Somewhere between the full length interviews in our print mag, you’ll find a section called ‘Who Are You?’. It’s our place to introduce brand new bands who we feel should be on your radar. They’re currently playing tiny rooms but we don’t think that’ll be the case for long. Who Are You? has been home to the likes of Shame, Sports Team, Sorry, IDLES, Fontaines D.C. and many more before they’ve hit our covers. Whilst the print edition only has room for a few questions, we like to post the full interview online alongside their latest releases for you to dig in to.
In Issue Twenty we sent over the basics to Cardiff’s Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard ahead of their headline show for We Are So Young 2 on 26/03/19. Check it out below.
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
My name is Tom Rees, and I’m one part of Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, we’re a rock band from Cardiff, South Wales.
What’s special about where you’re from? Has it inspired your music?
Cardiff is a really great place for positivity, everyone has a real affection for working together and making music, which has been a huge inspiration for us. The way that everybody works in Cardiff kind of encourages you to make whatever music you want to make and feel confident whilst doing it, which is how we have the confidence to play songs about denim.
How did you find each other?
Ed on the bass is my brother, so I found him (too) long ago, myself and Ethan on the drums have played in a couple of bands together, whilst Zac on guitar was a childhood friend of Ethan’s. The thing about playing (and living) in Cardiff is that it’s so small you kind of know everyone anyway, so we all had met each other a long time ago but only took the opportunity to play together a couple of years back.
What led you to form a band? A particular happening or mutual love for a record or sound?
Me and Ethan used to record a lot in his parents house, and I was just mucking around one day after listening to ‘Spirit in the Sky’ by Norman Greenbaum, an experience that still haunts my memory to this day – I had listened to that tune innumerable times before but for some reason this time when I listened to it, it had a really deep impact on what I wanted to do musically (I had been in an indie-hole for a while) – essentially I tried ripping off that Norman Greenbaum tune and it really worked.
Following this I started digging deep into old 70’s records I loved as a kid but had neglected in my late teens, like Todd Rundgren’sSomething / Anything and Dennis Wilson’s Pacific Ocean Blue, before I had been substituting them for Green Day and My Chemical Romance (forgive me Father for I have sinned). With a fresh love for the 70’s I started working on more bits, and that’s how I arrived at Double Denim Hop, our latest single.
Who Are You? in Issue Twenty of So Young
Can you tell us something that you collectively really love?
There’s an Indian Cafe near our studio called Pooja, which sells a delicious variety of Indian snacks (sweet and savoury), as well as a variety of homemade curries – very very cool – they also have a cafe in Tooting for all the So Young readers out there.
Can you tell us something that you collectively hate?
I would say something egalitarian like the gender pay gap (which we do hate) but for the purpose of light reading, I’d say Guns ’n’ Roses.
Can you tell us the story behind one of your songs?
There’s a tune we play called Stockholm City Rock, which I wrote on a bus to Stockholm (of all places) with a friend of mine. We were going to Stockholm to see Father John Misty and next to the bus stop there was a sign that said: “NON-STOP TO STOCKHOLM CITY”, which I thought was very rock and roll, so I used it as the first line of the song.
The song is subsequently about how tired and cold I was on the bus.
What can we be excited for over the next 12 months?
We’re really excited to be releasing new music and playing more shows – the new single will be coming soon, and we’ve got a few festivals tricks up our sleeve.
Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard headline We Are So Young 2 on Tuesday 26th March. Tickets here.
Header Photo by Felix Cannadam