Avi Buffalo and Rogue Wave (photo by Jeff Antebi)

Rogue Wave with Avi Buffalo
UPDATE: Avi Buffalo unfortunately not appearing, but New York-based JBM will be performing instead.
at the Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
Monday, March 1, 2010
(doors at 7pm, 18+ show)

Well, this is exciting! Avi Buffalo, one of my much-loved L.A. bands, are embarking on their first long-term U.S. tour (two months) which kicks off here in Boston.

They’re probably growing a bit tired of the “age thing” (they’re all really young, having just graduated high school – drummer Sheridan has a year to go), but one can’t help but mention it, as it’s rather mind-blowing when you listen to their music. On the surface they have a pretty and bouncy pop thing going on (along with Avi’s floating, distinctive vocals), but there’s something deeper there, a mature sophistication, both in their musical abilities and in the lyrics:

“Where’d you put your mind, now you need it, haven’t focused in a while, and don’t you wish that you could smile? Try your hardest, show ‘em what you’re made of…” – Where’s Your Dirty Mind

It began with Avi Buffalo (a.k.a. Avi Zahner-Isenberg) on guitar and vocals, who originally aspired to be a professional skateboarder. Happily he turned to music, and was mentored by Long Beach-based blues musicians. He met the others – Rebecca Coleman (keyboards, vocals), Sheridan Riley (drums) and Arin Fazio (bass) – at his high school. They soon attracted the attention of several Eastside L.A. musicians including engineer Aaron Embry, who’s worked with Elliot Smith and Emmylou Harris, and he invited them to test out his new home studio. A buzz quickly formed around the band as they played shows at important L.A. venues such as The Echo, and their wicked catchy song “What’s In It For?” generated a lot of interest, leading to them signing with Sub Pop, who released it as the first single from their new album, which is due out April 27th.

MySpace | Official site | Facebook | Twitter |

Rogue Wave are no musical slouches either. From Oakland, California, they were founded in 2003 by Zach Schwartz (aka Zach Rogue), who wrote, recorded and produced their first album Out of the Shadow. This and their second album, Descended Like Vultures (2005) were released by Sub Pop. There’s some biographical info. about the band on Last.fm. By the way, there’s a pretty cool, dreamy version of the Pixies’ “Debaser” up on their MySpace. That just floated into my brain, so I wanted to mention it. Their new album Permalight will be out on Brushfire Records March 2.

Rogue Wave – Coffee Shop from Rogue Wave on Vimeo.

Rogue Wave – I’ll Never Leave You from Rogue Wave on Vimeo.

[You can see the other minifilms from Permalight that recently debuted on IFC.com on Rogue Wave's official site.]

MySpace | Official site | Facebook

East Coast Shows

Mar 1 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
Mar 2 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
Mar 3 – Bowery Ballroom – NYC, NY (sold out)
Mar 4 – First Unitarian Church – Philly, PA
Mar 5 – Nightclub 9:30, Washington DC