in the day...played a
mean triangle too
Tell me about one of your first musical memories.
Daniel- Jamming with
my dad
Ryan- Seeing Motley
Crue in 1985. It was my first concert and I was blown away by the energy of
that band back then. About 6 years later I saw Kyuss open for Faith No More and
as good as FNM was, Kyuss took the show. They became a top five band for me.
Colin- Growing up in
the UK,
we lived near a football (soccer!) ground. I’d hear the fans singing their
songs and chants for the local home team and then copy them on the ride to
daycare. I always sang and played guitar in church but didn’t really get the
goosebumps for music until age 11 when I heard the album ‘Marching Out’ by
Yngwie J(!) Malmsteen. I’ve been hopelessly addicted to metal ever since.
Richard- My first
concert was Kiss on the Love gun tour...still remember how awesome they were.
Do you have any upcoming shows (when/where)?
Ryan- Division
Brewing, November 16th with From the Grave and Caballo Obscuro.
That’s your CD release show, right?
Yes
What were some of your favorite performances at Heavy Mash
2018?
Ryan- I was so glad
to have seen Witchcryer. I had heard so
much about them. Orthodox Fuzz is a dfw band I’ve just missed several times but
they were great.
Daniel- Witchcryer,
the great electric quest. Orthodox Fuzz. Hell I liked them all!
Colin- Had to work,
bummed…
Richard- Had to work
as well.
You guys have a new shirt on the horizon. When should we expect that to be available?
Ryan- We are hoping
to have that by the 16th.its a cool design David Paul Seymour did for us.
Colin- Just waiting
on the 4xl’s
What band or bands have you played with that have really
impressed you with their live show?
Daniel- Doomstress.
Wooden earth. WoFat. There’s a lot to name.
Ryan- Doomstress,
Space Ape, Caballo Obscuro, Stone Machine, always impressed by regional dooms
acts out here.
Colin- I’d say all
the above and add Turbid North, Iron Jaw, Rabid Flesh Eaters. Sometimes it’s
great to have a half Doom, half Thrash bill as long as the crowds hang about.
Richard- Wo fat,
Doomstress, Caballo Obscuro, Rabid Flesh Eaters, Of Dieties and Dust.
Do you have a pre-show ritual?
Daniel- Two beers and
shot of tequila.
Ryan- I tend to drive
there.
Colin- I can’t talk
about that here…
Richard- Tequila shot
and a Shiner
If you could insert yourself into any band what band would
it be and why?
Ryan- I always feel
like I could of stopped the black album from happening, maybe get it back to
the nwobhm days of Kill’em All. Or
perhaps insist on actual bass tracks on And Justice.
Richard- Dream
Theater needs me ...still waiting on their call.
Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had
written it? If so… what was the song and
artist?
Daniel- No not
really.
Colin- Iron Tusk by
Mastodon.
Ryan- Just about
every song on Sky
Valley
Richard- Lady of the
Snow from Symphony X...what a epic song
Do you have any non-metal musical inspirations?
Daniel- GOD.
Colin- Bach (JS, not
CPE), Vivaldi, Stan Kenton, Amon Tobin, Underworld, Aphex Twin, Skrillex.
Ryan- Big fan of
Hüsker Dü and Bob Moulds stuff. Jesus Lizard, Ministry, Godflesh and my
favorite late 80’s/90’s band is Fugazi.
Richard: Huge fan of the Moody Blues ...the poetry is
amazing
The year is 1986….
Where are you at and what are you listening to?
Daniel- In Arlington listening to
Metallica. Suicidal tendencies. Motörhead. Black Sabbath.
Colin- Palmers Green,
North London, UK, Cassette copy of Malmsteen’s
Marching Out on Side A and Queen’s It’s a Kind of Magic on Side B.
Ryan- I didn’t get
into thrash till the next year (9th grade) so it was hair metal and
Hendrix,Stones, Beatles, plus Sabbath before high school.
Richard- Pretty sure
I had Master of Puppets on repeat for that whole year.
Non-metal song that you’d like to do a cover of?
Daniel- Rolling Stones paint it black.
Colin- Prokofiev’s
‘Montagues and Capulets’ - down tuned and slow as f…
Ryan- Off the cuff
I’d say Seasons of Wither by Aerosmith
Richard- Melancholy
man
What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without bathing?
Daniel- Two days
Colin- 4 Days,
camping out…
Ryan- Never more
than a day
Richard- I don’t
understand the question
What is an absolute band killer?
Colin- Serial Murder
Ryan- Having someone
insist on being the “band leader” without having the chops or any idea what
that entails.
Richard- Egos
Does a band need a “band leader?”
Nope.
Pantera or Down, if you had to choose?
Daniel- Pantera.
Colin- Pantera.
Ryan- ok Pantera
Richard- Pantera
Favorite book?
Daniel- No Irish, No
Blacks, No Dogs by John Lydon
Colin- Berlin Noir
Trilogy; Philip Kerr.
Ryan- Big fan of the Dark Tower
series
Richard- Asimov,
Foundation Trilogy
Favorite movie?
Daniel: Brawl in cell block 99.
Colin: Pi
Ryan: Goodfellas
Richard: Fifth Element
Favorite Album?
Daniel- Twisted
Sister Under The Blade.
Colin- Songs for the
Deaf - QOTSA
Ryan- Master of
Reality (Black Sabbath)
Richard- Rust in
Peace (Megadeth)
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