The Buddhahood has bounded around town beating the drum —
lots of ’em actually, djembes,
dunums, surdos, snare
drums, bongos, congos, and tamborines — on a
polyrhythmic spree for the past 10 years. Live, the band is all-consuming and
primal in the extreme. There is no resisting this throbbing, world-beat
extravaganza.
The band is known for
frequently breaking the imaginary dam at the edge of the stage, spilling over
into the audience in a procession of shimmy-inducing drums. Buddhahood
shows in the past have come just a couple shades shy of a full-blown hippie
free-for-all.
And now there’s Muddy Roots: a new album that took the
band three years to make. It’s undoubtedly the ‘Hood, but the band has
augmented its sound with sharp horn accents, Caribbean spice (thanks to the steel drum), and a laidback lean on
the one-drop. There’s even a little dash of Neville-style Big Easy spice in
there as well. It sounds big and bold, casual and free. The polyrhythmic drums
are still there, but in its maturity The Buddhahood
is now, well, poly-everything.
“Maybe that’s the reason this CD took three
years to come out,” says vocalist-saxophonist-flutist-hand percussionist Drew Bellavia. “Because when the pan came in and the horns came
in, it really revolutionized the sound of the band and the context of the band.
It’s not as freewheelin’ as it used to be, maybe.”
But there’s still a lot going on. All eight members are multi-instrumental. And for a band
that seems so improvisational, you’d think it hard to focus the chaos and get
it on tape.
“I think a lot of what makes its way into the
studio was written on the fly,” says steel drummer-vocalist-saxophonist-hand
percussionist Dave Ferreira. “Somebody, usually in the horn section, will go
‘oh what was that thing?’ and make a note of it. And then it finds its way in in some form.”
“Or I might forget the bass line,” says
bassist-vocalist-hand percussionist Rick Whitney, “and go into a completely
different new riff.”
“This man is the catalyst for a lot of
oddities in live performance,” Ferreira says of Whitney. “He knows his stuff
but we may come to the end of a song and wham
Rick is the one who’ll kick in something none of us were expecting.”
The songs develop
organically while they get gig-tested and fan-approved.
“There isn’t a single song on this album we
haven’t played a lot out,” says Bellavia. But what
appears on the album is often treated as a suggestion for live performances.
“The music plays you,” says Whitney. “That’s
what The Buddhahood is all about.”
The majority of the lead vocals on Muddy Roots are
handled by vocalist-guitarist-hand percussionist Tony Cavagnaro.
Cavagnaro sings all nonchalant and smoky. You can
almost hear the crack of a wry smile.
“I think you’re hearing contentment,” says
Ferreira.
“I’m looking forward to my dirt sleep / but
I’m not ready yet / I still haven’t built my castle / or even put up a shed,”Cavagnaro
sings over a lazy reggae backdrop. The lyrics are simple and fun, if not a
little humorously curmudgeonly here and there.
With the launch of
the new CD, The Buddhahood is looking to spread the
gospel, especially in college bookings. The pitch?
Drum workshops with the band during the day followed by a concert at night.
And The Buddhahood encourages audience drumming at shows, which
occasionally opens a can of conga worms.
“You’re always going to have a problem with
somebody who’s had far too many beers and all of a sudden thinks they’re a
great djembe player,” says Bellavia.
The Buddhahoodcelebrates the release of Muddy Roots Friday, January 20, at The German House, 315 Gregory
Street, 303-2234, at 9 p.m. $10. 18+ For more info go to www.buddhahood.com
This article appears in Jan 18-24, 2006.
