Flying Buffaloes, RailHopper, Kevin Presbrey
High Noon Saloon 701A E. Washington Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Daniel Shippey
Flying Buffaloes
$7.
press release: Nashville alternative country act Flying Buffaloes return to Madison at High Noon Saloon on March 12 with support by Kevin Presbrey. The band will be embarking on a tour through the midwest in support of their new song and video for “Day By Day."
"Day by Day" by Flying Buffaloes
“Twenty-four hours, eight days a week. I haven’t had a shower, and no time to sleep, but I gotta keep movin’. I gotta keep groovin’, day by day,” sings Jordan Harazin, whose country-steeped vocals weave through a collage of southern funk and overdriven Rock ‘N’ Roll on Day By Day, Flying Buffaloes’ first single off of their debut full-length, Loaded & Rollin’. Harazin’s line perfectly reflects the band’s current sentiment. The Buffalo boys have been touring steadily since the release of their 2017 EP, Taking Off. Their past year has been a whirlwind of road dates intermingled with honky tonk sets on Lower Broadway and original club dates in their hometown of Nashville, TN. The band’s success would not have been possible without the confirmation of “permanent United States resident” status for co-lead vocalist and Berlin, Germany native, Johan Stone. Stone’s two-year struggle emigrating from Germany to the US became the driving force for many of the songs and thematic material on Loaded & Rollin’.
“There was a point at which we didn’t know if this band would get off the ground,” reflects lead guitarist, Tommy Leland. The five members of Flying Buffaloes met in late 2015. They quickly recognized a serious musical chemistry and a common artistic dream, but Johan’s expiring visa hindered significant project development. He was forced to return to Germany and spent nearly an entire year missing his Nashville music community. It was during his absence that Danny Pratt (drums) and Barry Stone (bass/co-lead vocals), along with Tommy and Jordan, realized the significance of Flying Buffaloes as a harmony-focused, 3-lead singer band. “We just weren’t the same without Johan. He left a hole that only he could fill,” says Barry. Johan watched from afar as the band’s living room video cover of Merle Haggard’s Mama Tried went viral. After months spent meeting with lawyers, and countless flights on a tourist visa (dubbed “the Germany turnaround,”) Johan received his green card, and the band immediately began touring.
Flying Buffaloes have an intangible brotherly connection that immediately strikes audiences, and their live shows offer something for everyone. Nashville Ear to the Ground music blogger, Joe Wolfe-Mazeres, writes, “Flying Buffaloes combines elements of traditional honky‐tonk music, killer harmonies, and gritty rootsy rhythms in a most interesting and original way.” In 2018 Flying Buffaloes took their high-energy show on the road, playing at festivals, headlining a Midwest tour, performing in Hawaii, and completing a tour in Texas opening for acclaimed Red Dirt Country artist, Wade Bowen. Their EP, Taking Off, received regional mainstream country and rock radio airplay, and the band’s debut single and 360° music video, Hey ;) Is For Horses, garnered praise on Huffington Post. Flying Buffaloes’ biggest achievement to date, is their forthcoming LP, Loaded & Rollin’.
A deeply personal album, Loaded & Rollin’ features the first songs co-written by the band and explores the ups-and-downs of love, relationships, and the essence of what it means to be a working Nashville band. Flying Buffaloes musical diversity is exemplified in an array of songs, ranging from the romantic Lovebound, to the raucous Lonesome Cowboy. The title track is a hook-riddled Petty/Mellencamp-esque rocker. The band’s first-hand experience of the isolation and depression associated with immigration, coupled with immigration issues on the international stage, made this an inevitable theme of the new album, evident in songs like country-ballad, Germany Turnaround, and folky, Lady Liberty. Recorded to tape at Battle Tapes Studio in East Nashville by engineer Jeremy Ferguson (Steelism/Andrew Combs) and mixed by Mike McCarthy (Spoon/Lee Ann Womack), Loaded & Rollin’ harkens back to the classic rock and outlaw country albums of the 1970s. The production captures the band’s raw energy in-studio and aims to give the listener a taste of Flying Buffaloes’ captivating live performance.
Excitement surrounding the upcoming release of Loaded & Rollin’ is contagious. Susan Hubbard of “Mother Church Pew” put it perfectly in her interview with the band: “...with Johan back in the States and no longer relying on woeful short-term tourist visas to remain a Buffalo, the band is reunited, hope for the future is reignited, and Flying Buffaloes have their eyes on the prize.” With each accolade and accomplishment, Flying Buffaloes realize that perseverance, positivity, and takin’ things Day by Day is paying off.