Avi Buffalo Interview: Know Your LA Bands

BeatCrave is excited to bring you band, Avi Buffalo, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. If you’re in the Long Beach or LA area and HAVEN’T heard of these guys yet then you may, in fact, be living under a rock. The band that consists of members who have just graduated high school (one still having one more year to go!) are taking over the areas with their non-pretentious hooks and trouble-free lyrics. It’s always hard to believe that such a great band could be so young (or make you feel old) and have such talent as this. Tunes like “What’s In It For” may have a Shins vibe, but these kids are completely original in their compositions and their outlook on making music. Let’s face it; when a band has a song titled, “Summer Cum,” and you actually want to listen to it for the songwriting instead of the clever name – your ears have found something!

Avi Buffalo has just taken off on a massive west coast tour and we couldn’t be happier. They may get free drinks as underage musicians but concert-goers are the ones who actually get the real treat. They’ve also just wrapped up their first record. You can be sure that we’ll update you on that as soon as it is available. For now, you must do two things: 1) Check Avi Buffalo out live. Their next two shows are at Holocene in Portland, OR tonight and then at Chop Suey in Seattle, WA the next night. If you’re not in those areas, make sure to check their MySpace for the rest of the dates. 2) Check out this exclusive interview with their very own frontman, Avi, below!

You guys have been getting tons of press in the past few months and have just graduated high school! How does it feel to have so much support at such a young age in your music career?

It’s wonderful that so many people have helped us out. Those people have been essential to this bit of press stuff. On the other hand, exposure is a weird thing! It’s definitely messed with me a little bit. Of course I’m really excited for this stuff; it’s sweet. It’s very inspiring, motivating.

Any plans for college? Are you just going to focus on the band? Or are you going to try and balance both?

A balance of both would be nice, for now I’m focusing on music. I’m not signed up for any classes in the fall, but I’d really love to take some music theory/history and recording classes. Our drummer has another year of high school left, and our keyboardist is signed up for Cal State long beach. We’re getting little tours together this year, and I’m starting on the next record. The first one is done, but we don’t know when it’s coming out yet.

How long has the band been together?

Me, Sheridan and Rebecca have played together for about two years. Arin joined the band almost a year ago.

There is a male/female duo going on for the vocals that I like a lot. Do you think you’ll add any more people on vocals or do you think you’ll keep it this way?

Hopefully there’ll be more people on vocals. I like the female/male thing too, but it can be a little too easy.

How did you manage to get a May residency at The Echo, one of the most popular music venues in LA?

Our friend Ashley Jex (JAX) hooked it up by giving our tunes to the woman, Liz, who books The Echo. We played a couple shows at The Echo then Liz asked me if we were interested in doing a residency, and we were definitely interested.

You guys are from the Long Beach area but have quite a following in LA. Do you prefer one area over the other at all?

It depends. Both are awesome in some ways, and both can be hard too. There’s a lot of depressing bands in Los Angeles because everybody is trying to outdo everybody else, and nobody creates anything unique with that. Long Beach is a little more relaxed, so there’s more interesting music there, but not as strong a “scene.”

How’s your tour going so far? Any hilarious memories yet?

It’s going pretty solid. We’re in Portland right now. The rest of the band is gift-shopping right now, and I’m gonna go get a beanie because I accidentally had to shave my head last night.

Avi Buffalo’s sound has many strong pop hooks. Do you consider yourselves to be in the pop genre at all even though it’s not listed on your MySpace?

As much as I’d love to say we’re not pop, we’ve got some poppy stuff going on. I like the way hooks sound, and I like the idea of infiltrating minds with catchy stuff.

What do you all your parents think about your song titled, “Summer Cum?”

They haven’t said anything about it; they know not to. There wouldn’t be much to explain about it. It’s just a weird metaphor thing.

How was working with Amnion’s Aaron Embry?

Really fantastic. He’s a wonderfully open person. We got some magic juice together on this record, and we’re gonna keep doing that. When the energy is right, we can get a really beautiful collaboration going between us which is always very gratifying.

Quick-Fire Round:
Are you a Mac or a PC?

Mac.

Who are some local artists/bands you are currently digging?

Ariel Pink, Ryan Frailich, JoeyJoel, The Wildbunch, Tommy Santee Klaws, Family Blankets, 60 Watt Kid, Luis Guitee, Amnion, Mike Watt, Terrors, and Sissy Spacek.

Do you guys get free booze when you play shows even though you’re underage?

Only if the venue is D-Low enough. Art galleries/stores usually have wine and beer around for free to everyone.

Your lyrics are considered “quirky” by many. What’s the quirkiest thing about you and/or the band?

…We’re not that quirky?

Tell us one thing about yourself we probably don’t already know.

I’m Jewish!

Top photo by Derek Bracho