Arctic Death Album

Ok so I sort of went off the deep end about a week ago, and went on a tirade about Buffalo, suburbanites, the Elmwood Village, Thursday at the Square and...Arctic Death. I tend to get into funks about living in Buffalo and then write posts that are waaaaay too long ranting about it (sorry). However, Arctic Death happened to find this rant and preceded to message me their LP...awkward yes. However I thought it was very cool of them to sort of take the post with some sense of humor. Anyways my blog is quite small and I don't take it too seriously (I mean I get 30 to 80 readers a day if you must know...that's tiny). I enjoy posting things and listening to music, but mostly I have it out of my own personal need to have hobbies, ha. So since Arctic Death sent me their LP, I listened to every track, twice and have reviewed it below. Just a fair warning though, I didn't particularly like the record (sorry). However, I always post the music below my posts, for whomever wants to listen to it. I feel strongly about sharing music on my blog with everyone whether I like the band or not.

And I would just like to say that even though I am still not particularly fond of your music, I'm sure Buffalo Rising and ArtVoice will give you good reviews...if they haven't already. So here is a track by track review.

1. Bathe My Heart
Well, it started out slightly promising, the guitars and drums are ok, until the lead singer starts singing. I would like to bathe my heart in disappointment too. Maybe its just the way certain things are pronounced or the weird accent changes, but I just could not get into this track.

2. April
There is a bit more emotion in the lead singer's voice on this one, I can tell that they were trying really hard. And I think the song writing picked up here, But I felt as if the track was incomplete, the ending was too abrupt, and overall I feel as if the lead singer's voice takes away from the band rather than adding anything to it. I understand that whomever is singing has a very unique voice and sometimes that works in an indie rock group. Bjork doesn't have a "traditional" singing voice either, nor does Bob Dylan or Tom Waits. I feel as if these guys listen to a lot of Tom Waits...I could be wrong. But what works for Tom Waits isn't working for them.

3. Sisters
This one actually had a catchy chorus, and I like the incorporation of the female voices and the "call and response" singing in the middle. Out of all the tracks on the album this one was the one I liked the most.

4. Basement Stars
I think this was the point where I finally accepted the singer's voice (that doesn't mean I like it), I was just available to get passed it. I liked the other bands members yelling/singing in the background. But again I thought the song ended too abruptly, and overall it's still not something that I can imagine listening to in my free time (but that's just my personal opinion). I do feel as if this song had potential, but honestly this would be so much better with someone else singing it.

5. Pill Sized
Nice guitar riffs, I did like the instrumentals on this one.

6. Over
Meh. This one I was sort of neutral on, not bad, not good either. The guitar was good, I like the bass and the drums are decent, in fact the instrumentals on most of the tracks are fine. It's just that voice...

7. Trivial Honesty
Not good. That's all I can really say.

8. Toothache
I didn't get a toothache, more like a headache. But I did listen to this track three times...I tried.

9. Golden
I actually loved the beginning instrumentals of this one, but then the lyrics come in...Putting that aside, I thought the biblical references in this track were pretty cool. In fact I actually really liked the lyrics, but again, not only is the song almost completely ruined by the strange accent changes of the lead singer but they are almost hard to discern at points. However I know that's sort of the concept, it's a stylistic choice and I know the same could be said for the singing...but it just ain't working.

10. The Morning
For some reason this track reminds me of mornings when I wake up with a hangover, mostly because I usually have ringing in my ears, and nothing sounds good. However I did like the drums and the bass guitar in the middle.

11. River
Uh...its sort of hard writing reviews of all these tracks when in some cases there is nothing really distinguishable from one track to the next. This one was one of those mediocre tracks...I just don't have a ton to say. But nice guitar solo.

12. One Throat To Choke
Finally. One that had a slightly more experimental feel. Even the lead singer's voice sounded better on this one, the slight echo, the distorted instrumentals, all improved things exponentially. It's funny that this was also the shortest track.


While I may not have given the best review, I DID listen to every song multiple times. I thought it was only fair, since you sent me and LP that I listen to it from start to finish. And that's what I did. Obviously my opinion is pretty trivial, and I don't usually post too much local music. Most people who read this blog are not from Buffalo, and many are not even from the US, which means most of my more popular posts having nothing to do with Buffalo at all! Ha. Anyways good luck with the record, I'm sure you already have a pretty loyal local fan base.

If you are interested in buying the record it is already available pre-sale on their website.

http://arcticdeath.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-arctic-death-12-vinyl

Their Music:

Arctic Death - new song by buffablog

The Art by Arctic Death

'88 by Arctic Death

Arctic Death...kinda really sucks...(Buffalo Rant)

So every time I decide to leave the shelter of my home and venture out into the wide world of the city of Buffalo, I always come back feeling a tad...annoyed. This blog post may explain why. I'm sorry that this is sort of a "local" post I don't do these too often, but I need to vent. And unfortunately this band will take the brunt of it.

Ok so they're from Buffalo, which automatically means every publication within the city limits has praised them endlessly. Unfortunately I have an undying hatred for my own city (don't even get me STARTED on the "Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros" crowd at Thursday at the square yesterday...I'll save that for my next blog post). Anyways I have grown to see through much of the hype that have propelled a bunch of these "bands" to notoriety, because I mean I lived in Toronto, so c'mon, I know by now what decent local music sounds like. Anyways Arctic Death is slightly better than the regular fair exhibited in most Buffalo bars, but that's as far as I will go. In terms of reviewing local music I always liked to take it out of context, such as "Is this something I would actually listen to if the guys in the band weren't from the surrounding Buffalo suburbs? (notice I didn't say CITY)" The answer is "HELL NAW." The lead singer's voice is so nasal to the point where I feel like I get induced sinus headaches. I mean props for actually having a melody but when all your songs have the same GRATING sounds (on top of his voice I CAN'T STAND HIS VOICE) as well as the overall "blahness" of the songs...there's nothing really special about the music or the band. But that should be sorta expected from a bunch of suburbanites who moved to the elmwood "village" (notice people its not called STRIP anymore) only to grow mustaches, wear beanies and prance around the neighborhood like they live in Brooklyn. Did I just say that? I think I did...oops. Well if the entire arts community comes running after me with pitchforks I'm only going say this: Buffalo you can't take ANY negative criticism from anyone which is why our "music scene" is so embarrassingly LAME...because without any sort of constructive criticism no one is allowed to develop or grow. Why am I so bitter? Because I freaking grew up here, I freaking dressed like a freaking "hipster" my entire life only to move back and be antagonized by these newbies from the 'burbs' who now apparently believe that living in an urban environment means shunning their hot-topic mall punk roots and buying the entire urban outfitters catalog. End of rant. Anyways I will post the music below as I always do, simply because just because I get a bad taste in my mouth doesn't mean you will. Hell there is plenty of stuff i can't stand that other people LOVE (Animal Collective, EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS, Katy Perry, Girls, Nicki Minaj....I could go on).

Flood The Shoreline

Another local Buffalo band that is making waves. They only have one song on their Myspace page at the moment called "Out Here" however it's pretty kickass. The perfect combination of lofi vocal distortion and classic rock instrumentals. I really like how they play with echoes, yay for the Doppler Effect!

Anyways check out their Myspace Page HERE

Bryan Johnson and Family Release New Song, With Free Download!

As you may recall, I interviewed Bryan Johnson and Family over the summer as part of my "Buffalo Band Project" and you can read that interview HERE.

Anyways I really liked the new direction the band is taking on this track "Body and Skin." The single still maintains Bryan Johnson and Family's folk roots, but adds a slightly harder to edge. There is something radio head-esque about the new sound (even more so on my favorite song on the Myspace page "Greed Fishing" it could of been an extra track on the Bends!). I would advise all of you to check out the new track for yourselves, and request downloads!

check out their Myspace HERE

Buffalo Band Profile: Lemuria

Lemuria is an indie/punk Buffalo band with a very eccentric sound--in a good way. A bit ninties college rock, a bit grungey and a tad twee pop. They are like the love child between Deathcab For Cutie and Jawbreaker.

Check out their myspace HERE

Lemuria is a mythical ancient civilization, why did you name yourselves after it?

- I (Alex) have always been very interested in ancient civilizations, especially ones that are on the cusp of being mythical and there are people currently on payrolls attempting to discover. This was my favorite mythical, or maybe mythical, continent that sort of exists.

What motivated you to form a band and how long have you been together?

- Sheena and I have been best friends for a very long time now, and it only seemed natural to start a band together because we were comfortable writing with each other. We formed about 5 years ago, in the fall of 2004.

Your sound is heavily rooted in punk and indie rock, what bands would you say helped shaped your music the most?

- Bands like Leatherface, Jawbreaker, Superchunk, Jawbox, Sebadoh, and many others have really influenced us. On tour, music from the 90's are what we all usually agree on listening to in the van. Even though we are constantly getting into new artists, these are the bands that really shaped our lives.

What would you say makes your music special or different? What sets you apart from the crowd?
- I think the personal dynamic that I have with Sheena has made our band slightly odd. Sheena and I used to be in a romantic relationship when we were younger, that eventually ended and our personal friendship has been unlike any relationship I've ever had with anybody. Our music definitely amplifies that awkwardness sometimes, but I don't think it's a negative thing.

Where do you derive inspiration from to write a song? Do you find yourself more inclined to write about real things that have happened to you, or fictional stories?

- Every song is inspired from our real lives. Some are familial inspirations, others are relationships with significant others. Occasionally we have songs about human behavior.

The song "Who would understand a turtle" is quite an interesting title and also one of my favorite songs on your MySpace. Where did the idea for the song come from?

- That song is actually a tour story from when we were on tour with Kind of Like Spitting. We were driving from Chicago to Dekalb, IL...from show to show. The night before we played a show in Chicago and Sheena and I had a big argument. While driving the next we were all in different vehicles on the road, close to each other on the highway because some of our friends were traveling with us. I wasn't in the same vehicle as Sheena but I really wanted to resolve the situation. I wrote the song on the trip, I also ran from car to car during a slight traffic jam not realizing the traffic was moving much faster than I thought it was and I barely made it to the other car! There is actually a video somewhere that my friend Mike took of me running. Sort of silly.

You are a relatively well established indie band, with a national following. Many musical acts of similar size tend to relocate to larger cities like New York or Austen, why has Buffalo remained your home base?

- Buffalo is comfortable, and the cost of living is very cheap. It allows us to do what we love artistically and be able to tour without having to worry about ridiculously high rents at home. It's also close to our families and it offers a lot of the same luxuries that bigger cities do. I love this city!

How has the Buffalo indie scene changed since you have been a band?

- It hasn't changed very much. It's been pretty consistent. There is always ups and downs with the hardcore scene, which oddly enough was our original audience because that was the crowd of people we knew and ended up playing shows with a lot of hardcore bands. The scene is very supportive and we are very grateful to be a part of it.

And furthermore, do you think the Buffalo independent music scene has the potential to become nationally known (like Chapel Hill, or Austen)?

- I think it definitely does. I know a lot of artists who have recently moved to Buffalo from the New York City area for the reason that we live here. It's cheap! So cheap that they don't have to work 2 jobs to get by and try to find a way to still do what makes them happy with the few spare hours they have a week. We pay $75 for a huge practice space that has 24 hour access, which is a fantastic deal. A lot of bands to pay nothing because they just practice in their attic or basement here.


As an independent band, you are especially susceptible to shifts in the economic climate. How has the recession impacted you? Has it influenced the type of music you write? Your touring schedule? Has it forced you to travel more/less?

- I think during a recession, artists sometimes gain attention and support because people are cutting down on large luxuries and involving themselves in less expensive things. So maybe instead of taking that European vacation, people are just going to settle to go to a few shows here and there that month. We travel about the same amount as when we started the band, but the recession hasn't really impacted us. It seems like a lot of older bands are reuniting and playing music these days as a result of the recession as well. Ultimately we play music for fun though! Whether we're making money or not, we'll all personally be involved in the music community.

Also be sure to check out other bands featured in the Buffalo Band Project series, just click on the label below or in the left hand section of the blog labeled...you guessed it "LABELS!"

Buffalo Band Profile: Unwelcome Guests

If The Replacements ever decide to pack up and move to Buffalo, they may sound a bit like these guys. They take as much from punk music as they do from country and folk, resulting in a sound that seems rooted in the nineties (in a good way) with jangly guitars, and a pop punk mentality.

How long have you guys been a band?

Micah: In the summer of 2004 I started writing songs and playing them at shows with my friend Colin, we called ourselves Unwelcome Guests. Long story short, people came and went but the current lineup came together when Steve joined up with the rest of us in the fall of 2005

Steve: It’s true. I joined last, I’m like the sprinkles on this delicious musical cake called Unwelcome Guests. Micah is the Red Velvet Batter, Zac & Chris each are ingredients in a scrumptious butter cream frosting

Zac: Forever.

Chris: Since 1995

What influenced you to form a punk band in particular?

Micah: In the beginning I definitely just wrote songs without much care of what genre they fell into and I suppose that still holds true. We try to play louder and faster because it’s more fun that way and Zac really enjoys hitting his drums hard. Also the definition of punk can be debated forever and never really come to a definition that everyone agrees on. The aspect of “punk” that I truly love is DIY, for all arguments for or against it no one can disagree that it’s a great thing to experience when it works.

Steve: Micah definitely wrote shitty, boring country songs in the beginning which eventually morphed into punk-like songs. We’ll cover this more in question 9.

Zac: I hit things hard!

Chris: My friends in High School wanted to start a band but that never worked out so I joined this band.

What drew you to this genre of music?

Micah: In high school some friends of mine played in a band called The Young Ones and they played shows at the nearest DIY venue called the Cobra La. I went to a whole bunch of their shows… they played Clash covers, it was fun and then I decided that I wanted to do it too.

Steve: Micah. I only listened to annoying core and ragtime before joining the band.

Zac: Same story as Micah, different town one hour away.

Chris: My older brother is the one who introduced me to punk.

How do you think you have grown as a band (musically/artistically) since you have been together?

Micah: At first I’d write songs to sound like other songs, if people said something like: “sounds like a song I’ve heard before” I took it as a compliment. Now I’d like to think I’ve gotten past that a bit, though I don’t go out of my way to hide my influences (i.e. the Replacements). The biggest step forward for us was simply when Steve joined the band, he rips.

Steve: I prefer the term “shreds.”

Zac: My biggest step as an artist was actually learning how to play drums.

Chris: I have developed a drinking problem.

How do you think the Buffalo music scene has changed since you've been a band?

Micah: Some venues have gone away and others have sprouted up, people have come and gone, but somehow it really hasn’t changed at all.

Steve: Many great bands have gone, but plenty new ones have sprouted up to take their place. Like flowers germinating (is that a word?)

Zac: Less hardcore, more indie, more drinking, less straight edge.

Chris: It is still the same, lots of drunks and sporadic show turnouts.

"Warm Soon" seems to pay homage to the Replacements a tiny bit. What are your biggest musical influences?

Micah: The Replacements and Uncle Tupelo are the most obvious comparisons and I love that but we all listen to very different things:

Steve: As I mentioned before, I really love the Annoyingcore (Micah coined that term). I also love the cardigans.

Zac: I’ve been hypnotized by Micah’s Wilco-esque propaganda.

Chris: My influences range all types of genres and bands.

I really like the song "Walking is Tough" what is it about exactly?

Micah: It’s basically just me being grumpy… my expression of how life’s a bummer but I try to make the best of it. The “I’m gonna write all my lines so they rhyme” line is in reference to modern song writing. So many people try hard to sound sophisticated or progressive with their writing and end up with a song that people can’t relate to, so that’s me saying “meh.”

Steve: OMG Micah is always grumpy, except on 50 cent wing night.

Zac: A night after several beverages formerly known as Sparks (with caffeine).

Chris: I agree with Zac.

The song "Waiting" sounds a lot different than your newer stuff.

Micah: That song was actually written while we were writing songs for the album, we were asked to do a split 7” and that and “Diddle” were the two that were most ready to record. The main difference that I notice is simply the recording being raw, recorded analog without much polish. We did that at Hi-Lo with Matt Smith… he’s awesome.

Steve: Hi-Lo Studios was great fun! By “different” do you mean “different good” or “different bad” ?!

Zac: Beer and cigs in the room we recorded in.

Chris: I’m still “waiting” for Micah to write some good songs.

What caused the musical shift in direction that is demonstrated on such tracks as "Put Down Your Gun?"

Micah: I’m not really sure if there’s any shift for that song in particular… though it is one of the cases in which Steve and I wrote a song together. I had a really shitty, boring country song written but I liked the lyrics… he came up with the verse chord progression and we took it from there.

Steve: Basically Micah had a really shitty, boring country song and then I made it better…. J/K Micah! Kisses!

Zac: We were really pissed!

Chris: I don’t know why but everyone got angry when I brought a gun to band practice.

Where do you see your careers as musicians going in the future?

Micah: Haha... Failure? Nah… I think we’re all on the same page of how we’re never going to make enough money to live off of with music. So we’re trying to figure out some kind of job or career in which we can take care of ourselves and also go on tour. I could never stop doing it because, well… I’d become incredibly depressed and bored. Doing both is a simple concept that is terribly difficult to pull off. Right now we all hate our jobs and it seems when people find a job that they don’t hate, it takes up all their time and they give up on music. If we could financially pull it off to just be on tour all the time, I’d be down… but financially we can’t seem to pull it together.

Steve: Relegated to the miseries of open mic night.

Zac: Simply playing in an alternative cover band in weddings and pig roasts.

Chris: I’m going to hit it big in Nashville.

Check out their Myspace page

Buffalo Band Profile: Bryan Johnson and Family

Bryan Johnson and Family - He Never Was, Gone and Lost IT, and Whirlwind
THANK YOU GOD, ALLAH, BUDDHA, VISHNU, AND JOE PESCI (its a George Carlin routine)! My prayers have been answered...I have finally found an indie band from Buffalo I can be proud of. I heard their stuff and immediately took a liking to their laid back folk vibe. The acoustic guitar mingles perfectly with the choral singing and their dreamy hazy cloud of sound. They sound a bit like Fleet Foxes if Fleet Foxes were fronted by Sufjan Stevens and Elliott Smith.

http://www.myspace.com/wbwt

When did you start writing songs?

-When I was 15 and wanted to sound as much like dashboard confessional as possible lol.

How many people are in the band? And how long have you been together?

- There are currently four members Tracy Willis, Ky Kenzler, Alek, and myself. And we are looking for additions so if anyone's interested. Tracy has been singing with me since May of this year and Ky since June Alek is the newest addition with only three weeks under his belt.

What bands/musicians have made the biggest impression on your musical maturity as an artist?

-Lots of bands and too many musicians because I feel a constant need to listen to new and different music all the time. But my biggest influences come from Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens, and Animal Collective.

Where do you derive inspiration for new material?

-Pretty much anything that I may be doing personally or from movies I might watch. Sometimes my friends come over and we just start singing, what ever comes to mind. Being completely random insures that I don't sing about the same stuff over and over again.

Gone and Lost IT has a very blugrass vibe, what is it about? And where were you when you wrote that song, what were you feeling?

-The lyrics really started out being nonsensical because I was in my car just singing out loud. There's a couple of meanings the song could have. But one of them is just coming to the realization that the world is bigger than you and what you might want. But the song isn't meant to be that preachy. You can tell by its upbeat nature that it wasn't. I needed some joy in my life.

Wirlwind is obviously about a person, what motivated you to right about this individual?

-Its not so much about an individual as it is about the feelings you have for one particular person. This is meant to reflect what one might say when they have found the one for them and words don't describe that very well so you just have to sing. That's why this song is so lyrically sparse and has an extended "WOOO" section.

He Never Was has a very different sound from your older material, what caused this shift in musical direction for you? Was it an album or musician you were listening to? A major life changing event?

-Its very different, um mostly because I was trying to shoot for a different feel in my songs. It started with a collection of five songs that just came together all at once. The first was "Do what you want". I found my old trumpet and wanted to try and play it again so I played two repeated notes over and over. The sound kinda just excited some creative spark and I wrote and recorded or rearranged songs. "He never was" was the product of having music but no lyrics. Tracy Willis, who I had invited to sing on some recordings, came over and we wrote the song's lyrics pretty quickly. That took too long to explain. HAH

You are an unsigned artist, has this been a major disadvantage? Or has it given you more artistic control over your music?

-Being unsigned has a big disadvantage because everything depends on what you do. Promotion, networking, booking, merchandise, and writing and recording everything on your own expense. Which is why I do a lot of the recordings on my personal computer in my bedroom. I have complete control over my sound and hope to always maintain that with whatever I do.

Buffalo Band Profile: MAR$

A few moths ago, I started on a quest of epic proportions to discover musicians in Buffalo that I could post on my blog with pride. In the first installment of this series I bring you MAR$, a Buffalo MC with a lot of potential. Although MAR$ can hold his own in the mainstream rap game with songs like "Let Em Know" a cocky anthem announcing his arrival, its more intimate songs like "Fallin," "Never Change," and "Shot The Teacher" that really caught my attention.

When did you start rapping?

-I began rapping in 2003 and seriously started recording music in 2006.

What motivated to you to get into the rap game? Any older mentors, or rappers? And what about these individuals inspired you to become a rapper?

-My motivation was arrogance because I knew I was better than any of my peers, and I started to record to prove it. I grew up around a lot of underground and hardcore hip-hop that my older brother played like Wu Tang and Nas. Some of the first hip-hop tapes I had of my own were Bone Thugz n Harmony, DMX, and B.I.G when I was nine. Since this was when pop began to explode I started listening to other styles of music and developed a liking for the business of music. I would say my inspirations come from numerous artists, like Nas for his lyricism, Jay-Z for his wordplay and ability to make hits, Lupe and Kanye for creativity, 50 for songwriting, and B.I.G. for being himself and real. Even artists such as Lil Wayne are inspiring to me because he's an example of how you can constantly get better.

Where do you derive inspiration from to make a song?

-My inspiration to make songs can come from actual day to day experiences, conservations that I might have with someone, my mood is the direct cause of what type of song I will record, and basically what young, flashy kids like myself would like to hear. However, I will say I am 1 step away from being a braggy backpack rapper at heart. lol

"Fallin'" is a story about a father and son (correct me if I'm wrong) where did you come up with such a unique storyline? Was it based on anyone you know? Or any real life experiences?

-I came up with the idea to do Fallin' during my freshmen year of college. Around that time I listened to a lot of Lupe Fiasco, and the song just started as having deep metaphors that you might not catch the first listen. After a few bars I basically knew it would become some sort of story and I molded it from there. F.Y.I. none of that song was written on paper. 95% of my songs are never written unless I just want to write them on my blackberry.

"Never Change" is about a friendship you had in the past, what exactly happened to this person? And what inspired you to write a song about him?

-Never Changed basically outlines a story of 2 kids who were really close and even struggled together but when one of them got money, cars, and new friends they whole persona changed and they forgot where they came from. So basically I'm sayin I will never change and why you should never forget who was there with you.

Are you signed to a record label at the moment?

-Currently I'm renegotiating my contract with Buff City Records but this time its a joint venture through a major indie label that I cant mention at the time. Also, I have an entertainment company called "Artist Entertainment" in which I signed myself as a group with my partner D Dash Eazzy to become Real Estate.

Are there any other artists signed to Buff City Records that readers might want to check out?

-Other Buff City Artists to check out include: B.E.N.N.Y., Real Estate, Armani Caesar, Thugzman....
their myspace pages can be found as links on:
www.myspace.com/buffcitymusicpage

You can check out MAR$'s MySpace page here
As well as the songs Fallin' and Never Change below.

Fallin

Never Change

Buffalo Bands

I am from Buffalo...yes the cultural wasteland of America...well not quite that harsh, but close enough. The land of the chicken wings, sabres, bills, and a musical black hole. I have tried to listen to Buffalo bands (and I do own the Goo Goo Dolls record "Gutter Flower" it has about 3 or 4 decent songs), I have tried to listen to Cute is What We Aim For...that lasted an hour, Crush the Everlasting...ick, Passion Pit (the lead singer is Buffalonian...so that counts) mehhhh, they do show some potential. However, overall my quest to find a decent band in this city that I can post on my sorry excuse for a blog with pride (not that anyone reads my blog...but still its the thought that counts right?) has slowly diminished. Unless for some reason, I start to develop a taste for suburban rappers (we have PLENTY of those here) or really bad jam band music, it seems I'm out of luck. So I have made it a project probably out of desperation and boredom to find at least one solid band in this city this summer that I can write about....this will take some real effort. So starting, today and ending whenever I have given up out of exhaustion or frustration...I will find this mythical band and write about them...wish me luck, because I will need it. If you are a Buffalo band that happens to read my blog (I wonder if anyone does...but still) feel free to direct me to your band's website or myspace in the comments section below, believe me it will be nice to be proven wrong about Buffalo bands.