Buzby, Chris (Echolyn) (November 2005)

All In The Family - An Interview with Echolyn's Chris Buzby

The End Is Beautiful is still in heavy rotation on my iPod a few months after its release, and that is the sign of a classic in my book. So, after interviewing Brett Kull, I spoke with Chris Buzby, the band's keyboardist. It was interesting to hear Chris' thoughts, and learn that he has another brother (yes - besides John) who also has a career in music. No denying that the Buzby family has some serious musical talent! Chris provides his thoughts on the band, The End Is Beautiful, and European tour. I wanted to ask Chris some of the same questions I presented to Brett, hoping it would make it interesting for the fans to hear two perspectives.

Eric Porter: First off, I wanted to say congratulations on the new album The End Is Beautiful, and on selling out the first pressing.

Chris Buzby: Thanks! We too are proud, and a bit overwhelmed ... we didn't expect it to fly off the shelves so fast ... but there are obviously worse problems to have ... like how do we pay for a re-pressing when European tour bills are due! We'll survive, though! ;-)

EP: What were your impressions of the European Tour, the audiences and venues?

CB: The tour was perhaps the most amazing experience of my life, as it brought together friends, music, culture and the chance to live through all three together, at the same time, for 16 days ? what a rush! The shows were all well attended (all told we played to just over 2,000 people in the 9 shows!) and the audiences were beyond gracious - showing affection not only for our music, but for us as people - it was really more than any of us expected or could have asked for.

EP: What were your favorite songs to play live from the new album?

CB: Personally I'm loving "Misery, Not Memory" and "The End Is Beautiful" - not only because they're tunes I brought to the band to perform for this album, but because they are both songs I still have churning through my head daily! The melodies Ray was able to add to the chords and harmonies for both tunes are just spectacular, and his contributions overall in terms of melodies and lead vocal performances on the entire album really ratcheted up the level of anything he's ever sang before. It's a thrill to be part of that whole song-writing process with all of the guys in this band.

EP: What was it like being on the road for two weeks with the band?

CB: It was a test of patience, endurance, and space. Personally I think I'm a pretty easy-going guy ... not too much throws me (I attribute most of that to being a middle and high school teacher) - but when you're with many other personalities and opinions you have to be willing to go with the flow. The biggest challenge for me was to not let someone's else's bad day drag me down. Finding and knowing one's "place and space" are skills always essential to good relations - even with 10 friends on a tour bus for 2 weeks.

EP: Do you miss playing out regularly?

CB: Yes - I miss it desperately ? in fact my first week back at work (teaching) following the tour was one of the worst experiences I've ever encountered, as I felt like I had been kicked from a dream into a harsh reality that said "yes, you've spent your last 10 years becoming an educator, but wasn't performing full-time a total blast!?!" Needless to say I'm over that now being back over a month, but I do miss the magic of live performance and the freewheeling lifestyle of touring. Hopefully some US and Canadian shows in 2006 will fill that void.

EP: What was the strangest/most interesting thing that happened to you on the tour?

CB: I guess the strangest/most interesting thing would have to be the fact that we had Duncan Naylor as our tour bus driver ... for without him the tour would have been a totally different experience, and perhaps (at times) a nightmare. Having him literally steer us through foreign roads, country and border crossings, getting us to sights we never even thought we'd see on this trip, let alone ever, and then still getting us to every gig safe and on time was a small miracle in itself ? so in the end, he was the true hero of the tour ? hopefully the large tip we gave him showed our appreciation! The next time we tour Europe securing him as our driver is the first thing we request (and require!) before we book any shows.

EP: On the new record, you are credited with writing and arranging the horn parts. Tell me how/why the band decided to use horns on this record, and what it was like to score those parts? Was the band open to using the horn sections?

CB: This band has always been very gracious and supportive in welcoming different skills and talents of each band member. As a formally trained musician and composer I am always looking for opportunities to bring elements of classical and jazz instrumentation into our writing and music, as I think it keeps us cutting-edge and forward thinking in terms of our sound and style. While we utilized many of those elements into our writing in the early years on early Echolyn albums (Echolyn; Suffocating The Bloom; As The World) - we realized that we had never used a horn section. When we decided to center this album around Paul's drumming and take a more rock-like feel to the songwriting I had been listening to several albums that had what I considered to be great textures to their sound due to the use of horns (Stevie Wonder; John Mayer; Chicago) - in discussing with Brett what direction we wanted to go with this one we thought a new direction would be the best choice for this album - needless to say we're thrilled with how it all worked out!

EP: I think my favorite use of the horns is the muted trumpet on "Lovesick Morning". But there are some really complex parts during "Heavy Blue Miles" that must have been tough to get down. I think the horns made a great impact on the feel of some of the songs - are you happy with the end result?

CB: The players who performed on the album were all session players from our immediate area of Pennsylvania. Whether through other studio work we've done, or connections, we were lucky to find three very talented guys who not only played their butts off for the tunes - they actually really got into the album as well! That is rare, as in most of my dealings with session players (like the members of the Nashville Symphony during the recording of the "As The World" string sessions) tended to be more interested in knowing when they could take their next "union break." To have great players who were more concerned with their musical additions to the songs was a treat indeed!

EP: If you guys play some tour dates here in the US, is there a chance that you would use some horn players in the live show?

CB: While we've already discussed it, nothing has been finalized. We are hoping at some point to bring them out to a few shows just to have them play live with us. It would be a lot of fun for both us and them.

EP: What is your favorite track on the new album?

CB: Currently it's a tie between the aforementioned tracks "Misery, Not Memory" and "The End is Beautiful."

EP: The music is credited to the entire band. But, do you guys bring in ideas and just start jamming and see where they go?

CB: Yes - Brett and I tend to bring the basic ideas to start tunes - chord progressions, intros, verses, choruses, bridges, etc. (In the case of "So Ready" Tom actually brought the bass line first and we constructed the tune (chords, lines and melodies) around it.) But as a band the songwriting process always becomes a very democratic process where we try multiple ideas out and "vote" on the preferences. In the end each tune is sparked by someone's initial idea(s) and the band takes it from there- helping it become truly Echolyn.

EP: I assume that you and Brett must spend a lot of time working out parts, because in a lot of the songs you guys are playing harmony melody lines (i.e. "Georgia Pines"), so are the writing sessions often broken down to just two or three of you working out sections?

CB: As mentioned above, we are all constantly writing - sometimes together and sometimes apart. Brett and I specifically, because we play the melodic/chordal instruments have our own writing styles as well. While similar at times, we each have our own "Echolyn" style of tunes we present to the band. Brett tends to be more of a riff/chord writer where I tend to write more adventurous/dissonant harmonies and contrapuntal lines.

I've also noticed that when writing in the group setting I tend to write very spontaneously (almost like free-writing) while Brett likes to work on a section many times over and over, either alone or in quiet without distractions - it's those personality traits that make us "tick" as writers and as a band. That process, and each of our individual ways of writing, is what has always given, and continues to provide, an original palette for our writing together as Echolyn.

Over the years we've each "saved" many a song because we were able to either come up with something-on-the-spot or work on something away from the band at home that best fit the need of the song at the time. It's a process that continues to work for us.

EP: The mellotron sounds you get on "Make Me Sway" are great, where did you get those sounds?

CB: Brett has a digital sampled soft-synth in his giga-studio at The Farmhouse - we connected it via MIDI it to my Nord (as seen in the "Make Me Sway" DVD video) and voila! A mellotron without all the tuning/pitch problems! ;-)

EP: I just want to say that Mei was just a stunning record. You obviously have a wide range of musical interests, scoring the orchestral parts for that piece, and now the horns for The End Is Beautiful. What other ideas do you have for Echolyn that have not been explored by the band yet?

CB: World domination ... or perhaps a symphony for washing machine, hand drill and a blender set to "puree" - sorry, just kidding! Truthfully, I am willing to accept any challenge that we pit ourselves up against. With my love for writing, arranging and scoring parts and Brett's phenomenal engineering and mixing capabilities in getting them all into ProTools for our next record I feel like the sky is the limit on that one.

EP: Related to that question - on the Stars And Gardens DVD, it shows you conducting a group of session/orchestra musicians. Was that intimidating to do?

CB: Not at all - in fact it's almost second nature to me at this point. I took conducting classes and workshops all throughout college, I student taught for 3 months my senior year, I conducted the 11-piece Nashville strings we used for the As The World sessions, and I also currently conduct a Middle and High School Orchestra, Concert Band and 2 Jazz Ensembles at Abington Friends School, where I teach ... so the whole aspect of conducting in Echolyn is merely an extension of having written the parts and helping the players better understand their role in the re-creating/making of the music with visual cues.

EP: I admire both you and Brett - Brett owning a recording studio, and your profession as a music teacher. ?I know it is hard work - but you must feel lucky to be able to make a living through music?

CB: I indeed am VERY lucky to have the many aspects of music in my life that I do. Making a living at music is almost second-nature for me at this point as I love what I do ... in fact my Head of School stopped by today to commend me on how infectious and holistic the music program I have helped create and supervise is for all of the kids at Abington Friends. So to say music is indeed my life is truly correct! I consider myself very blessed.

EP: I really like that you use the classic keyboards like Hammond and Wurlitzer, Can you run through your keyboard equipment/setup that you are using?

CB: Sure, currently I am using:

Wurlitzer Electric Piano 200A (black)
Hammond XK-2 digital organ through a Leslie 147A rotating speaker cabinet
General Music 88-key weighted piano (for piano, clav, string pads and occasional electric piano samples)
Nord Lead 2 - digital solo synth

For live gigs I run everything through a 16-channel Mackie board into a JBL speaker system powered by a Crown power amp.

I also occasionally use a wah pedal, digital delay and distortion pedal on the Wurly.

I also own a Boston upright piano and a Fender Rhodes electric piano which I use for creating/writing songs when at home.

EP: Do you have any plans of recording a solo album? You must write music that is out of the scope of what the band does?

CB: I talk a better game than I actually realize - in short, yes, there are hopes and sincere plans for a Chris Buzby solo album/project ... biggest problem I keep running into: time/hours in the day/days in the week/weeks in the year. Unfortunately I'm a Type-A personality, Capricorn, born on New Years Day, who tends to book every single minute of my life to the maximum without regard for leaving much free time - and when I do get it I usually fall asleep due to exhaustion! So the only person I can truly blame is myself ... but even that is getting old as of late ... so the answer to your question is yes, I will write and record a solo album someday: when I learn how to do a better job of making myself get around to it! ;-)

EP: Do you miss playing with your brother Jonn?

CB: I haven't thought about it much - mainly because I'm so busy with teaching and Echolyn - especially since we now live so far away from each other (he's in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I'm just outside of Philadelphia in PA). I would love to see if any musical collaboration might happen again someday ... perhaps even on one of our solo albums ... but time will tell. If he moves closer it would definitely raise the chances of it happening.

EP: I was shocked when Land of Chocolate came, Jonn is an accomplished keyboardist himself. Are you proficient on any other instruments?

CB: I teach woodwinds and brass instruments at the elementary/beginner level, tinker with many assorted folk and eclectic instruments, and can even hold my own on drumkit - but composition, keyboards, saxophone and vocals are the passions I consider my main musical pursuits.

EP: Do you and Jonn critique each other? As brothers, I assume you are pretty close, and since you are both so involved with music, you must value each other's opinions?

CB: Jonn and I are so close in thinking and being that we actually agreed about a year ago to not spend so much time being critical of one another - mainly because we both usually walk away in a huff. It's tough being an artist in an artistic family ... and the fact that our brother Brian is also a musician in a band (named Saunter) in Chapel Hill, NC and they make more $ than Echolyn and LOC combined when they play out, helps keep our artistic excursions and reality with Echolyn and LOC in check!

EP: What artists/bands are you currently listening to?

CB: I am currently enraptured with Sufjan Stevens (Seven Swans, Michigan and Illinois are in constant rotation in my home and car); I'm also listening to Coldplay (X&Y); Pat Metheny (As Falls Wichita...); Jonatha Brooke; Chris Cornell; Audioslave; Shakti; Bela Fleck; the newfound Monk/Coltrane Live @ Carnegie Hall release; Beck; Robert Plant/Mighty Arranger; and soooo many more?

I also just purchased the newest albums by Death Cab for Cutie, OK GO, Fiona Apple and a classic by Stevie Wonder (Innervisions) - the AFS high school jazz band is performing "Too High" this semester. The bottom line: too much music - too little time!! What a great problem to have! ;-)

EP: Brett mentioned how much better the band gets along these days, and feels you guys are doing some of your best work, do you see Echolyn continuing for many years to come?

CB: Abolsutely! Why stop now - we already had our big break-up and we agree that like brothers we can love and hate each other simultaneously most days - so the fact that we actually pulled that off by not killing each other on a bus in Europe for 16 days proves we might as well just keep on writing music together. Amen!

EP: What is your proudest moment as a member of Echolyn?

CB: There are so many of them ... I guess my proudest moments are the times I bring new tunes/ideas to the guys at rehearsals and they like them enough that they want to try to make something out of them for Echolyn as a band. It's a great, shared experience that I wouldn't trade for anything ... and I consider myself blessed to still have the opportunity to make music with these guys after so many years. It's a real thrill every time we set out to write a new album, as I know it will always be a fun, honest, challenging process.

EP: Thanks so much Chris!!!!!

CB: You're very welcome, Eric. Thanks for your continued support of Echolyn!

Discography:
Echolyn (1991)
Suffocating The Bloom (1992)
...And Every Blossom (1993)
As The World (1995)
When The Sweet Turns Sour (1996)
Cowboy Poems Free (2000)
mei (2002)
As The World (expanded reissue) (2005)
The End Is Beautiful (2005)
Cowboy Poems Free (remaster) (2008)
Echolyn (2012)
I Heard You Listening (2015)

Home Brew Bootleg Stew 1994-1995 (VHS, OOP) (1995)
Stars And Gardens Vol 4. (2004) (DVD)