Sewer Legends Buzzov-en Climb Out Of The Hole

 Buzzov-en have emerged from their resinated caves  to embark on a string of headlining tour dates. The fall tour will mark the first time the influential band has toured in 12 years. Founding member and driving force Kirk Fisher -- who has an acoustic Southern blues project called K. Lloyd and the Disciples, featuring Down's Jimmy Bower and Soilent Green's Brian Patton -- has bounced back from a crippling addiction and reassembled the band's classic '... At a Loss' lineup with bassist "Dixie" Dave Collins (also of Weedeater) and drummer Ramzi joining him on the road.

"Hell yes I'm excited, and a little nervous as well though," Fisher spoke about returning and the prospect of having a case of road rust. "I've been doing more mellow bluesy/country stuff on and off over the past years with Jimmy Bower and some other NOLA friends with my solo project K. Lloyd and the Disciples, but nothing like Buzzov-en. I'm actually looking forward to re-tapping the angst and now, at least more clearheaded it should be coming from the raw anger that I, as well as many, deal with daily just trudging through life. Our major rehearsals are just getting underway, so the rusty factor I'm sure will be there, but I'm confident it's going to be like riding a bike as they say!"

Fisher was inspired to exhume Buzzov-en now for a myriad of reasons, some of it fan pressure. "Well after talking to Jimmy when Eyehategod had gone out for their first time in many years, I was inspired because he said a lot of the fans were asking him about us, 'cause I guess they knew of the K. Lloyd stuff that had been in the works over the past [three or four] years," Fisher said. "Yeah, I think it's time finally, and this is not a reunion. This is a re-beginning for Buzzov-en. This lineup with Ramzi and Dixie was by far my favorite, and I think we could really make something of this band again. We're going to be playing a lot of material from '... At a Loss' and some earlier Buzz stuff, but also expect some new stuff to get pulled out as well."

Fisher wasn't about to throw out reveal any more when it comes to the set list, saying, "I'm not giving any hints on that note. Come to the show f---ers and you'll find out!" If you can't make the initial run of dates, the band does plan a larger scale tour for the near future.

As for why Buzzov-en's legacy has endured, Fisher offered an interesting theory. "I think the legacy has endured for a lot of reasons," he said. "Some negative. Because let's face it, we all like to see a great car crash don't we?? Also, I believe that we and a few others like EHG, Sleep and Neurosis pretty much paved the way for many bands playing this heavy downtuned riffage. There were some before, but we also toured our asses off and left a trail across the States through much of the '90s, which as I said wasn't always positive.

"I'm excited to see a new generation get to see us and not be affected by the gossip and reputation that may not put us in such a good light, which honestly a lot of that is a few nights blown way out of proportion." Fisher wasn't kidding when he called these shows "re-beginning."

"Yeah, there will definitely be a new Buzzov-en record," he revealed. "Figured we would wait until after doing these few outings doing some live shows then set down and work out where we want to go with it."

Buzzov*en tour dates:
9/25 -- Charlotte, NC -- Tremont Music Hall
9/29 -- Chicago, IL -- Reggie's Rock Club (Buy Tix)
9/30 -- New York, NY -- Rocks Off Concert Cruise Aboard the Temptress
10/1 -- Baltimore, MD -- Ottobar
10/2 -- Austin, TX -- Emo's (Buy Tix)

Down Presents New DVD October 5th

"Diary of a Mad Band' will be a three-disc affair - two CDs and one DVD -- clocking in at 130 minutes of viewing pleasure. It'll be on the shelf of your local retailers on Oct. 5. It is indeed a diary of Down on the road, as the audio discs collect the band's live performance in London. The DVD portion is a documentation of the band's offstage antics, additionally covering their 2006 resurrection, their practice room and the shenanigans that took place on their first European tour.



The bonus behind-the-scenes featurette is entitled 'Tyrades and Shananigans,' and it's unfiltered and brilliant. Collectors will also be happy to know
 that a 180-gram triple vinyl version with a bonus DVD will be available on October 26!
 
The DVD has everything a Down fan could want, especially that sneak peak into a day in the life of Down. "It's pretty close to that," guitarist Pepper Keenan, also formerly of that other essential metal band Corrosion of Conformity, told Noisecreep. "We're a bunch of kids who grew up together, playing music and eventually getting to bigger venues. We started out in the garage and we'll end up back in the garage, and the DVD hits everything in between."

The DVD was scheduled to come out in the Spring via eOne, but it was temporarily shelved. Keenan took us through the arduous process of the DVD, saying, "It was the first European tour and we had been through hell and back with death of Dimebag and Hurricane Katrina, so everything was piling up on us. We decided to go to Europe, play some shows. We had never been there. We started figuring out it'd do well, bring a film crew and capture the good, bad and ugly s---."

He continued, "Once we got back, finished it, filming the entire tour, where we played a city in each country, we put it together in order of the tour and the set list is in order of how we played, so it had a mathematical element. I can't tell you how many hours of sleep we foregone. I wanted to try and do it that way where it was not one particular city, but Europe in general. We had it done, we got home, had a new record and were reinvigorated to get back in the game and focus our energies, so the movie sat on the wayside.

"Once we pieced it together, two years later, looking at the footage, Warner Bros. passed on it and told us we could release it with someone else, in a nutshell. So we did that and found another label to put it out. But when the label saw it, they changed their minds. They wanted a piece of the pie after they saw it was not some homemade video bulls---. It was a bigger deal than it was before, and timing is everything in this stupid business."

Keenan cited the footage of Download/Donington in England as the "craziest" on 'Diary of a Mad Band,' which was a "secret" show for Down. "No one knew we were playing," Keenan recounted. "It was 11 in the morning, and as soon as they dropped the Down banner, people were jumping over fences, going ape s---. So that was a big deal, so you can see how many people are there. We played and as the credits roll, you can see everyone leaving in droves. That was a special moment, besides the drunk bulls---."

The crowd's reaction to the band's set was crucial to Down's future. "That was the pinnacle to convince Down we need to continue," Keenan admitted. "We'd be fools not to, so big thank you to Europe; [for helping] us get our s--- back together."