Download the 300dpi promo image.How do you define youthfulness? Leave room for N.Y.'s Donna the Buffalo Catch the rootsy jam of Donna the Buffalo If you blindfolded someone who was unfamiliar with the music of rootsy, jam band Donna the Buffalo, chances are they would guess that this was an act straight out of low country Louisiana rather than upstate New York. But as members of the Herd (Donna’s fan club) will tell you, it’s expecting the unexpected that makes this group an American original. Guitarist Jeb Puryear answered some questions before the band’s two-night
run through town. Donna plays at The Orange Peel on Biltmore Avenue tonight
and tomorrow with a special ticket price for both nights if you get them
in advance. Asheville’s kooky Mad Tea Party joins the stampede with
an opening performance Saturday. Question: Word has it Donna the Buffalo is back in the studio. Answer: Yes, we’re working on the next record. The basic tracks are done and we’re ready to overdub and mix it. It’s covered a fair amount of time. We work all the time so it’s hard to take a month or so. It’s kind of fun, I wouldn’t mind it taking longer. We’re not a band that rehearses a whole lot, so to take the time to coordinate and re-do tracks, it’s a whole different element. Q: With a reputation for being such a hot live act, particularly a festival band, what kind of pressure is there to get back into a studio and record? A: Some of it is based on that we keep writing songs. We’re lucky enough that way. Once we get a backlog of songs and it feels right again, we go, plus we don’t want to wait too long. The shelf life of a record is short these days. Maybe we should do more of them, just shorter instead of waiting several years to release full lengths. We’re really returning to that singles paradigm. Q: Do you consider a band like Donna — one that pulls from so many sources but by and large is grounded in roots music — to be a risk taker? A: We didn’t think of it as anything but what we were doing. However, I think we’re more open-minded in the studio. We just try to develop what resonates, what feels good and that’s where we go. It’s a risk having your livelihood be music. Q: Are you and accordionist/guitarist Tara Nevins still the primary songwriters? A: We’re the only ones. We’ve had a lot of changes in the band over the years and it’s worked out but it’s always a little frightening. You don’t know if it will change your essence. But you know the audience teaches the band how to be itself. Donna the Buffalo has certain energy and when the crowd is super pumped you are reminded that we can do this. Q: It’s been written that Donna is a “sociopolitical band singing about peace and justice.” Does that sound right? A: Yeah, I think so. Because of the music I grew up listening too and just delving more into music, it’s a natural place to go to. The more music you make, I think there is a truth there. Q: Does the state of the world, what with a war raging and all, give you lots of new material? A: It’s not too difficult. There are a lot of people, (members of) Donna the Buffalo included, who are looking for something that will greatly transcend all of these others things. I think music in general has the power to do that. |
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Donna the Buffalo promo image. 