Interview: Carl “Buffalo” Nichols
Carl “Buffalo” Nichols’ self-titled debut album is a lean, mean, fighting machine of a record. Across eight complementary tracks, the Austin, Tex.-based singer/songwriter spins raw, captivating tales of the Black experience, primarily with just his voice and guitar, though occasionally accompanied by fiddle or percussion.
Prior to opening for Drive-By Truckers at Rabbit Rabbit on Saturday, Oct. 23, Nichols spoke with Asheville Stages about the power of telling short stories in song, his fellow Black artists keeping folk and blues music vibrant, and where to find some of the best listening rooms for those genres.
Edwin Arnaudin: What’s it like being back on tour?
Carl “Buffalo” Nichols: It’s very nice. You know, it was weird at first — I did a short run at the end of July, but now it just feels like the usual.
EA: From your experience as a performer, does it feel drastically different being on stage and going through the other parts of being at a venue than it was before the pandemic?
CN: Nothing has changed that much. There's the obvious masks and it’s a little bit more distant on the crew side of things, but it seems pretty much like it was before. I mean, I think people aren't as comfortable. You feel a little bit like people don't want to linger too long.
EA: That makes sense. And in general, how have you fared during the pandemic?
CN: You know, well enough. I'd been working on my record for most of the pandemic, and that's kind of kept me moving in the right direction. The being away from shows was tough, but having something to work on helped.
EA: Well, it’s a great album. I’ve enjoyed listening to it and am excited for more people to hear it in a week and also live in Asheville.
CN: Thank you!
EA: Have you been through here before?
CN: Yeah, I played at a place called something like…it was about a crow. I don't know if it was called Crow Bar…
EA: Crow & Quill?
CN: Yeah, that's what it is! Crow & Quill. I played there like maybe three or four years ago. But yeah, I've always heard good things about Asheville, and actually had a pretty good show there, so I was looking forward to being back.
EA: Yeah, that’s a neat spot. I always think of it as an Edgar Allen Poe bar, or Tim Burton.
CN: Yeah, they had some cool furniture.
EA: So, are you bringing a full band with you to Asheville? Or a combo?
CN: No, it's just going to be just me playing solo.
EA: Nice! Yeah, that makes sense. Your voice and guitar are strong enough that I can definitely see that being plenty.
CN: Yeah, I try when I'm writing songs to make it somewhat interesting, so if it's just me and the guitar, it can keep some of the tension for, you know, 30 minutes or whatever.
EA: And then how did you get connected with the Drive-By Truckers guys?
CN: Just in the usual music industry way. We have the same agent, so that was that. But since then, they've really supported me, helped me out and put me on some of their livestreams during the pandemic. So, I've gotten to know them. They're all really cool people.
EA: I’ve actually never seen them live, but I saw Patterson [Hood] and Mike [Cooley] in their Dimmer Twins set-up a few years ago and loved it. One of my friends is a huge fan, so he’s excited for me to see the full thing.
CN: Yeah, it's been great. I toured with them a year ago and I still never get tired of seeing them and hearing them. They're just a really great live band.
EA: So, when were the songs on this album written?
CN: The songs were written…well, the ones that I wrote were all written a pretty good little while ago. They were all written, like, late 2019, early 2020, but I was working on other stuff during the pandemic and then the album. So, the album was written at that point, but it wasn't completed until earlier this year.
EA: I was curious about that because a lot of the lyrics speak to modern times, especially “Another Man,” but I wondered if they were specifically influenced by national events from 2020 or if they were already pretty set before then.
CN: Yeah, it’s just something of a coincidence. I mean, as far as “Another Man," that’s just not really anything new, but the themes of isolation and loneliness goes through my music for a long time. It's in style now! [Laughs].
EA: And you’ve spoken about a goal of putting more Black stories into folk and blues. Which other modern Black artists do you think are best keeping these genres vibrant?
CN: There’s a few. There's definitely…Jontavious Willis is someone who I've gotten to know, and he's doing a really good job letting people know a little about the culture and the value of it. And lately I've been seeing Trey Burton and Adia Victoria talking about it a lot, which is great. I think they're definitely bringing some attention to it. And then I think “Kingfish” [Ingram] — Christone Kingfish is doing a great job because he’s, like, a young guitar hero, bringing people into the genre just off of his sheer talent. And that's just a few. There's plenty — it’s definitely not a small thing. There's definitely something happening.
EA: Thanks for those recommendations. Also, part of what I like about your album is it’s short and focused, which to me makes it even more powerful. You’ve got eight tracks, all between three-to-four minutes, and then you’re out within 30 minutes. How intentional is that brevity?
CN: It’s definitely intentional, but the reason is too long for me to explain. [Laughs] I just didn't want to dwell on anything too long. I just wanted to make a point and tell a story. I can get a little bit long-winded and get into sounds and ask listeners to be patient, but for this album I just decided to kind of get it over with — that was my mentality.
EA: And it was recorded piecemeal?
CN: Yeah. It was recorded over, I guess, almost two years, but there's some early demos on that record that I did, like in the fall of 2019. And then the last songs I did for that record I did in maybe April of 2021. Each song was kind of recorded in a different time with a different intention, and then I kind of just found some that seemed a little bit cohesive and put them together in the middle of this summer. I kind of just compiled them.
EA: Do you think you’ll spread out the recording process again for your next album or do a more concentrated week or whatever in a studio?
CN: I’m certainly going to take my time. I don't think I'll try to keep it contained, but it is going to be a lot more deliberate. I'm going to make sure that every song is purposefully placed for a listening experience. That's definitely my goal for the second LP.
EA: I also read about your experiences abroad, seeing Black expats playing the blues to appreciative crowds. Are there places in the U.S. where there’s a comparable appreciation?
CN: You know, I haven't played everywhere, but I think there's still something about the Northeast that has this sort of infrastructure from the folk and blues revival in the ’50s and ’60s. It's really the part of the country where you can hear blues music in listening rooms and not in restaurants and whatever. So, that's one place that still has this sort of appreciation for the art form and not just as this tourist attraction or whatever.
EA: And lastly, being from Milwaukee, are you a Bucks fan?
CN: No, I'm not a sports person.
EA: Just curious. I do a weekly movie review podcast and my co-host is in Milwaukee and it was fun getting to see him so pumped up during the playoffs.
CN: Well, I was in Austin at the time and it seems exciting for everybody in Milwaukee. But not only do I ignore sports, I actually kind of hate them. So, I didn't care. [Laughs] I was really annoyed that people kept asking me about the Bucks. I was on tour, actually, just after it happened. And people were like, “How about the Bucks?” And I'm like, “What are you talking about? I don't know what you mean.” [Laughs] But I can say that it is...I was happy for Milwaukee because I remember being a kid and they couldn't give away Bucks tickets. Nobody cared. So now, it's cool that people who like it have something to be happy about, even if it is a pointless, empty, meaningless thing. [Laughs]
IF YOU GO
Who: Drive-By Truckers with Buffalo Nichols
When: Saturday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m.
Where: Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave., rabbitrabbitavl.com
Tickets: $35 advance/$40 day of show
(Photo by Merrick Ales)
