Buffalo Tom
Encyclopedia
Buffalo Tom is an alternative rock
band from Boston, Massachusetts
, formed in 1986. Its principal members are guitar
ist Bill Janovitz
, bassist
Chris Colbourn, and drum
mer Tom Maginnis. The band's name is derived from the band Buffalo Springfield
and the first name of the drummer.
assisted with the production on the band's first two albums. J Mascis also played lead guitar on the song "Impossible" from Buffalo Tom's self-titled debut.
Buffalo Tom became one of the more popular alternative rock bands by the mid 1990s: "Big Red Letter Day" (1993) peaked at #8 and "Sleepy Eyed" (1995) peaked at #4 on the Heatseekers chart. Their album, Big Red Letter Day
, peaked at #17 in the UK Albums Chart
in October 1993.
The band contributed the track "For All To See" to the 1993 AIDS-Benefit Album No Alternative
produced by the Red Hot Organization
, and the track "Lolly Lolly Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here" to the CD School House Rock! Rocks. Buffalo Tom's song "Sodajerk" was featured on the soundtrack
to the 1994 television series My So-Called Life
. They appeared in a club scene on My So-Called Life
, episode 12, titled "Self-Esteem," playing "Late at Night." The episode originally aired on 17 November 1994. They were also mentioned on the CW show Gossip Girl
.
Buffalo Tom also wrote the theme song to the short-lived 1999 sitcom The Mike O'Malley Show
. In 1999, the song "Taillights Fade" was used in the Breckin Meyer
/Elizabeth Berkley
independent film Taillights Fade. They also recorded The Jam's
"Going Underground
" for the 2000 tribute album Fire and Skill: The Songs of the Jam
. Issued as a double A-sided
single
, with Liam Gallagher
and Steve Cradock
's cover version
of "Carnation", the single reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart
in October 1999.
They were the final musical guest on The Jon Stewart Show
. Buffalo Tom is a perennial performer at the Hot Stove Cool Music concerts that benefit Theo Epstein
's Charity, 'Foundation to Be Named Later'.
After a lengthy hiatus through most of the decade, during 2007 Buffalo Tom re-emerged to perform at the South by Southwest Music Festival and to go on a summer tour across the US. An album, Three Easy Pieces
, was released on July 10, 2007 through the New West
label. The band has played a number of concerts in the US, Australia and Europe.
On November 24, 2010 it was announced through the band's Facebook and Twitter pages that their new album is titled Skins, and was intended for release in mid-February 2011. It came out to positive reviews from AllMusic.com and others on March 8, 2011, through their own label Scrawny Records, via The Orchard distribution company.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band from Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, formed in 1986. Its principal members are 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...
ist Bill Janovitz
Bill Janovitz
Bill Janovitz is best known as the singer and guitarist of the alternative rock band Buffalo Tom.-History:After enrolling at the University of Massachusetts, Janovitz formed Buffalo Tom with fellow students Chris Colbourn and Tom Maginnis. A friendship with J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr...
, bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Chris Colbourn, and 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...
mer Tom Maginnis. The band's name is derived from the band Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...
and the first name of the drummer.
Career
Dinosaur Jr. guitarist/frontman J MascisJ Mascis
J Mascis is an American musician, best known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter for Dinosaur Jr.. In 2011, he was ranked in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.- Biography :...
assisted with the production on the band's first two albums. J Mascis also played lead guitar on the song "Impossible" from Buffalo Tom's self-titled debut.
Buffalo Tom became one of the more popular alternative rock bands by the mid 1990s: "Big Red Letter Day" (1993) peaked at #8 and "Sleepy Eyed" (1995) peaked at #4 on the Heatseekers chart. Their album, Big Red Letter Day
Big Red Letter Day
Big Red Letter Day is a 1993 album by Buffalo Tom. The leadoff track, "Sodajerk," was featured on the soundtrack for the short-lived television series My So-Called Life and in commercials for Nike and Pontiac...
, peaked at #17 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The 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...
in October 1993.
The band contributed the track "For All To See" to the 1993 AIDS-Benefit Album No Alternative
No Alternative
-Home video track listing:# Matthew Sweet "Superdeformed"#*directed by Kevin Kerslake# Neneh Cherry "Athens, Georgia 1993"#*directed by Jim McKay & Michael Stipe# Urge Overkill "Take a Walk"#*directed by Matt Mahurin...
produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
, and the track "Lolly Lolly Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here" to the CD School House Rock! Rocks. Buffalo Tom's song "Sodajerk" was featured on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the 1994 television series My So-Called Life
My So-Called Life
My So-Called Life is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995 and was distributed by The Bedford Falls Company with ABC Productions. Set at the...
. They appeared in a club scene on My So-Called Life
My So-Called Life
My So-Called Life is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995 and was distributed by The Bedford Falls Company with ABC Productions. Set at the...
, episode 12, titled "Self-Esteem," playing "Late at Night." The episode originally aired on 17 November 1994. They were also mentioned on the CW show Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
.
Buffalo Tom also wrote the theme song to the short-lived 1999 sitcom The Mike O'Malley Show
The Mike O'Malley Show
The Mike O'Malley Show is an American sitcom on NBC that aired only two episodes. The series star, Mike O'Malley, created and executive produced the series with Les Firestein.-Synopsis:...
. In 1999, the song "Taillights Fade" was used in the Breckin Meyer
Breckin Meyer
-Early life:Meyer was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Dorothy Ann , a travel agent and former microbiologist, and Christopher William Meyer, a management consultant. As a child of divorced parents, he lived in California, Texas, West Virginia and New Jersey. He has an older brother,...
/Elizabeth Berkley
Elizabeth Berkley
Elizabeth Berkley is an American television, film, and theatre actress. Berkley's most notable roles were in the television series Saved by the Bell, as brainy feminist Jessie Spano, and the 1995 Paul Verhoeven film Showgirls, as exotic dancer Nomi Malone.-Early life:Berkley was born and raised...
independent film Taillights Fade. They also recorded The Jam's
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
"Going Underground
Going Underground
"Going Underground" is the first British number-one chart single by The Jam, released in March 1980. It went straight in at number one, a rare feat at the time, and spent three weeks at the top...
" for the 2000 tribute album Fire and Skill: The Songs of the Jam
Fire and Skill: The Songs of the Jam
Fire and Skill - The Songs of the Jam is a compilation of hit songs written by mod revival band The Jam. Each track on the album is performed by a different artist or band....
. Issued as a double A-sided
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
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...
, with Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
and Steve Cradock
Steve Cradock
Steve Cradock is an English guitarist, most notable for playing in the rock group Ocean Colour Scene. Cradock is also the second guitarist in Paul Weller's band, having appeared on all of Weller's solo records following Weller's self titled debut album.He is a distinctive guitarist, who has a...
's cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Carnation", the single reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in October 1999.
They were the final musical guest on The Jon Stewart Show
The Jon Stewart Show
The Jon Stewart Show was a short-lived talk show hosted by comedian Jon Stewart on MTV. It premiered in 1993 and became the second highest-rated program on the network behind Beavis and Butt-Head....
. Buffalo Tom is a perennial performer at the Hot Stove Cool Music concerts that benefit Theo Epstein
Theo Epstein
Theo Nathan Epstein is the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs.On November 25, 2002, he became the youngest GM in the history of Major League Baseball when the Boston Red Sox hired him at the age of 28...
's Charity, 'Foundation to Be Named Later'.
After a lengthy hiatus through most of the decade, during 2007 Buffalo Tom re-emerged to perform at the South by Southwest Music Festival and to go on a summer tour across the US. An album, Three Easy Pieces
Three Easy Pieces
Three Easy Pieces is a 2007 album by 90's alternative rock stalwarts Buffalo Tom. The album - nine years removed from their last LP Smitten - took over two years of off and on recording sessions to complete...
, was released on July 10, 2007 through the New West
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Los Angeles, California, Austin, Texas, and Athens, Georgia. It was established in 1998, and has been home to several indie rock and alternative country bands as well as representing the PBS show Austin City Limits...
label. The band has played a number of concerts in the US, Australia and Europe.
On November 24, 2010 it was announced through the band's Facebook and Twitter pages that their new album is titled Skins, and was intended for release in mid-February 2011. It came out to positive reviews from AllMusic.com and others on March 8, 2011, through their own label Scrawny Records, via The Orchard distribution company.
Albums
- Buffalo TomBuffalo Tom (album)Buffalo Tom is the debut album by Buffalo Tom, released in 1988 and featuring production from J Mascis.- Track listing :# "Sunflower Suit"# "The Plank"# "Impossible"# "500,000 Warnings"# "The Bus"# "Racine"# "In the Attic"# "Flushing Stars"...
(1988) - BirdbrainBirdbrain (album)Birdbrain is the second album by Buffalo Tom, released in 1990. Dinosaur Jr mastermind J Mascis once again assisted with production, alongside Sean Slade...
(1990) - Let Me Come OverLet Me Come Over-Track listing:All songs written by Chris Colbourn, Bill Janovitz, and Tom Maginnis# "Staples" – 3:35# "Taillights Fade" – 3:44# "Mountains of Your Head" – 3:22# "Mineral" – 4:32# "Darl" – 2:50# "Larry" – 5:32# "Velvet Roof" – 3:55# "I'm Not There" – 4:06...
(1992) - Big Red Letter DayBig Red Letter DayBig Red Letter Day is a 1993 album by Buffalo Tom. The leadoff track, "Sodajerk," was featured on the soundtrack for the short-lived television series My So-Called Life and in commercials for Nike and Pontiac...
(1993) - Sleepy EyedSleepy EyedSleepy Eyed is a 1995 album by Buffalo Tom. The band was looking to move away from the polished sound of their previous album in favor of a more stripped-down, live-sounding approach...
(1995) - SmittenSmitten (Buffalo Tom album)Smitten is a 1998 album by Buffalo Tom. It was their only album for Polydor Records.Singer/guitarist Bill Janovitz said that, as the band members looked over demos in preparation for the album, they noticed that keyboards were taking a larger role in their songs than before...
(1998) - Instant Live 6/10/05 Paradise, Boston, MA (2005)
- Three Easy PiecesThree Easy PiecesThree Easy Pieces is a 2007 album by 90's alternative rock stalwarts Buffalo Tom. The album - nine years removed from their last LP Smitten - took over two years of off and on recording sessions to complete...
(2007) - Skins (2011)
Compilation albums
- Asides from Buffalo Tom (2000)
- Besides: A Collection of B-Sides and Rarities (2002)
Singles and EPs
- "Sunflower Suit" (1989)
- "Enemy" (1989)
- "Crawl" (1990)
- "Birdbrain" (1990)
- "Fortune Teller" (1991)
- "Velvet Roof" (1992)
- "Taillights Fade" (1992)
- "Mineral" (1992)
- "Sodajerk" (1993)
- "Treehouse" (1993)
- "I'm Allowed" (1994)
- "Summer" (1995)
- "Tangerine" (1995)
- "Wiser" (1998)
- "Knot In It/ Rachael" (1999)
- "Going Underground" (2000)
- "Bad Phone Call" (2007)