On Friday, February 17, 2023, rock-trio King Buffalo, will be performing at Empire Underground on their just announced tour, along with an appearance by special guests, Swell the Fellas. The group is returning from their tour with Clutch, and more recently with Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, from their spring tour in North America.
Members of the Rochester-based group are vocalist and guitarist, Sean McVay, bassist Dan Reynolds, and drummer Scott Donaldson. The band has released a total of four full-length EPs, “Acheron”, “The Burden of Restlessness”, “Dead Star”, “Longing to Be the Mountain” and “Orion”, since their formation in 2013 and most recently had their fifth full-length EP called “Regenerator” released on Sept. 2, 2022.
The album “Regenerator” is a pinnacle piece demonstrating a modern psychedelic sound production, while containing elements which stretch the stylistic boundaries of the underground rock genre. The band’s self release in North America and through the Europe-based company, Stickman Records, serves as a leading thematical counterpart to their prior projects, such as the 2016’s “Orion” debut, 2018’s “Longing to Be the Mountain”, as well as other EPs.
Drummer Scott Donaldson, discussed with NYS Music about King Buffalo and their most recently released album, Regenerator.
Heather Occhino: How did your band come together and what made you decide to be drummer?
Scott Donaldson: We formed from 2 bands from the Rochester area. As my band was breaking, so was Sean’s and Dan’s. I approached them about doing some stuff together and we had a natural chemistry, and have been rolling since then.
HO: How do you manage all the aspects of being in a band and still find time to make music?
SD: Being a musician and managing the day to day is a full time job. Fortunately, I’m able to handle the business side of things. When it comes to making music, we all jam together and form new some ideas. At this point, Sean will take the recordings and rearrange the ideas to form a more cohesive structure. Then we work through those ideas together until the song is complete.
HO: How you would you describe your music?
SD: We’re basically a new age classic rock band. We can be grouped into sub genres like psychedelic rock, stoner, metal, prog and so forth but we don’t really tie ourselves to any specific category.
HO: How were prior tour performances both in and outside of the U.S? Have you seen a growth in your listening base since then?
SD: We have seen significant growth since the pandemic in both Europe and North America. It’s nice to have some recognition since next year will be ten years as a band, but there is plenty more still to accomplish.
HO: Are there any artists who influence your sound or inspire you creatively?
SD: I think each of us are inspired daily by numerous influences. It’s impossible to pick any because anything can have a placebo that you might not even realize.
Tickets for the performance at Empire Underground can be bought here.
King Buffalo North America Tour Dates:
11/8 – Boise, ID @ The Olympic
11/9 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
11/11 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
11/12 – Fort Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre
11/14 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Front Room
11/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
11/16 – Madison, WI @ High Noon
11/17 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
11/18 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
11/19 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Stache
12/10 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
1/3 – Cleveland @ Grog Shop
1/14 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-fi
1/15 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
1/17 – Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s
1/18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Colectivo
1/19 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
1/20 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Cafe Club
1/21 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Cafe Club
2/16 – Brattleboro, VT @ Stone Church
2/17 – Albany, NY @ Empire Underground
2/18 – Lancaster, PA @ Tellus 360
2/19 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall
2/21 – Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor
2/23 – Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub
2/24 – Miami, FL @ Gramps
2/25 – Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
2/26 – St. Augustine, FL @ Cafe 11
2/28 – Athens, GA @ Hendershots
3/1 – Ashville, NC @ Asheville Music Hall
3/3 – Huntington, WV @ The Load
2023 European Tour Dates:
5/19 – 5/21 – Desertfest Berlin
6/8 – 6/10 – Freak Valley Festival
