Grant Lee Buffalo
Encyclopedia
Grant Lee Buffalo is a rock
band
based in Los Angeles
, California
, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips
(vocals and guitar
), Paul Kimble (bass
) and Joey Peters (drum
s). All three were previously members of another Los Angeles band, Shiva Burlesque.
s: Fuzzy
(1993), Mighty Joe Moon
(1994), Copperopolis (1996) and Jubilee (1998). They toured with major bands including R.E.M.
, Pearl Jam
, the Smashing Pumpkins
, and The Cranberries
. In the United States
, the band's 1998 single
, “Truly, Truly” received extensive airplay.
Paul Kimble departed the band in 1997, but Grant Lee Buffalo's next album Jubilee met with more success than the prior releases thanks to "Truly, Truly." But, as Phillips describes, a number of changes led to the dissolution of the band's time at their label and their time together.
In 2004, a compilation
of singles, album tracks and rarities called Storm Hymnal was released.
Phillips continues to pursue a solo
career, releasing six albums between 2000 and 2009.
Grant Lee Buffalo's sound is comparable to Neil Young
and an electrified version of americana song writer John Stewart. Phillips writes that their first album "would galvanize the sound of Grant Lee Buffalo, i.e., the acoustic feedback howl of overdriven 12-string guitars, melodic distorto-bass, tribal drum bombast, the old world churn of pump organs and parlor pianos."
Lyrically, they reference American history as well as contemporary events. For instance, “Lone Star Song” from Mighty Joe Moon
references the Waco siege
and “Crackdown“ from Copperopolis references the murder of Yoshihiro Hattori
as well as the Oklahoma City bombing
.
As of May 5, 2011 the band has returned on a limited tour, making stops in Los Angeles, Dublin, London, Brussels and Oslo. On August 8, 2011 the band performed at Dranouter festival
in Belgium, and on August 9 in Copenhagen. Plans for an extended tour have not been released.
The song "Happiness" was used at the end of the first season episode 'Babies and Bathwater', of the TV series House
.
A cover of Brian Wilson's "In My Room" appeared on the television show Friends
and the accompanying soundtrack
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips
Grant-Lee Phillips
Grant-Lee Phillips is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his versatile voice, intense lyrical narratives and dexterity on the acoustic twelve-string guitar, a style that often sees him compared to Neil Young, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.- Background :Born in...
(vocals and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), Paul Kimble (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and Joey Peters (drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s). All three were previously members of another Los Angeles band, Shiva Burlesque.
Career
Grant Lee Buffalo released four albumAlbum
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s: Fuzzy
Fuzzy (album)
Released in 1993, Fuzzy is the debut album by Los Angeles rock group Grant Lee Buffalo. Called "The best album of the year hands down" by R.E.M's Michael Stipe, "Fuzzy would galvanize the sound of Grant Lee Buffalo, i.e., the acoustic feedback howl of overdriven 12-string guitars, melodic...
(1993), Mighty Joe Moon
Mighty Joe Moon
Mighty Joe Moon is the second album by alternative rock group Grant Lee Buffalo, released in 1994.- Track listing :# "Lone Star Song"# "Mockingbirds"# "It's The Life"# "Sing Along"# "Mighty Joe Moon"# "Demon Called Deception"...
(1994), Copperopolis (1996) and Jubilee (1998). They toured with major bands including R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
, the Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
, and The Cranberries
The Cranberries
The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler...
. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the band's 1998 single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, “Truly, Truly” received extensive airplay.
Paul Kimble departed the band in 1997, but Grant Lee Buffalo's next album Jubilee met with more success than the prior releases thanks to "Truly, Truly." But, as Phillips describes, a number of changes led to the dissolution of the band's time at their label and their time together.
- "The celebrational spirit of Jubilee actually brought a renewed optimism to me personally. The album was well received and understandably the expectations at the label were high, probably too high. Although the highly refined Jubilee had brought the band considerable success at radio with "Truly, Truly," a shift within the industry was well underway. The label's constant nagging about "Call-out Response" was both a new term and a bewildering concept to our ears. The basic strategy: a radio station arranges to call up a listerner who is asked to consume about 30 songs over the phone, perhaps 20 seconds of each. From this remote encounter, the listener will then proceed to judge the material. Insufficient call-out response was a big reason that Jubilee hardly got a shot at Warners. Grant Lee Buffalo tunes are often like an old car or an old amp that needs a few seconds to get warmed up, but when it does... look out! Meanwhile, a new crop of young record buyers, the largest since the Baby Boomer era, were now being targeted to the exclusion of Gen-Xers, like myself, still waiting for the Pixies to reform.
- As for Grant Lee Buffalo, I sensed they were beginning to wonder if we'd ever get through finishing school. Before that could happen, band and label parted as did Peters and myself. The scenery was changing and I was looking for new explorations. I'm sure we all were. Perhaps we always will be."
In 2004, a compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of singles, album tracks and rarities called Storm Hymnal was released.
Phillips continues to pursue a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career, releasing six albums between 2000 and 2009.
Grant Lee Buffalo's sound is comparable to Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
and an electrified version of americana song writer John Stewart. Phillips writes that their first album "would galvanize the sound of Grant Lee Buffalo, i.e., the acoustic feedback howl of overdriven 12-string guitars, melodic distorto-bass, tribal drum bombast, the old world churn of pump organs and parlor pianos."
Lyrically, they reference American history as well as contemporary events. For instance, “Lone Star Song” from Mighty Joe Moon
Mighty Joe Moon
Mighty Joe Moon is the second album by alternative rock group Grant Lee Buffalo, released in 1994.- Track listing :# "Lone Star Song"# "Mockingbirds"# "It's The Life"# "Sing Along"# "Mighty Joe Moon"# "Demon Called Deception"...
references the Waco siege
Branch Davidian
The Branch Davidians are a Protestant sect that originated in 1955 from a schism in the Davidian Seventh Day Adventists , a reform movement that began within the Seventh-day Adventist Church around 1930...
and “Crackdown“ from Copperopolis references the murder of Yoshihiro Hattori
Yoshihiro Hattori
was a Japanese exchange student residing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States at the time of his death. Hattori was on his way to a Halloween party and he went to the wrong house by accident. The property owner, Rodney Peairs, mortally wounded Hattori with gunfire, thinking he was trespassing...
as well as the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
.
As of May 5, 2011 the band has returned on a limited tour, making stops in Los Angeles, Dublin, London, Brussels and Oslo. On August 8, 2011 the band performed at Dranouter festival
Folk Dranouter
Folk Dranouter is a yearly folk festival spanning four days at the beginning of August in the Belgian village Dranouter. Since 2005, a second, smaller festival, Dranouter aan zee is organised in De Panne on the beach near the end of April....
in Belgium, and on August 9 in Copenhagen. Plans for an extended tour have not been released.
Albums
- FuzzyFuzzy (album)Released in 1993, Fuzzy is the debut album by Los Angeles rock group Grant Lee Buffalo. Called "The best album of the year hands down" by R.E.M's Michael Stipe, "Fuzzy would galvanize the sound of Grant Lee Buffalo, i.e., the acoustic feedback howl of overdriven 12-string guitars, melodic...
(1993) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#74 - Mighty Joe MoonMighty Joe MoonMighty Joe Moon is the second album by alternative rock group Grant Lee Buffalo, released in 1994.- Track listing :# "Lone Star Song"# "Mockingbirds"# "It's The Life"# "Sing Along"# "Mighty Joe Moon"# "Demon Called Deception"...
(1994) U.S. Heatseekers #16, UK #24 - Copperopolis (1996) U.S. Heatseekers #16, UK #34
- Jubilee (1998) U.S. Heatseekers #18
- Storm Hymnal: Gems from the Vault of Grant Lee Buffalo (2004)
Singles & Eps
- Buffalondon live EP (1993)
- 1. The Shining Hour (live) / 2. For The Turnstiles (live) / 3. Grace (live) / 4. America Snoring (live)
- Fuzzy Australian Single (1993)
- Fuzzy CD-4 1993
- 1. Fuzzy / 2. Stars and Stripes / 3. Dixie Drug Store (alternate album take) / 4. I Will Take Him
- America Snoring Single (1993)
- 1. America Snoring / 2. Wish You Well / 3. The Hook (Live) / 4. Burning Love (Live)
- Blue Plate Special (1993)
- 1. Dixie Drug Store / 2. America Snoring / 3. Jupiter and Teardrop (Live - Park West, Chicago) / 4. Wish You Well (Live) / 5. Burning Love (Live)
- Jupiter and Teardrop CD-5 (1994)
- 1. Jupiter and Teardrop (singles mix) / 2. Wish You Well (alternate album take) / 3. Soft Wolf Tread (alternate album take) / 4. The Shining Hour (alternate album take)
- El Dorado Motorhome video (1994)
- Lone Star Song single (1994)
- Mockingbirds single (1994)
- 1. Mockingbirds / 2. Orpheus / 3. Let Go of My Hand / 4. Fuzzy / 5. Dixie Drug Store
- MJM - Four Track Sampler (1994)
- Honey Don't Think single (1995)
- 1. Honey Don't Think / 2. It's the Life (Live) / 3. Mockingbirds (Live) / 4. Wish You Well (Live) / 5. Honey Don't Think (Live) / 6. Last Days of Tecumseh (Live)
- Homespun single (1996)
- 1. Homespun (single edit) / 2. Comes to Blows / 3. Armchair / 4. Crashing at Corona
- Yours Truly CD-4 (1996)
- 1. Truly, Truly (album version) / 2. My My My (album version) / 3. Were You There / 4. Mockingbirds (original 4-track demo)
- Truly, Truly single (1996)
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Modern Rock | |||
| 1994 | "Mockingbirds" | #36 | Mighty Joe Moon |
| 1998 | "Truly, Truly" | #11 | Jubilee |
The song "Happiness" was used at the end of the first season episode 'Babies and Bathwater', of the TV series House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
.
A cover of Brian Wilson's "In My Room" appeared on the television show Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
and the accompanying soundtrack
Friends discography
Friends Again is a 1999 soundtrack album. It is the second F.R.I.E.N.D.S. soundtrack, released after Friends Original TV Soundtrack .-Track listing:# "Introduction"#*Friends Again# "Every Word Means No"#*Smash Mouth# "Delicious"...
.