History[]
Buzzard Custard (2014 - 2015)[]
The Buzzards of Fuzz (Originally Uncle Van & The Buzzards of Fuzz) are a Desert Rock outfit from Atlanta, Georgia hatched in 2014 and founded by Van Bassman and Benjamin J. Davidow after the dissolution of Uncle Van’s Super Awesome Family Fun Band.
The group’s name, a nod to the character' 'Buzzard from Dr. Hunter S. Thompson’s book Hell’s Angels , was meant to change every six months but the idea was scrapped as it was deemed too confusing to follow.
Initially the rhythm section included Matt Irvin (Spore Lord , Order of The Owl ) on bass and Zachary Batson on drums. Irvin left the project early on to focus on Spore Lord and was replaced by Chuck Wiles prior to recording any material.
In August of 2014 the band began recording at 'LedBelly Sound Studio in Dawsonville, Georgia with Matthew Washburn (Mastodon , Artemis Piledriver). These sessions produced their first EP, Buzzard Custard .
The cover art for Buzzard Custard was designed by Lauren Monger (Terrible Terrible Terrible , Vice ). Dr. Thompson appears in the background of the Buzzard Custard cover along with Feather Locklear, TBOF’s bird mascot of sorts.
200 Copies of Buzzard Custard were released on Compact Disc under the name Uncle Van & The Buzzards of Fuzz March 19th 2015.
The Buzzard Custard release party was held March 19th, 2018 at The Music Room in Atlanta, Georgia with an attendance of 15 people.
Two days after their release the band was notified that they had been selected by Creative Loafing and Alt 105.7 FM to perform at the Sweetwater 420 festival opening for Snoop Dog , Primus , The Wood Brothers , Gov't Mule and Cage the Elephant with an attendance of 75k people.
You Never Bring Me Any Flowers (2016 - 2017)[]
In June of 2016 Van Bassman won the Georgia Music Award for Best Rock Male Front Man.
From August to December of 2016 Buzzards recorded two singles at The Cottage Recording Co. in Atlanta, Georgia with Damon Moon of Standard Electric Recorders . These were two of the last songs recorded at The Cottage prior to its demolition in January of 2017.
January 31st, 2017 The Buzzards of Fuzz performed with Truckfighters, Kings Destroy and Kr'rth at The Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta, Georgia.
June 9th 2017 The Buzzards of Fuzz performed with White Reaper to a sold-out crowd at The Earl in East Atlanta Village.
20 hand numbered, hand lathed vinyl copies of You Never Bring Me Any Flowers b/w How Could You? were released July 15th 2017, the release party was held in the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta, Georgia.
Friday October 13th 2017 Buzzards performed with the originators of Desert Rock, Yawning Man , at The Highlander in Atlanta, Georgia with We Are the Asteroid and Gnomonaut .
December 15th 2017 The Buzzards of Fuzz performed at the Orange Amplifiers Holiday Party at Star Bar in Little Five Points, Atlanta, Georgia with Order of The Owl, The Dirty Magazines and Insomniac – after this performance Wiles switched from bass to drums and Batson switched from drums to bass.
Hey! Hate City, Fuzzstock & The Carrion Collection (2018)[]
March 1st 2018 Buzzards performed with 1000Mods, Telekinetic Yeti and Sash the Bash at 529 in East Atlanta Village.
April 17th 2018 The Buzzards of Fuzz performed to a sold out room with Guitar Legend Dick Dale at The Earl in East Atlanta Village.
Three of the four tracks on the group’s second EP, Hey! Hate City , were recorded Friday April 13th 2018 by Kris Sampson at Sampson Sound in Atlanta, Georgia. The final track, a cover of The Desert Sessions’ Like a Drug was recorded previously at Standard Electric Recorders by Damon Moon January 15th 2018. Sasha Vallely (Sash the Bash , Spindrift ) recorded her vocal parts for Like a Drug at Sampson Sound.
20 Copies of Hey! Hate City were released on hand numbered hand lathed vinyl at Fuzzstock June 1st 2018 at Star Bar in Little Five Points, Atlanta with Fantomen , Flashback Flash and Twin Criminal .
August 20th, 2018 Zachary Batson was dismissed from the band. For the remainder of this period the band would perform with guest bass players including Jonathan Lee (The Pinx ), Casey Dorriety (Flashback Flash) and Adam McIntyre (Stonerider ) or with Bassman playing bass and guitar at the same time.
100 copies of The Carrion Collection were released on compact disc August 22nd 2018. The Carrion Collection included all out of print releases from The Buzzards of Fuzz from 2015-2018 including Buzzards Custard, You Never Bring Me Any Flowers, How Could You? and Hey! Hate City.
September 21st 2018 Davidow and Bassman appeared on 93.7 KCLB in Palm Springs, California to promote The Carrion Collection.
The Buzzards of Fuzz received 14 Best of Atlanta nominations from Creative Loafing Atlanta including Best Live Band, Best Local Album and Best Local Rock Act.
October 13th 2018 Buzzards performed at the Fall for Greenville festival in Greenville, South Carolina on the Chevy main stage with King Tuff and Seven Year Witch with an attendance of 60k people.
Discography[]
Buzzard Custard EP - Released 3/25/15
- 200 Copies on CD As Uncle Van & The Buzzards of Fuzz
"You Never Bring Me Any Flowers" b/w "How Could You?" - Released 7/15/17
- 20 Copies on Numbered Hand Lathed Vinyl
Hey! Hate City EP - Released 6/1/18
- 20 Copies on Numbered Hand Lathed Vinyl
The Carrion Collection - Released 8/22/18
- 100 Copies on CD
Members[]
Current Members[]
- Van Bassman (Guitar, Vocals) 2014 - Current
- Ben Davidow (Guitar, Vocals) 2014 - Current
- Chuck Wiles (Bass, Vocals) 2014 - 2017, (Percussion) 2018 - Current
Former Members[]
- Matthew Irvin (Bass) 2014
- Zachary Batson (Percussion) 2014-2017, (Bass) 2018
Tours[]
2017 Spring Beak Tour
Reviews[]
“The group’s songs weave through time-altered soundscapes bolstered by blistering guitars, pounding drums and haunting vocals.”
— Jeremy Gilbertson, Arts Atlanta
“…a four-song blend of barnstorming rock n’ roll and subdued psychedelia…”
— Guillermo Castro, Immersive Atlanta
“…an ode to Atlanta’s music scene that’s one-half Stooges, one-half swampy southern blues-rock and ends with a brief freakout that hat-tips the desert but sounds at home down South.”
— Bobby Moore, Stomp & Stammer
“Ben Davidow’s rumbling guitar riffs and sweltering slides and Van Bassman’s thick crooning vocals come straight out of stoner rock and blaze right into the desert.”
— Aja Arnold, Creative Loafing Atlanta
“While truly replicating the magical period that was the early ’90s Palm Desert music scene with bands like Yawning Man and Kyuss was an impossible feat what I saw in Fuzzstock proved to be a passionate attempt to get as close as possible to that scene. ”
— Mahad Mousse,Bullet Music
“…recalls the similarly wry Queens of the Stone Age alongside a portion of the Cult’s bedazzled gloom”
— Timothy Bracy, IndyWeek
“Expect monster-sized riffs and Van Bassman’s smooth, raspy vocals that echo Layne Staley and Scott Weiland.”
— Brian Tucker, Star News
“…thrillingly executed, with heavy riffs and full of catchy hooks.” — Music & Riots
“The four tracks map out a sand-blasted stretch of empty highways and craggy landmarks” — Gabriel Pesek, The Burning Beard
External Links[]
thebuzzardsoffuzz.com/fuzz-facts
facebook.com/thebuzzardsoffuzz
instagram.com/thebuzzardsoffuzz
https://greenvillejournal.com/2019/01/22/sound-bites-january-25-2019/
https://www.bulletmusic.net/features-1/2018/6/5/fuzzstock
http://www.bulletmusic.net/features-1/the-buzzards-of-fuzz-interview?rq=The%20Buzzards%20of%20Fuzz
https://soundcloud.com/jackson-heaton/scoped-57-ft-a-rippin-production
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/04/24/thousands-fill-centennial-olympic-park-for.html