March 20, 2024 • 30 mins
FEAST YOUR EYE EARS ON PART TWO of our episode featuring Texan songbird actor director person, Buffalo Hunt. We highly recommend listening to the confession and song in PART ONE before Stephanie Hunts recounts how she transformed this raunchy boomer memory into such a sultry modern bop in our interview. Big thanks to Visit Austin and […]
The post Artist Interview: Buffalo Hunt – “Anonymous Pleasure” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
The Song Confessional podcast is aco-production of KUT/KUTX Studios and
Good Taste Society.
Hey, this is Walker Lukens and you
are listening to...
[sung] It’s the Song Confessional.
(00:25):
Let me explain what we do here at
Song Confessional.
We travel all over the world
recording people like you, telling
us stories anonymously.
We call these anonymous stories
confessions.
So we pick our favorite confessions,
and we give them to songwriters and
bands who turn them into new
original songs.
In each podcast episode, you hear
a confession, you hear the
(00:46):
song it inspired, and an interview
with the songwriter who wrote it.
You're about to hear my interview
with Stephanie Hunt, the songwriter
behind Buffalo Hunt.
I think you'll enjoy this interview
a whole hell of a lot more.
If you've already listened to part
one of this episode featuring
the new Buffalo Hunt song Anonymous
Pleasure and the confession that
inspired it.
If you've already listened to that,
well, [barbershop quartet]
(01:07):
interview.
Who am I talking to here?
Hi, Walker, I'm Stephanie Hunt.
Hi Stephanie Hunt.
A.k.a. Buffalo Hunt.
Why did you give yourself that name?
Or how did you get the name Buffalo
Hunt?
Well, buffalo is a
(01:27):
word that means to confuse, also.
In what language?
English.
Really?
See, this is why I like
it.
Yeah. It's like, I
think to me, it's like a mission
statement. Hiding in in
plain sight.
(01:47):
Because, yeah, buffalo is a verb
and a noun, and yeah,
it's to confuse, to baffle
or to bully.
And so I think
in terms of choosing a moniker
or describing my music
or how I relate to music,
it's always going to be changing
(02:08):
and maybe not what it seems
at face value.
So also
it just seems like, well, my last
name is Hunt.
So they went well together.
And, Buffy Sainte-Marie is
like my favorite artist ever.
So anything to kind
of allude to Buffy Sainte-Marie
I like.
(02:28):
What does Buffy Sainte-Marie do?
She's a songwriter.
Songwriter.
One of the most prolific songwriters
ever. And she's still alive.
Where do you? I'm writing this down.Where
do you start with Buffy
Sainte-Marie?
What gets you hooked?
Oh, there's so many.
(02:49):
I mean, probably,
"Until It's Time For You To Go,"
which is the song that Elvis covered
by her.
That is a classic song,
but her
catalog goes from
folk songs like "Cod'ine."
(03:10):
You've probably heard Cod'ine,
you know, and Universal
Soldier. Those are like, her big
songs.
Okay.
But then she also
did all of this other unreleased
stuff. I'm wanting to make a
tribute record to her so...
again, I could talk
(03:30):
for a long time about Buffy.
I like that though.
So basically it's
you like the meaning of buffalo,
but then also it sort of
slyly references your favorite
songwriter. Your favorite artist.
Yeah. And song writer.
Favorite artist and favorite
songwriter.
So how long have you been performing
as as Buffalo Hunt?
(03:52):
I don't even know because I don't
usually check the date,
but I think I think I get
few for three years.
Four years.
But I've been writing songs for
over a decade.
I just was doing more
acting and not,
you know, being pursuing
(04:12):
music as a thing.
So it's not that.
It's not that you,
started this new project called
Buffalo Hunt and then started
writing songs for the project.
It's more that like, it was like
capstone.
You like, put the name on this
collection of songs and this thing
you were doing and it, like, fit.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Because the other day you mentioned
(04:33):
to me that your some of the songs
in your first record you had like
tried to record for years.
So like what's the oldest song that
you still play
or identify with in that set?
Apple Tree.
Apple Tree, which I've recorded
probably six times.
(04:56):
With different people at different
studios.
Casually, while I was living in LA,
or meet people and
recorded or meet different
musicians and think, oh, maybe
we could play together.
But it really took
a long time to find the right people
to record with, and
that I wanted to make a record
with that actually heard
(05:17):
the song how I heard it, and it was
kind of effortless because I like
effortless.
That's what I'm always going for.
So if it feels hard and not
fun, it just
feels like that's the wrong choice.
So are you.
So your record came out in 2021,
2022?
In 2021.
(05:40):
Again, not great with time.
No, or was it 2022?
Don't ask me.
Those years.
Do you know what happened?
No, no, I feel like
I, I,
I made a lot of music.
(06:01):
I made and released a lot of music
in that period.
But I.
It's just like lost to the timeline.
So yeah. So did you record
that record during the pandemic?
No, I recorded it
in 2018
and then was going to release it
2020.
Oh, wow. And then you delayed.
(06:23):
And then we delayed
long patient process.
But meanwhile all of the shows
that I was playing and I was writing
all new songs.
So it's been this
weird thing where this shows
that I played before releasing
the record. We didn't ever play
the songs on the record
live, because
(06:44):
I also didn't want to get burned
out, and because I knew I wasn't
going to release the record for so
long.
So was workshopping all new
songs, which is what the next
record is.
Got it. So you have like a plethora
of songs?
Yes. I have like
three unrecorded albums,
basically.
(07:05):
Wow.
I'm not great at
the I mean, I love writing
is the thing.
oh. So one thing that I have
noticed, in this,
meeting up about this
song professional project
is, you came, so
I asked you to do it, and you
(07:26):
immediately said yes.
It wasn't even like.
Oh, let me think about.
Yeah, sure. Why not?
You came to my studio to make a demo
so that we could send the demo
to this
sweet woman in the confession.
And then you came back again
later and you
were like.
(07:48):
Both times you came, you were
working on completely different
nonmusical projects
at the same time.
So, the thing
I like noted in this is that
you, you seem to be
doing a lot of stuff.
Creative stuff at all the time.
(08:08):
That's my impression of you, I
sense.
Do you think that's fairly accurate?
I do think that's fairly accurate.
I, I think sometimes
I don't really give myself credit
for it because in terms of
my process or how I
think of my
creative flow.
(08:29):
I like a lot of play in it
and serendipity,
but there is a lot of intentionality
behind each thing I do,
and I like
the acting and writing and
working in multiple mediums.
And I'm a Gemini.
If you want to have a cop out,
answer of at all.
(08:49):
I do have,
visions in mind and timelines
to execute, but they
all sort of flow together in a weird
way that I think maybe other people
would be like, that's a lot of
different things
to do in one week.
Yeah.
To me, that makes sense because
I'm like, I don't want to do the
same thing every day,
(09:11):
and I'm not inspired by the same
things from moment to moment.
So to to get a little
more specific here.
One of the things that you were
doing was a songwriting
camp
for the veterans.
That you do with your sister?
(09:31):
Yeah. We host a songwriting retreat
for,
veterans and
on a ranch in Texas, and we've been
doing it for eight years
and, super
powerful. So I had just come from
that when you asked if I want to
write a song, and I was like, yeah,
I've been writing songs all week.
Yeah, yeah.
(09:51):
You throw me a thing, I'll write
it.
And so these veterans that you're
working with do are they,
is the prerequisite that they write
songs or is do they view this more
as like a kind of healing, creative
thing to do. And they don't have any
musical background?
It's it's, people apply
to come to the program and we,
we like to consider
(10:13):
everybody who's going to
participate.
Some people are more experienced
than others, but everybody has
some sort of
we've had people who've never
written a song before and never
played an instrument, but the
way that they are talking about
creativity, we're like,
they're going to benefit from being
here.
(10:34):
But then also some people actually
are actually like professionals
and have become songwriters
and touring musicians.
Yeah, it's definitely more of a
healing experience of
we're not trying to write hits
or make money.
We're trying to write and tell
stories that seemed inexpressible
(10:54):
before and use songwriting
as that medicine to
convey and
empower yourself with something
that was traumatic before, and
making it beautiful and relatable
that you can sing for other people.
Is that part of
what is at the core of your
creativity?
(11:14):
I think that I didn't realize
that that was something I've always
been going for, until working with
veterans and seeing
the the
like innocent glee
and spark from
like, oh my God, I just express
something that was not expressible
before and seeing other people do
(11:36):
it and the magic that it makes you
feel that.
Then I kind of realized, I guess
that is something that I have
taken for granted or not
considered in my intentionality.
I think for me, also
songwriting or really any writing
is about just channeling
messages and
(11:58):
trying to not think
and get out of the way and just hear
what works.
So some it's kind of both.
Sometimes it's more personal and
sometimes it's universal
at the start.
Yeah.
One of the other things that,
you, you mentioned kind of casually
when we were getting together to
(12:18):
work on this thing was that you
you were working on a screenplay?
Have you written multiple
screenplays?
I've written multiple screenplays
with other people.
As far as my own full screenplays,
I've written a bunch of shorts
and then one
(12:38):
full screenplay, but I have like
three outlines
that I'm working on right now.
So. Yeah.
And then a lot of my friends
are screenwriters, and they'll
call me
to, I really
can dissect a story pretty
easily.
(12:58):
And just kind of
point to the flow,
you know, so I can be a story,
not supervisor like consultant
or whatever on scripts a lot,
that kind of stuff.
So, you know, when
I write a song, a lot of times
it kind of comes in like a
(13:19):
fury, right?
And then when I get a little
distance from it, I sort of
sort of know better what it's about.
Right.
You know, that's my process.
Or maybe not know what it's about,
but like, I see all the different
things it could mean.
But it seems like with writing a
screenplay, you kind of have to do
the opposite of that.
(13:40):
Like, you have to be very
in touch with what you're trying to
say and where
the story's going and how you're
presenting the story.
How would you describe what am I
missing? What else is the difference
between writing a screenplay and
writing a song?
I feel like writing a screenplay
is like trying to
(14:01):
describe
everything at once that's
happening in a
dissectable way. So it's like this
5D view
of, because the description
of the room also matters,
and the consideration
of
(14:23):
whose shot you're going to, what
you're going to be looking at
that would make perception
different. So it's it's like
another level of
bird's eye view, I feel like,
and considering
so many different aspects
(14:43):
of style and
character and
story,
at once, and then thinking
about how to portray it visually,
that it makes sense and is fun to
read.
So yeah, I kind of feel like it's
the ultimate challenge.
(15:07):
Yeah. Well, it's a ultimate world
building, you know?
I mean, you're it's the opposite
of like, I
think a lot of songs especially
more, I think more so now than like
50 years ago, and just be so
impressionistic.
And you have like all the help of
all this loud volume
instruments to sort of like
(15:27):
paint this rough idea of some
feeling or some idea and you
can be a specific or not,
you know, that's a style choice, but
with but with filmmaking and
screenwriting.
You can't fall back on
that.
You know, like.
Well, you can, though, if you want
to. Like, there's always room for
experimentation.
(15:48):
I've worked with this director, Pete
Ohs a few times, and we do
a thing where we
have a concept, and then we
shoot a movie in two weeks,
and we write the script as we
go. So every night
we write scenes, and every morning
we write scenes and then go and
shoot them immediately.
So
(16:09):
not a lot of people would choose to
do it that way. But it's
an interesting thing that happens
and you get so immersed and,
you know, if you're trying to make a
low budget movie and then you're
beholden to this screenplay,
you can run into a lot of roadblocks
or unnecessary drama and
tension that actually isn't
(16:30):
conducive to the most creative
and fun atmosphere
of, like, let's just make
this scene like this.
It's raining, so let's actually
write it that it's at this
location instead, you know?
Like using your environment
actively and allowing change
to be part of the process.
(16:51):
Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, I guess my only
corollary would be like working on a
pretty improvised.
Record in a way where
the process is part of the creation.
And like you're trying to capture
that lightning in a bottle feeling,
not as opposed to bringing it into
like a well-written song.
(17:12):
Right. That's the other thing about
the name Buffalo Hunt is because
I do feel like the creative
process is like hunting,
and you want to sneak up
on something and then somehow be
recording it and capturing
it. Yeah.
Shooting it, you know, and
sometimes.
(17:32):
And while it's just in its wild
state.
Yeah.
That's cool. That's a good
description of your work too.
That's what I, It's the mission
statement, you know.
Yeah, I like that. It's baked in.
It's baked into the name.
I also just really love
buffalo.
Me too.
I think anytime you're anywhere in
(17:53):
the US where you, like are seen in
Buffalo, you're in.
You're somewhere epically beautiful.
Yeah.
Yeah. Pretty much.
I mean I guess there are buffalo
ranches just for like human
consumption. But that's not what I'm
talking about. I mean like
Yellowstone or
Caprock Canyon or something.
This song that you wrote for us,
(18:14):
what is the name of it?
Anonymous pleasure.
So Anonymous Pleasure.
Honestly, I, I didn't
I didn't talk about this first
to lead up to this, but it is
a fairly cinematic song that you
wrote.
What what what was this?
What was that confession about that
inspired it?
(18:35):
Tell me in your words, what it was
about.
You know.
Well, for the listener.
I know for the listener.
So this was a really surprising
fun
confessional. That is an honest
confessional, the first time.
Truly.
She had ever told the story,
which is mind blowing.
(18:57):
And I loved the recording of her
telling you your boyish giggles,
because
that's what I was having
happen while I was listening.
I was like, wait, wait, what?
So an Australian
woman, which I wish I could do the
accent, that's that's
all I'm going to say. We don't know
her name. I don't know.
(19:17):
I don't know her name either.
Anonymous. That's the whole thing.
But, you know, you can imagine an
Australian accent telling the story
of she's in her
70s now, I'm pretty
sure. And she's telling the story
of when she
was in her 20s
at a train stop, and her
(19:37):
train was delayed for
hours, and she was super bored.
She made eyes with a random
dude who came off another train
and they started talking, and then
they just started.
Well, we don't know exactly what.
We don't know exactly what.
(19:59):
But they they
they came to some sort of
sexual climax
in front of everybody,
with that cause.
And that was the question you asked.
You were like, was this just
do you guys go to a corner or this
was just on the bench?
(20:21):
I could understand you didn't want
to press for all the details.
Never told anyone. She was a married
woman and
was really deeply ashamed
and.
But it also seemed like they had a
real connection.
I do have to say, and
it was a real sweet memory.
(20:41):
And how she was talking about it
felt like the first time that she
felt
no shame about it.
Actually. She was like, it's not
actually that bad.
I don't know why I haven't ever told
anybody that story.
Because her husband wasn't.
He had passed away.
Yeah, he'd passed away.
And I mean, her
kids don't know.
(21:02):
Which is also really
fun for me to think about.
Anyway. Sorry.
Yeah. No, it's it's it.
It's fun to think about, honestly.
Yeah, and he wrote her a letter
and, like, tracked her down at the
school that she taught at, and she
hid the letter and was super
(21:24):
scared by it, and.
Yeah.
And never told anybody, but had
this one moment of freedom
and just
no inhibition that
she suppressed basically
from her 20s until her 70s,
when she told you.
(21:45):
It's cool that she got
to a place where she could, like,
release the shame and just like,
look, you know, because I guess her
husband passed away.
And so it was like, this is,
this wild thing I did, among other
wild things, you know, like, feel
bad about it for 40 years.
So your song Anonymous Pleasure.
(22:06):
Is it about...
What is this song about from your
perspective? I mean I know that's
what inspired it, but what is this
song about?
Well I really wanted to tell the
story because the story is
so good. So I think that's why it
does feel cinematic is it's
telling the story, but
from the lens of...
From her perspective but really
(22:27):
capturing
the having no shame
about it and that there's,
you know, but there's feelings
of being bad, but also
knowing that it was.
It felt good at the moment and
kind of a retrospective on
life, but,
(22:47):
you know, had to have a sultry
vibe to it.
So it's kind of like a woman looking
back on a moment that
she enjoyed
with, you know.
Considering all of the factors
still feels
pretty sexy about it.
(23:12):
Yeah, I think that's pretty
accurate.
I, I,
I love I, I immediately
really loved the song.
I think it like it's a really good
key for your voice.
So your voice is in the original
demo that you made.
It's just you and a keyboard.
So your voice works really well in
that song in
(23:33):
that key.
And it's a descent.
It's a lot lower than usual.
Oh. Is it?
Yeah. I don't usually sing that low,
but I was like, I gotta sing low.
You can't be singing high.
Yeah, maybe it makes your voice
sound more sultry or something, but
it's it's felt really good.
And it's a descending chord
progression. You know.
So it just felt felt really
(23:54):
good. And I think it's.
There is an immediate kind of
film noir vibe to the
song itself, to the writing itself,
and I think the recording that we
all made like
leans into that a lot.
I love the recording that we made.
I think.
(24:14):
Yeah, me too.
We hit all the notes that we
had wanted to, but not understood
how we would.
Yeah, well you mentioned.
I was so intrigued because you
mentioned Tom Waits.
That was the artist that you brought
up.
Which he's like one
of my all time favorites, but
he's not very hip at the moment.
(24:36):
I feel like he's not having a
moment.
He's always having a moment to me.
He's not in the zeitgeist. I guess
what I'm trying to say, because,
yeah, I love him. But like,
I don't know, I was, I was really
it was really cool when you said
that. And when I mentioned it to
Sam, the bass player, and Zac,
who played drums.
Their ears immediately perked up
like, oh, cool. Wow, exciting,
(24:58):
you know?
Yeah.
But yeah.
And then it also feels it feels
modern. It doesn't feel like it's
just pulling from
a past reference, but
because, you know, it's her telling
the story now.
But it is from the past.
But also just yeah,
(25:18):
I just really love how it turned
out. And we did it live.
Everybody played live.
The vocals' a live take which I
prefer to do that.
One take, too. That's what's so wild,
it's just one take.
Hey, we all got it.
Yeah, well, it is kind
of crazy because, the
song that we recorded
(25:40):
with Alejandro.
It was the same thing.
It was one take.
I think maybe, maybe there's, like,
some sort of,
mold in your house that you guys
are both just huffing all the time.
That makes, you singing into an
SM seven in our control room, like,
work really well, because it was
truly one take and no
click track.
(26:00):
None of the, you know, super modern
fancy stuff. But then
Dan, I think, added some keys that
felt like afterwards that
gave it a little more of a
a world. But
yeah, I think it turned out amazing.
I do, too, and it's super fun.
I mean, that's what I mean.
When you have the right people, the
right place, it just happens.
(26:22):
It just yeah,
yeah it's no stress getting it done.
Yeah.
I mean that's how you know.
Are you, what else is cooking
for you besides putting this song
out and finding grandma in
Australia?
Well I'm growing a baby
inside of me.
Yes.
(26:42):
Yes. I'm eight months pregnant.
Wow.
Yeah, it's very intense
over here.
So, yeah, there's a baby on the.
In the future, I'm also
going to do a live record at
Sagebrush in a couple
weeks.
Damn! While eight months pregnant.
(27:02):
Yeah, but it'll be solo.
I'll be solo.
I'll be like the baby Buffalo Hunt
show, but I'm trying to think of
some sort of, like, conception
or.
I don't know.
Why?
I mean, why would you?
So cool.
But why? Why, why are
you doing this?
Well, I want to do it because I've
(27:24):
been playing these songwriter
nights and hosting songwriter
nights at Sagebrush.
A lot I did, like, a few months
last year at different residencies
there.
And it
made me play my songs really
different, playing them solo.
And I feel like after
I have a baby and I,
(27:46):
I think everybody goes through a
phase of amnesia and
of like, what the before times
were once you have a baby.
All the moms I've talked to.
So wanting to capture
these songs before, I
potentially forget how I've been
playing them.
Also, it's kind of the easiest way
to make a full record in one
(28:08):
day.
I also think, when you perform
the songs live all the time
at a particular set
you grow really comfortable with.
Them being different every night.
Like, they're really living things,
you know?
And that's such a great thing to
capture. Before.
Before, like you say, like you move
on, you know,
(28:28):
because you get bored of playing the
same tunes. But it's good to
remember what, what it felt like
when they were that group of songs.
It's like a living, breathing thing.
Yeah. And that and
also I've been writing new songs as
I haven't been playing these solo
songs as much in the last few
months, so.
You know, it'll be a little bit of a
challenge for me to get back to the
(28:50):
just letting it be
what it is. But it'll be sweet.
We'll see what happens.
We're going to record it and
be a intimate
evening at Sagebrush.
Cool.
If you think you have a story that
we would want to feature on this
podcast and could be turned into an
amazing song, come
(29:11):
by one of our booths.
We've got a permanent booth at the
Mishawaka Amphitheater outside Fort
Collins, Colorado.
We've got another permanent booth
here in Austin, Texas at the Long
Center. Come in.
Record a confession.
We will hear it.
If that is not convenient for
you, go to the liner notes of this
episode. Click on the link to our
website and see where we're going to
be next. We might be coming to a
festival near you, or you could
(29:32):
always send us an email and contact
us directly.
This podcast is produced by me,
Zac,
Jim Eno, Aaron Blackerby, TateHoeven, Zahra Crim and distributed by
KUTX.
The theme song you heard at the top
was written by myself and Walker
Lukens. It was performed by me,
Taylor Craft, JJohn Calvin Abney,
Dan Kramer, Will Van Horn, and somebeautiful vocals by Tyler Brown.
(29:59):
We want to give a special thanks to
Elizabeth McQueen in Matt Reilly
at KUTX, ONErpm, Jesse Rosoff at MintTalent Group, Bobby Garza and The
Long Center, Danny Grant in the
Mishawaka Amphitheater, late teenage
trauma, psychedelics and
you nasties out there who trust us
with your stories.
If you like this podcast, you can
support us by sharing an episode
(30:19):
with someone you know would like it.
You can also support us by followingus on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook
at Song Confessional.
The Song Confessional podcast is aco-production of KUT/KUTX Studios and
Good Taste Society.
Hey, this is Walker Lukens and you
are listening to...
[sung] It’s the Song Confessional.
(00:25):
Let me explain what we do here at
Song Confessional.
We travel all over the world
recording people like you, telling
us stories anonymously.
We call these anonymous stories
confessions.
So we pick our favorite confessions,
and we give them to songwriters and
bands who turn them into new
original songs.
In each podcast episode, you hear
a confession, you hear the
(00:46):
song it inspired, and an interview
with the songwriter who wrote it.
You're about to hear my interview
with Stephanie Hunt, the songwriter
behind Buffalo Hunt.
I think you'll enjoy this interview
a whole hell of a lot more.
If you've already listened to part
one of this episode featuring
the new Buffalo Hunt song Anonymous
Pleasure and the confession that
inspired it.
If you've already listened to that,
well, [barbershop quartet]
(01:07):
interview.
Who am I talking to here?
Hi, Walker, I'm Stephanie Hunt.
Hi Stephanie Hunt.
A.k.a. Buffalo Hunt.
Why did you give yourself that name?
Or how did you get the name Buffalo
Hunt?
Well, buffalo is a
(01:27):
word that means to confuse, also.
In what language?
English.
Really?
See, this is why I like
it.
Yeah. It's like, I
think to me, it's like a mission
statement. Hiding in in
plain sight.
(01:47):
Because, yeah, buffalo is a verb
and a noun, and yeah,
it's to confuse, to baffle
or to bully.
And so I think
in terms of choosing a moniker
or describing my music
or how I relate to music,
it's always going to be changing
(02:08):
and maybe not what it seems
at face value.
So also
it just seems like, well, my last
name is Hunt.
So they went well together.
And, Buffy Sainte-Marie is
like my favorite artist ever.
So anything to kind
of allude to Buffy Sainte-Marie
I like.
(02:28):
What does Buffy Sainte-Marie do?
She's a songwriter.
Songwriter.
One of the most prolific songwriters
ever. And she's still alive.
Where do you? I'm writing this down.Where
do you start with Buffy
Sainte-Marie?
What gets you hooked?
Oh, there's so many.
(02:49):
I mean, probably,
"Until It's Time For You To Go,"
which is the song that Elvis covered
by her.
That is a classic song,
but her
catalog goes from
folk songs like "Cod'ine."
(03:10):
You've probably heard Cod'ine,
you know, and Universal
Soldier. Those are like, her big
songs.
Okay.
But then she also
did all of this other unreleased
stuff. I'm wanting to make a
tribute record to her so...
again, I could talk
(03:30):
for a long time about Buffy.
I like that though.
So basically it's
you like the meaning of buffalo,
but then also it sort of
slyly references your favorite
songwriter. Your favorite artist.
Yeah. And song writer.
Favorite artist and favorite
songwriter.
So how long have you been performing
as as Buffalo Hunt?
(03:52):
I don't even know because I don't
usually check the date,
but I think I think I get
few for three years.
Four years.
But I've been writing songs for
over a decade.
I just was doing more
acting and not,
you know, being pursuing
(04:12):
music as a thing.
So it's not that.
It's not that you,
started this new project called
Buffalo Hunt and then started
writing songs for the project.
It's more that like, it was like
capstone.
You like, put the name on this
collection of songs and this thing
you were doing and it, like, fit.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Because the other day you mentioned
(04:33):
to me that your some of the songs
in your first record you had like
tried to record for years.
So like what's the oldest song that
you still play
or identify with in that set?
Apple Tree.
Apple Tree, which I've recorded
probably six times.
(04:56):
With different people at different
studios.
Casually, while I was living in LA,
or meet people and
recorded or meet different
musicians and think, oh, maybe
we could play together.
But it really took
a long time to find the right people
to record with, and
that I wanted to make a record
with that actually heard
(05:17):
the song how I heard it, and it was
kind of effortless because I like
effortless.
That's what I'm always going for.
So if it feels hard and not
fun, it just
feels like that's the wrong choice.
So are you.
So your record came out in 2021,
2022?
In 2021.
(05:40):
Again, not great with time.
No, or was it 2022?
Don't ask me.
Those years.
Do you know what happened?
No, no, I feel like
I, I,
I made a lot of music.
(06:01):
I made and released a lot of music
in that period.
But I.
It's just like lost to the timeline.
So yeah. So did you record
that record during the pandemic?
No, I recorded it
in 2018
and then was going to release it
2020.
Oh, wow. And then you delayed.
(06:23):
And then we delayed
long patient process.
But meanwhile all of the shows
that I was playing and I was writing
all new songs.
So it's been this
weird thing where this shows
that I played before releasing
the record. We didn't ever play
the songs on the record
live, because
(06:44):
I also didn't want to get burned
out, and because I knew I wasn't
going to release the record for so
long.
So was workshopping all new
songs, which is what the next
record is.
Got it. So you have like a plethora
of songs?
Yes. I have like
three unrecorded albums,
basically.
(07:05):
Wow.
I'm not great at
the I mean, I love writing
is the thing.
oh. So one thing that I have
noticed, in this,
meeting up about this
song professional project
is, you came, so
I asked you to do it, and you
(07:26):
immediately said yes.
It wasn't even like.
Oh, let me think about.
Yeah, sure. Why not?
You came to my studio to make a demo
so that we could send the demo
to this
sweet woman in the confession.
And then you came back again
later and you
were like.
(07:48):
Both times you came, you were
working on completely different
nonmusical projects
at the same time.
So, the thing
I like noted in this is that
you, you seem to be
doing a lot of stuff.
Creative stuff at all the time.
(08:08):
That's my impression of you, I
sense.
Do you think that's fairly accurate?
I do think that's fairly accurate.
I, I think sometimes
I don't really give myself credit
for it because in terms of
my process or how I
think of my
creative flow.
(08:29):
I like a lot of play in it
and serendipity,
but there is a lot of intentionality
behind each thing I do,
and I like
the acting and writing and
working in multiple mediums.
And I'm a Gemini.
If you want to have a cop out,
answer of at all.
(08:49):
I do have,
visions in mind and timelines
to execute, but they
all sort of flow together in a weird
way that I think maybe other people
would be like, that's a lot of
different things
to do in one week.
Yeah.
To me, that makes sense because
I'm like, I don't want to do the
same thing every day,
(09:11):
and I'm not inspired by the same
things from moment to moment.
So to to get a little
more specific here.
One of the things that you were
doing was a songwriting
camp
for the veterans.
That you do with your sister?
(09:31):
Yeah. We host a songwriting retreat
for,
veterans and
on a ranch in Texas, and we've been
doing it for eight years
and, super
powerful. So I had just come from
that when you asked if I want to
write a song, and I was like, yeah,
I've been writing songs all week.
Yeah, yeah.
(09:51):
You throw me a thing, I'll write
it.
And so these veterans that you're
working with do are they,
is the prerequisite that they write
songs or is do they view this more
as like a kind of healing, creative
thing to do. And they don't have any
musical background?
It's it's, people apply
to come to the program and we,
we like to consider
(10:13):
everybody who's going to
participate.
Some people are more experienced
than others, but everybody has
some sort of
we've had people who've never
written a song before and never
played an instrument, but the
way that they are talking about
creativity, we're like,
they're going to benefit from being
here.
(10:34):
But then also some people actually
are actually like professionals
and have become songwriters
and touring musicians.
Yeah, it's definitely more of a
healing experience of
we're not trying to write hits
or make money.
We're trying to write and tell
stories that seemed inexpressible
(10:54):
before and use songwriting
as that medicine to
convey and
empower yourself with something
that was traumatic before, and
making it beautiful and relatable
that you can sing for other people.
Is that part of
what is at the core of your
creativity?
(11:14):
I think that I didn't realize
that that was something I've always
been going for, until working with
veterans and seeing
the the
like innocent glee
and spark from
like, oh my God, I just express
something that was not expressible
before and seeing other people do
(11:36):
it and the magic that it makes you
feel that.
Then I kind of realized, I guess
that is something that I have
taken for granted or not
considered in my intentionality.
I think for me, also
songwriting or really any writing
is about just channeling
messages and
(11:58):
trying to not think
and get out of the way and just hear
what works.
So some it's kind of both.
Sometimes it's more personal and
sometimes it's universal
at the start.
Yeah.
One of the other things that,
you, you mentioned kind of casually
when we were getting together to
(12:18):
work on this thing was that you
you were working on a screenplay?
Have you written multiple
screenplays?
I've written multiple screenplays
with other people.
As far as my own full screenplays,
I've written a bunch of shorts
and then one
(12:38):
full screenplay, but I have like
three outlines
that I'm working on right now.
So. Yeah.
And then a lot of my friends
are screenwriters, and they'll
call me
to, I really
can dissect a story pretty
easily.
(12:58):
And just kind of
point to the flow,
you know, so I can be a story,
not supervisor like consultant
or whatever on scripts a lot,
that kind of stuff.
So, you know, when
I write a song, a lot of times
it kind of comes in like a
(13:19):
fury, right?
And then when I get a little
distance from it, I sort of
sort of know better what it's about.
Right.
You know, that's my process.
Or maybe not know what it's about,
but like, I see all the different
things it could mean.
But it seems like with writing a
screenplay, you kind of have to do
the opposite of that.
(13:40):
Like, you have to be very
in touch with what you're trying to
say and where
the story's going and how you're
presenting the story.
How would you describe what am I
missing? What else is the difference
between writing a screenplay and
writing a song?
I feel like writing a screenplay
is like trying to
(14:01):
describe
everything at once that's
happening in a
dissectable way. So it's like this
5D view
of, because the description
of the room also matters,
and the consideration
of
(14:23):
whose shot you're going to, what
you're going to be looking at
that would make perception
different. So it's it's like
another level of
bird's eye view, I feel like,
and considering
so many different aspects
(14:43):
of style and
character and
story,
at once, and then thinking
about how to portray it visually,
that it makes sense and is fun to
read.
So yeah, I kind of feel like it's
the ultimate challenge.
(15:07):
Yeah. Well, it's a ultimate world
building, you know?
I mean, you're it's the opposite
of like, I
think a lot of songs especially
more, I think more so now than like
50 years ago, and just be so
impressionistic.
And you have like all the help of
all this loud volume
instruments to sort of like
(15:27):
paint this rough idea of some
feeling or some idea and you
can be a specific or not,
you know, that's a style choice, but
with but with filmmaking and
screenwriting.
You can't fall back on
that.
You know, like.
Well, you can, though, if you want
to. Like, there's always room for
experimentation.
(15:48):
I've worked with this director, Pete
Ohs a few times, and we do
a thing where we
have a concept, and then we
shoot a movie in two weeks,
and we write the script as we
go. So every night
we write scenes, and every morning
we write scenes and then go and
shoot them immediately.
So
(16:09):
not a lot of people would choose to
do it that way. But it's
an interesting thing that happens
and you get so immersed and,
you know, if you're trying to make a
low budget movie and then you're
beholden to this screenplay,
you can run into a lot of roadblocks
or unnecessary drama and
tension that actually isn't
(16:30):
conducive to the most creative
and fun atmosphere
of, like, let's just make
this scene like this.
It's raining, so let's actually
write it that it's at this
location instead, you know?
Like using your environment
actively and allowing change
to be part of the process.
(16:51):
Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, I guess my only
corollary would be like working on a
pretty improvised.
Record in a way where
the process is part of the creation.
And like you're trying to capture
that lightning in a bottle feeling,
not as opposed to bringing it into
like a well-written song.
(17:12):
Right. That's the other thing about
the name Buffalo Hunt is because
I do feel like the creative
process is like hunting,
and you want to sneak up
on something and then somehow be
recording it and capturing
it. Yeah.
Shooting it, you know, and
sometimes.
(17:32):
And while it's just in its wild
state.
Yeah.
That's cool. That's a good
description of your work too.
That's what I, It's the mission
statement, you know.
Yeah, I like that. It's baked in.
It's baked into the name.
I also just really love
buffalo.
Me too.
I think anytime you're anywhere in
(17:53):
the US where you, like are seen in
Buffalo, you're in.
You're somewhere epically beautiful.
Yeah.
Yeah. Pretty much.
I mean I guess there are buffalo
ranches just for like human
consumption. But that's not what I'm
talking about. I mean like
Yellowstone or
Caprock Canyon or something.
This song that you wrote for us,
(18:14):
what is the name of it?
Anonymous pleasure.
So Anonymous Pleasure.
Honestly, I, I didn't
I didn't talk about this first
to lead up to this, but it is
a fairly cinematic song that you
wrote.
What what what was this?
What was that confession about that
inspired it?
(18:35):
Tell me in your words, what it was
about.
You know.
Well, for the listener.
I know for the listener.
So this was a really surprising
fun
confessional. That is an honest
confessional, the first time.
Truly.
She had ever told the story,
which is mind blowing.
(18:57):
And I loved the recording of her
telling you your boyish giggles,
because
that's what I was having
happen while I was listening.
I was like, wait, wait, what?
So an Australian
woman, which I wish I could do the
accent, that's that's
all I'm going to say. We don't know
her name. I don't know.
(19:17):
I don't know her name either.
Anonymous. That's the whole thing.
But, you know, you can imagine an
Australian accent telling the story
of she's in her
70s now, I'm pretty
sure. And she's telling the story
of when she
was in her 20s
at a train stop, and her
(19:37):
train was delayed for
hours, and she was super bored.
She made eyes with a random
dude who came off another train
and they started talking, and then
they just started.
Well, we don't know exactly what.
We don't know exactly what.
(19:59):
But they they
they came to some sort of
sexual climax
in front of everybody,
with that cause.
And that was the question you asked.
You were like, was this just
do you guys go to a corner or this
was just on the bench?
(20:21):
I could understand you didn't want
to press for all the details.
Never told anyone. She was a married
woman and
was really deeply ashamed
and.
But it also seemed like they had a
real connection.
I do have to say, and
it was a real sweet memory.
(20:41):
And how she was talking about it
felt like the first time that she
felt
no shame about it.
Actually. She was like, it's not
actually that bad.
I don't know why I haven't ever told
anybody that story.
Because her husband wasn't.
He had passed away.
Yeah, he'd passed away.
And I mean, her
kids don't know.
(21:02):
Which is also really
fun for me to think about.
Anyway. Sorry.
Yeah. No, it's it's it.
It's fun to think about, honestly.
Yeah, and he wrote her a letter
and, like, tracked her down at the
school that she taught at, and she
hid the letter and was super
(21:24):
scared by it, and.
Yeah.
And never told anybody, but had
this one moment of freedom
and just
no inhibition that
she suppressed basically
from her 20s until her 70s,
when she told you.
(21:45):
It's cool that she got
to a place where she could, like,
release the shame and just like,
look, you know, because I guess her
husband passed away.
And so it was like, this is,
this wild thing I did, among other
wild things, you know, like, feel
bad about it for 40 years.
So your song Anonymous Pleasure.
(22:06):
Is it about...
What is this song about from your
perspective? I mean I know that's
what inspired it, but what is this
song about?
Well I really wanted to tell the
story because the story is
so good. So I think that's why it
does feel cinematic is it's
telling the story, but
from the lens of...
From her perspective but really
(22:27):
capturing
the having no shame
about it and that there's,
you know, but there's feelings
of being bad, but also
knowing that it was.
It felt good at the moment and
kind of a retrospective on
life, but,
(22:47):
you know, had to have a sultry
vibe to it.
So it's kind of like a woman looking
back on a moment that
she enjoyed
with, you know.
Considering all of the factors
still feels
pretty sexy about it.
(23:12):
Yeah, I think that's pretty
accurate.
I, I,
I love I, I immediately
really loved the song.
I think it like it's a really good
key for your voice.
So your voice is in the original
demo that you made.
It's just you and a keyboard.
So your voice works really well in
that song in
(23:33):
that key.
And it's a descent.
It's a lot lower than usual.
Oh. Is it?
Yeah. I don't usually sing that low,
but I was like, I gotta sing low.
You can't be singing high.
Yeah, maybe it makes your voice
sound more sultry or something, but
it's it's felt really good.
And it's a descending chord
progression. You know.
So it just felt felt really
(23:54):
good. And I think it's.
There is an immediate kind of
film noir vibe to the
song itself, to the writing itself,
and I think the recording that we
all made like
leans into that a lot.
I love the recording that we made.
I think.
(24:14):
Yeah, me too.
We hit all the notes that we
had wanted to, but not understood
how we would.
Yeah, well you mentioned.
I was so intrigued because you
mentioned Tom Waits.
That was the artist that you brought
up.
Which he's like one
of my all time favorites, but
he's not very hip at the moment.
(24:36):
I feel like he's not having a
moment.
He's always having a moment to me.
He's not in the zeitgeist. I guess
what I'm trying to say, because,
yeah, I love him. But like,
I don't know, I was, I was really
it was really cool when you said
that. And when I mentioned it to
Sam, the bass player, and Zac,
who played drums.
Their ears immediately perked up
like, oh, cool. Wow, exciting,
(24:58):
you know?
Yeah.
But yeah.
And then it also feels it feels
modern. It doesn't feel like it's
just pulling from
a past reference, but
because, you know, it's her telling
the story now.
But it is from the past.
But also just yeah,
(25:18):
I just really love how it turned
out. And we did it live.
Everybody played live.
The vocals' a live take which I
prefer to do that.
One take, too. That's what's so wild,
it's just one take.
Hey, we all got it.
Yeah, well, it is kind
of crazy because, the
song that we recorded
(25:40):
with Alejandro.
It was the same thing.
It was one take.
I think maybe, maybe there's, like,
some sort of,
mold in your house that you guys
are both just huffing all the time.
That makes, you singing into an
SM seven in our control room, like,
work really well, because it was
truly one take and no
click track.
(26:00):
None of the, you know, super modern
fancy stuff. But then
Dan, I think, added some keys that
felt like afterwards that
gave it a little more of a
a world. But
yeah, I think it turned out amazing.
I do, too, and it's super fun.
I mean, that's what I mean.
When you have the right people, the
right place, it just happens.
(26:22):
It just yeah,
yeah it's no stress getting it done.
Yeah.
I mean that's how you know.
Are you, what else is cooking
for you besides putting this song
out and finding grandma in
Australia?
Well I'm growing a baby
inside of me.
Yes.
(26:42):
Yes. I'm eight months pregnant.
Wow.
Yeah, it's very intense
over here.
So, yeah, there's a baby on the.
In the future, I'm also
going to do a live record at
Sagebrush in a couple
weeks.
Damn! While eight months pregnant.
(27:02):
Yeah, but it'll be solo.
I'll be solo.
I'll be like the baby Buffalo Hunt
show, but I'm trying to think of
some sort of, like, conception
or.
I don't know.
Why?
I mean, why would you?
So cool.
But why? Why, why are
you doing this?
Well, I want to do it because I've
(27:24):
been playing these songwriter
nights and hosting songwriter
nights at Sagebrush.
A lot I did, like, a few months
last year at different residencies
there.
And it
made me play my songs really
different, playing them solo.
And I feel like after
I have a baby and I,
(27:46):
I think everybody goes through a
phase of amnesia and
of like, what the before times
were once you have a baby.
All the moms I've talked to.
So wanting to capture
these songs before, I
potentially forget how I've been
playing them.
Also, it's kind of the easiest way
to make a full record in one
(28:08):
day.
I also think, when you perform
the songs live all the time
at a particular set
you grow really comfortable with.
Them being different every night.
Like, they're really living things,
you know?
And that's such a great thing to
capture. Before.
Before, like you say, like you move
on, you know,
(28:28):
because you get bored of playing the
same tunes. But it's good to
remember what, what it felt like
when they were that group of songs.
It's like a living, breathing thing.
Yeah. And that and
also I've been writing new songs as
I haven't been playing these solo
songs as much in the last few
months, so.
You know, it'll be a little bit of a
challenge for me to get back to the
(28:50):
just letting it be
what it is. But it'll be sweet.
We'll see what happens.
We're going to record it and
be a intimate
evening at Sagebrush.
Cool.
If you think you have a story that
we would want to feature on this
podcast and could be turned into an
amazing song, come
(29:11):
by one of our booths.
We've got a permanent booth at the
Mishawaka Amphitheater outside Fort
Collins, Colorado.
We've got another permanent booth
here in Austin, Texas at the Long
Center. Come in.
Record a confession.
We will hear it.
If that is not convenient for
you, go to the liner notes of this
episode. Click on the link to our
website and see where we're going to
be next. We might be coming to a
festival near you, or you could
(29:32):
always send us an email and contact
us directly.
This podcast is produced by me,
Zac,
Jim Eno, Aaron Blackerby, TateHoeven, Zahra Crim and distributed by
KUTX.
The theme song you heard at the top
was written by myself and Walker
Lukens. It was performed by me,
Taylor Craft, JJohn Calvin Abney,
Dan Kramer, Will Van Horn, and somebeautiful vocals by Tyler Brown.
(29:59):
We want to give a special thanks to
Elizabeth McQueen in Matt Reilly
at KUTX, ONErpm, Jesse Rosoff at MintTalent Group, Bobby Garza and The
Long Center, Danny Grant in the
Mishawaka Amphitheater, late teenage
trauma, psychedelics and
you nasties out there who trust us
with your stories.
If you like this podcast, you can
support us by sharing an episode
(30:19):
with someone you know would like it.
You can also support us by followingus on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook
at Song Confessional.
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The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.