happy new year! - EU Jacksonville

follow the herd
see Donna the buffalo live
by Erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
What: Donna the Buffalo
WheN: January 4 th @ 8:30 PM
Where: Café 11
CoSt: $18
The socially and politically charged eclectic
grassroots blend of Donna the Buffalo catches the
ear and takes the listener through Cajun stylings,
reggae-rock, folk, zydeco and country with a distinctive
sound that is hard to characterize but easy to
listen to.
Donna the Buffalo was unnamed when they
first started jamming together, and it wasn’t until
they were on stage for the first time that they gained
their name, and it was a surprise even to them. One
of the band’s founders, Jeb Puryear, told EU the
story: “We had a gig so we needed a name and then
a friend of ours was sort of toying with different
ideas around the buffalo theme and so his original
idea was ‘Dawn of the Buffalo’ [and they] mispronounced
it as Donna the Buffalo…For some reason
that struck more of chord with us…I think ‘Dawn
of the Buffalo’ sounded a little pretentious to us,
especially for a band that had never even played a
gig.” That was over 17 years ago. Since then, Donna
the Buffalo has sold more than a hundred thousand
albums, organized a major Grassroots festival and
have played consistently.
The band experienced a shake-up in 2005
when founding member Tim Miller left the band because
his marriage to Tara Nevins dissolved, but Jeb
says that they’ve “been very lucky replacing people.”
The last of Miller’s stamp on the group came in 2005
when the group released Life’s a Ride. Miller played
guitar and backup vocals for the album.
Founding members Jeb Puryear and Tara Nev-
hank williams III
album review
artist: Hank Williams III
title: Straight to Hell
release Date: 03.28.2006
Label: Bruc Records
Hank Williams III is my favorite Hank Williams
of them all. That’s not quite fair, my favorite
thing about Wall Street in Five Points is that they
have Hank Sr. on the juke box, but Hank III is
representing the natural evolution of country music.
Presenting an avid hatred for country pop, Hank
III’s new album has traditional country songs with
traditional instrumentation, to create a sound that is
authentically country, but he has an attitude that is
far from traditional in Nashville.
ins met playing old time fiddle music.
“There’s this great subculture in
fiddle playing…” says Puryear, “and
Tara was the first person I knew that
wrote songs.” The two have been
writing songs for Donna the Buffalo
since it formed. Puryear says
that “I basically write[s] the songs
I sing and [Tara] writes the songs
she sings. We kind of don’t practice
near enough like we ought to but we
never really have. Somebody directs
the song and we usually just kind
of throw it out there…we’ll go over it on the bus so
we’ll know what it sounds like or if we sound check
we’ll run over it in sound check.” At most live performances,
the band is busily trying something new.
“It’s just kind of exciting for the band. Things don’t
stay new very long because of the Internet…We
have fans that record our concerts and post them
online, so it’s hard to surprise people.”
In 1990, the group got the idea to start a
Grassroots Festival. Because they found out at the
time that a friend had died of AIDS, they decided to
make it a benefit. “Now it’s been 15 years. I think
that the most outstanding thing it does…we develop
a great bond with all these interesting people
and people from other countries…In general, it’s a
very exciting event that makes people feel great…it
makes human beings feel very relevant…If people
aren’t interested in creating something for the right
reason usually…it transfers; like the 90’s Woodstock.”
Jeb and Tara are fond of writing songs with
socially progressive themes. Says Jeb: “Lately, I’ve
In the South you see rebel rousers with their
confederate flags and Dixie Outfitters shirts rolling
all over town in giant pickup trucks splattered with
mud. These young hillbillies are full of venom and
anger, and proud of their heritage. This attitude is
not represented in the standard ballads of popular
country. So Hank Williams III has stepped up to that
line with his new double album Straight to Hell.
While he is open about his affinity for traditional
country music in songs like ‘Country Heroes’ and
‘My Drinking Problem,’ he is also incorporating a
new identity, much like his grandfather did, by being
the bad boy of country music. Covered with tattoos
and singing incessantly about his drug and alcohol
abuse, Hank is unashamed of the fact that he is not
fulfilling the role Nashville might expect of one of
country music’s legendary offspring.
Putting the ‘Dick in Dixie’ is only one of the
achievements Straight to Hell accomplishes. The
second CD on this two-disc album is titled simply
‘Louisiana Stripes’ and only features two tracks.
The first track is a beautiful, grass-roots country
song about a man in prison in Louisiana for killing
his wife. Following that song is country’s most
avant-garde noise art experimentation to date. With
this second disc, not only does Hank III show that
a country artists can actually have a larger artistic
vision, but also that he is capable of far better songs
than the highlighted image-making songs of the first
disc.
been thinking sure… [society’s] pretty bad, but
we’re not that bad, and we can do better. This thing
with the war and the Bush administration, it feels like
its finally showing its true colors…and unfortunately,
in a way you feel good, because everybody in my
community was saying that was going to be a disaster,
you’re gonna cause more problems than you’re
gonna solve…Certain songs will go through these
really fresh times, songs you’ve been playing for a
long time, they’ll come back and be like new again.
It’s kinda like you have this relationship with all the
songs…We do a song called ‘Conscious Evolution’
that’s been very good lately, it’s a reoccurring theme
of hopeful progression for human mentality.”
Be part of the “herd” that follows Donna the
Buffalo, and listen to their old-time rockin’ sound at
Café 11 Thursday, January 4 th . Whatever you believe
about the state of the world, Jeb says there’s one
thing that the members of Donna the Buffalo will
always believe in: “There’s something that happens
when music comes alive and that’s pretty much our
religion.”
Disc one definitely establishes an attitude
Hank wishes to convey about the state of country
and its unseen angry youth, while disc two seems
to utilize noise art to filter some listeners out from
discovering the stripped down musical gems that
he has laced throughout it. Disc two’s second track
is more than forty minutes long and starts with a
creepy, slowed-down demon-like voice singing to
the tune of a broken and almost inaudible guitar.
This creepy whales-mating sound goes on for
the first two and a half minutes. Three minutes of
train sounds follow. Six minutes into the second
track, Hank sings another stripped down song that
sounds amazingly like his grandfather. This song is
one of the best on the album, but it isn’t tracked out
so to find it you really have to want it.
Although Hank Jr, Hank III’s Daddy, could
easily be called one of the fathers of the hokey new
breed of country music over-running Nashville,
Hank III says “pop country really sucks.” He’s
right. Country music isn’t bad, it just needs to be
geared more to the bad boys that really live it.
Hank is honest and the music is classic
fiddle, guitar, and trap kit country that you might
hear on any porch in Tennessee. This country is
far more real than Nashville country and deserves
a listen from anyone that is bored with the same
old pop country. Crave something new that sounds
old? Hank III is sending you Straight to Hell.
- BY JoN BoSWorth
Token Blonde Roadhouse, Orange Park (264-0611)
Alex Affronti Sun Cruz, Mayport
Greek Wave Casa Marina, Jax Beach
Wild Card Coyote’s, Orange Park (269-6837)
Chillakaya All Stars, St. Augustine
3rd Bass w/Von Barlow The Casbah, Jax (981-9966)
Wes Cobb Band Twisted Sisters, Jax Beach (241-6453)
De Lions of Jah Fly’s Tie Irish Pub, Atlantic Beach (246-4293)
El Toro Loco Square One, Jax (306-9004)
Heavyweight Auggie Dogg’s, St. Augustine
John Thomas Group Shelby’s, Atlantic Beach (249-5182)
MONDAY, JANUARY 1
Boxrockers Cortesse’s, St. Augustine (825-6775)
Charlie Walker Mellow Mushroom, Jax (997-1955)
Roargan, Laserstar Ourobos, Jax
Sam Pacetti The Mill Top, St. Augustine (829-2329)
Yancy Clegg My Place, Jax (737-5299)
All Gigs River City Brewing Company, Jax (398-2299)
Johnny Flood My Place, Jax (737-5299)
Nolan Neal Fly’s Tie Irish Pub, Atlantic Beach (246-4293)
Goliath The Casbah, Jax
Stu Weaver Harry’s, St. Augustine (824-7765)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 2
Second String Sun Dog Steak & Seafood, Neptune
Beach (241-8221)
Matanzas Trade Winds Lounge, St. Augustine (829-8646)
Cross Examination, Social Disease Thee Imperial,
Jax (475-0488)
Wasteland DC, Grabbag Ourobos, Jax
Christina Wagner & Friends Mark’s Downtown, Jax (355-5099)
Silver Lake Drive Cortesse’s, St. Augustine (825-6775)
Will Pearsall The Mill Top, St. Augustine (829-2329)
Happy To Be Here Jack Rabbits, Jax (398-7496)
Bill Rice Mellow Mushroom, Jax (997-1955)
Jimmy Solari My Place, Jax (737-5299)
Ron Perry Fionn MaCool’s, Jax Beach (242-9499)
Colton McKenna Scarlett’s, St. Augustine (824-6535)
Seth Ramsdill Fly’s Tie Irish Pub, Atlantic Beach (246-4293)
El Toro Loco Square One, Jax (306-9004)
TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY, JAN. 2-3
Gene Nordan Mackenzie’s, Ponte Vedra (543-9143)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3
The Hackers Cortesses, St. Augustine (825-6775)
The Cover Band Spare Time Grille, Jax Beach (246-8099)
Glass Camels Ocean Club, Jax Beach (242-8884)
Tropic of Cancer/Art Walk Downtown, Jax
Dave Massey My Place, Jax (737-5299)
Wes Cobb Band Square One, Jax (306-9004)
Crystal Stafford, Aerial Tribe Starlite Café, Jax (356-4444)
Conrad Oberg London Bridge, Jax (359-0001)
Rob Roy, Swordz Fuel, Jax (425-FUEL)
Stu Weaver The Mill Top, St. Augustine (829-2329)
Clyde Mannael Mellow Mushroom, Jax (997-1955)
Rebecca Zapen The Casbah, Jax
Seth Ramsdill Ragtime Tavern, Atlantic Beach (241-7877)
Vagabond’s Dream River City Brewing Company,
Jax (398-2299)
The Mike Miller Band St. Nick’s Lounge, Jax (396-3396)
El Toro Loco Aromas, Ponte Vedra (280-2525)
Chuck Nash Sun Dog Steak & Seafood, Neptune Beach
eujacksonville.com | december 28-january 3, 2006 25