Archive: Interview with Tara Nevins by Kat Mills

Donna the Buffalo heads out to Roanoke , VA tonite to play at Awful Arthurs. Here are some excerpt from a recent interview with Tara Nevins by Kat Mills with 16 Blocks Magazine:

A WORD WITH DONNA THE BUFFALO

Local Singer Songwriter Kat Mills talks to the group prior to their show at Awful Arthur’s Towers

16blocksmagazine.com

Some of us remember when Donna the Buffalo was the new kid on the festival scene, nearly twenty years ago when roving groups of rabid fans were branching out from the Grateful Dead to follow bands like Phish and Blues Traveler. A new hybrid dance groove infused with American roots sounds but more kinetic and fresh was leading young people back to festivals to find their kind. If you attended one of those festivals, you have probably seen Donna the Buffalo.

With origins in New York State, but making the whole eastern US home, DtB has remained a fiercely self-directed operation. They write their own tunes, create their own scene, and continue to cover a wide touring area throughout the year, happy to take on new fans along the way…

. . .

Recently I got a chance to ask Tara a few questions about their current tour and the difference between music and non-music towns.

Photo by Lewis Tezak Jr

KM: The Roanoke and New River Valleys are, in some ways, searching for a musical identity. We have a great mix of influences, and some real local talent, but have yet to become a true destination for many touring artists. After building the band from the ground up, and founding a festival, do you have any insight to offer a community working on creating a scene?
TN: We see communities struggle all the time. We started our festival in Trumansburg, NY (Finger Lakes Grass Roots) where the community was already alive with great music and music appreciation, so for us it was a no-brainer. It is hard in a town where the general population doesn’t seem geared toward or centered around music. We experience this going from town to town, city to city. You can feel it in the air for sure when a town is alive with music lovers craving the chance to hear and see live music. I would say that in general people like feeling involved, so starting an event like a festival provides a real chance for involvement and promotes interest, which promotes community, which promotes growth and allows for the possibility of something great evolving on many levels.

KM: How is such a self-propelled and grass roots operation as DtB adjusting to the “digital revolution”?
Web presence, digital distribution and tour diaries are becoming more important for independent artists. What is working for you there?

TN: It’s all working for us. It’s now a growing part of our already established machine. You want to have a presence wherever you can. The selling of records, though, has changed dramatically. [With] people downloading, records don’t sell like they used to. It’s a transitional time, and that can be a little rough.

KM: Please catch us up on news for 2011. We’d love for you to share updates on Donna recordings,
but also on your latest solo endeavor.

TN: I just finished recording a (solo) record with Larry Campbell (Levon Helm Band, Phil Lesh and Friends, Bob Dylan) up in Woodstock, NY at Levon Helm’s studio. The record is due out in April on Sugar Hill Records. I feel fortunate to have had this opportunity. Larry is an incredibly talented musician and producer, and a super person. Levon played drums on two of the songs! He is also wonderful. There are 13 tracks on the record. I wrote pretty much all of it. It is both exciting and nerve wracking.

Donna the Buffalo is planning on recording in February and March. We will be recording this new record in Nashville and have been talking with a fabulous producer and engineer. It will also be on Sugar Hill. I’m not sure when the release will be. We are very excited!

Kat Mills: Any special guests on this leg? I see Roy Jay’s band will join you for a few dates, including Roanoke.

Tara Nevins: Yes, Roy Jay is joining us on several dates for the winter. He is a great guy and his band is full of gritty bluesy grooves…

….

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://16blocksmagazine.com/2011/01/a-word-with-donna-the-buffalo/

Writer, Kat Mills (Photo above) is an independent singer/songwriter based in Blacksburg VA and touring throughout the east and beyond. Info and recordings at www.katmills.com

Click here to see a video interview with  Kat (interviewer of this article) after she opened for Levon Helm at Floydfest last year.

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Lingua Musica’s World Premier at the White Horse in Black Mtn on Sept 29th! Grammer School, Stephanie Morgan, River Guerguerian, Fred Mills & More

Lingua Musica
Wednesday September 29th, 2010
White Horse Black Mountain

discussions for the eve: “Music Business 101” & “Great Concerts”
House band for the eve is Grammer School
7pm, $7
828-669-0816
105C Montreat Road
Black Mountain, NC

www.linguamusicalive.com

www.whitehorseblackmountain.com

(Black Mountain, NC) Lingua Musica is the first live music talk show to bring online viewers into the conversation with a live studio audience in Western North Carolina. Lingua Musica streams live online from the White Horse in Black Mountain on Wednesday, September 29th at 7pm at www.linguamusicalive.com.

WNCW midday host Joe Kendrick hosts the show, which showcases a rotating cast of musicians, music journalists, and industry professionals as panelists who talk about music news, history, and culture while inviting the audience to take part. Kendrick has produced the music-based talk show “What It Is” weekdays on WNCW since October 2007. Lingua Musica is ran independently by Kendrick and few others in the community. The pilot show was held August 12th.

Lingua Musica streams live to the internet and takes viewer comments on its website as well as through twitter. The roundtable of panelists are able to respond to the online audience, creating a continuous loop of conversation that connects the “live” audience with the virtual audience. Shows will be archived for a social network of registered users who are passionate about live music and conversation.

The show is an hour long, with two conversations on the topics followed by music from the Lingua Musica house band. The September 29th musical guest is Asheville, NC trio Grammer School. Grammer School was one of the finalists to perform at WNC Magazine’s Orange Peel contest for the “Last Band Standing”. Check out a video of them:

September 29th panelists include:

* musician Stephanie Morgan of Stephanie’s Id
* multipercussionist, composer and educator River Guerguerian
* Blurt Magazine music editor Fred Mills

The show features three to four panelists at a time as they rotate on and off stage for each topic of conversation.The September 29th show includes the following topics:

1. “Music Business 101” A look at the industry from all angles, Lingua Musica tackles how to make a living in music and how music lovers can help their favorite artists, venues and labels in the process.

2. “Great Concerts” We invite everyone to share their favorite concert memories and cautionary tales in this conversation about everything from the great shows we missed to house parties and everything in between.

Please join us for the World Premier of Lingua Musica for an evening of music and conversation!

You can find Lingua Musica on Twitter at twitter.com/linguamusica. Also find them on facebook  by clicking the photo from the August 12th pilot show below:

River makes some great points on what he would do with the musical magic wand

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Scout66.com: premiere site for live concert reviews, tourdates, and artist info

Dreamspider Publicity and Events wants to let you all know about Scout66.com,  a premiere site for live concert reviews from the most decisive component in the performing arts – the audience. Never before has the relationship between the audience and performer been so important. This is a back to the future concept, a grassroots movement empowering the audience and the performer, prolifically illustrating that indie music is for all ages and all styles of music.This is a great site to get information in artist tour dates, shows by state, shows by genre, and live reviews by the audience!

Scout66.com is also now linked up with ArtistData.com, which if you are a touring musician, you may already have found to be an invaluable resource for distributing your artist news and tour dates.

It is easy to link up your artist data account to feed to Scout66. Just register for a free Scout66.com account as an artist, reviewer, or venue. Then as soon as you register an ID code will be given to you to plug into your Artist Data account and activate. If you are not yet on Artist Data, now is a great time to sign up. Both sites have great tech support and are easy to use.

Scout66.com can also be found on Twitter as @Scout66com and also has a new blog with a great post titled “Music is a State of Being”

Artist Data can also be found on Facebook/ ArtistData, Twitter as @ArtistData, and through the Artist Data Blog. Check out Artists Data’s blog welcoming scout.66.com to the network.

Here’s a message direct from Scout:

Wow, a lot of new musicians have signed up to use Scout! This is great as it helps build the online community of musicians who’ve been with us for a while, and supports everyone’s efforts. The more shows, reviews, and artists who participate, the more successful everyone will be. Active participation is required for music to survive.

Scout was designed to fill the void where media can no longer afford to review live performance. And isn’t it much more satisfying to have several people write about your performance than just one who may or may not tell you something good? Scout is an independent impartial archive you can recommend new venues go to read what people have to say about you, your music, and your performance.

There are many ways in which to engage your audience using Scout. Here are a few we know are successful:

Make full size copies of the Scout logo to have at your merchandise table. It’s a great conversation piece and educates your fans where to write reviews for you.

Include the Scout logo on your website with a link, so fans just drop in on Scout and write a few kind words about what your music means to them.

Add the Scout logo to all your correspondence to fans, whether it’s email, postcards, included in links on Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace, Facebook or any other way you keep in touch with fans.

Ask your audience from the stage to contribute to your career by writing a little bit about everything they heard, saw, and felt during your performance.

If you need technical assistance email TJ@ravennainteractive.com

Scout

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