Soon the Western states will know what Chicoans have known for years: Buffalo Creek is one of the best party bands out there, and it deserves your attention.
For almost seven years, Buffalo Creek has risen from a typical garage band to a bona fide party band. It's become common knowledge that if you book Buffalo for a show, you're almost guaranteed a sold-out crowd - or at the very least, a packed party of chill music lovers.
Despite its popularity, Buffalo Creek had yet to record a full-length album of its own. Sure, a few singles have been made. Some of them even made it on compilation CDs and got some radio play. For the most part though, recordings were just used as audition pieces for clubs. More often than not, clubs were more than happy to book the Buffalo.
Without relying on album sales, Buffalo Creek knew how to build a fan base.
Play well, play often and have fun.
"It's great to hear a band that has such versatility," said Katie Love, a Butte College student who had never seen Buffalo Creek before Friday.
Hard work has finally led the band to record the first full-length album. "Signal to Noise" is the product of almost seven years worth of creativity, band member switch-ups and a pure love for rock 'n' roll. The hard work was celebrated Friday with a CD release party at La Salles.
The venue was filled with Buffalo Creek fans, and the stage was filled with plenty of Chico guest bands, such as Bear Hunter, The Craze and Indecisive Youth.
A semi-national tour will be kicked off this summer to spread Buffalo music outside of California.
Word of mouth is key to this popularity. Anyone walking into a bar like La Salles, where Buffalo Creek often plays, might be surprised to have such an easy-going band jamming on stage. Soon, word gets out to friends about the sick band from Chico. Like a virus, everyone is soon infected with Buffalo Creek fever.
Buffalo Creek finally decided to put something together for their fans.
"We really wanted to make something that our hands could hold and take home with them," said Bryn Loosley, who does vocals and guitar.
Buffalo Creek doesn't even care if you make a computerized copy of the album. In fact, it's encouraged.
"As long as we get the music out there," Loosley said.
Just getting the music recorded proved to be a challenge.
Originally, the album was planned to be released at the beginning of the summer. Fate stepped in the way, though. About half-way through recording, all the hard work was lost in a computer crash.
"It was kind of a good thing though," said Ryan O'Donovan, who plays the organ and will be departing the band after the release of the album. "We had to go through all of our music again, and it just came out better."
This did however put a pinch in pocketbooks since the album was recorded at the band's expense. Phresh Studios, where the album was recorded, fortunately gave Buffalo Creek a fair deal.
"We were probably the first band to record there," said Marc Stafford, who plays guitar and does vocals. "The owner just moved to L.A., so we're probably the last as well."
"Signal to Noise" is a very clean production that shows the best of Buffalo Creek. Loosely's slightly nasal, pinched vocals are reminiscent of Ben Folds, if Ben drank too much beer and smoked. It works perfectly with the music.
O'Donovan's organ skills, which were added within the past two years, really add some meat to the melody. It's like the perfect spice added to a great bowl of gumbo.
There is an almost noticeable lack of ego on this album. All of the band members had a chance to write their own songs for the album, and had opportunities to spread their musical talents to other instruments, as well.
It's not exactly clear if the album was made to promote live shows, or if live shows are to promote the album. Either way, it doesn't seem to matter. All members are excited about their upcoming tour in the summer, and Buffalo Creek is booked every weekend outside of town for the rest of the year.
"It's amazing how many familiar faces we see outside of Chico," said Nick Bearden, who plays guitar and drums. "When we played in San Francisco, people who had graduated earlier from (Chico State) were at our shows."
The upcoming tour of the Western states will uproot the band from strong roots in Chico. Members will leave their day jobs and rent payments behind in favor of sleeping in a van and playing in a different cities.
The crowd got to hear some songs from the album for the first time, along with some old favorites and some scorching covers, like AC/DC's "Highway to Hell," a Woody Guthrie cover of "Do Rei Me" and Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl."
"They are playing great covers," said Brian Bridges, a graduate student in finance at Chico State. "I wouldn't go out of my way to see them, but this is all right."
The new material definitely got the crowd going as well. Several women danced by themselves, then spontaneously burst into the electric slide in unison.
Laitlin Thompson, a sociology major at Chico State, took a break from the electric slide to talk about her dedication to the band.
"I've been listening to them for years," Thompson said. "I definitely know who's who in the band."
Buffalo Creek's hard work in Chico has paid off. And if the band keeps up its determination, it might be seeing a lot more familiar faces in the Western states.
Valerie Lum can be reached at vlum@orion-online.net
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