We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Float Like A Buffalo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Float Like a Buffalo, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
It seems like we take risks every day when it comes to pursuing this dream of making a living off of music. The biggest risk we’ve taken over the past few years is to take the leap from playing exclusively in Colorado to touring nationally much of the year. We were supposed to start touring nationally in Spring of 2020. We had a beautiful, 5-week tour planned that covered much of the midwest and southern United States. We got two stops into that tour before everything fell apart due to Covid. We didn’t even make it out of Colorado before our shows started cancelling and we had to make the very difficult, but right, decision to return home to keep everyone safe. This was a bad day. We were heartbroken… but it was also a blessing in disguise.
In the years since then, we realized that jumping into the deep end of touring as our very first tour wasn’t the best idea. We had no idea what touring was like or what we were in for, and, though we had no doubt that we would have pulled it off, taking a step back allowed us to assess the bigger picture and position ourselves way better for the day when we could tour again.
Fast forward to now… We’ve toured through 17 states and have plans to increase that number to 27 this year. In fact, we just returned from a 10-day tour through Arizona, California, and New Mexico. Every time we hit the road, we take a risk. Sure, there’s the logistical things – What if the van breaks down? What if we run out of money? What if we hit bad weather and get stranded? But there’s also the risk that we will put our whole hearts and souls out on stage in these new cities and towns and no one will care… no one will be in the audience, or, if they are, they’ll hate what they hear. This has never happened to us, but it is always a fear. Being a group of creatives who leave it all out there on the stage is terrifying. Yet, we continue doing it because there’s nothing that feeds our souls more than playing music for people who enjoy it.
This risk always comes with great rewards. There’s nothing like seeing the looks on the faces of the folks in the audience when they connect with the music; nothing like watching their energy rise to meet us; nothing like watching them dance to what we play and getting to meet and talk to them after. We get to meet new friends all over the place every time we get in the van. We get to see the country and experience small towns and big cities in ways we never imagined. When asked how to get started with touring, our keyboard and trombone player, Cory “Beef” Meier, says it best: “Just get in the van.”
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are Float Like a Buffalo. Our music is rock with funk, ska, reggae, and jam influences. Nods to the funk of Lettuce and The Motet, jam of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, rock of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Chicago Transit Authority, soul of James Brown, & high-energy guitar licks of Jimi Hendrix all combine to make a unique sound that’s impossible not to dance to.
We had a bit of a rough start, but the band was formed from several different communities of friends. Garrett (Percussion) and Cory (Vocals, Rhythm Guitar) met at work 2013 and started jamming as a duo called “The Shower Curtains.” A friend’s band had a show at The Meadowlark and needed an opener, so the two threw together an 8-piece band in a couple of weeks, practiced some songs, and played their first-ever show as Float Like A Buffalo.
When we lost our original guitarist and bass player. Garrett brought in his band members from Shredding Heights – Evan (Lead Guitar) and Jason (Bass, Vocals). We found our forever drummer, Phil, in 2016 and our horns Luke (Sax, Trumpet) and Beef (Trombone, Keys, Talk Box) in 2017. That’s when we started to really find our unique sound, which has continued to evolve. In 2020, just before our first national tour (cancelled by Covid), Evan decided to pursue his best life outside of the band. At that point, we brought on James Steinbach as our lead guitarist, who’s talent we had admired when we played shows with his former band, 21 Taras.
Unfortunately, last fall, Evan passed away. He had continued to support and cheer us on from afar, and we always kept in touch after he left the band. His loss was absolutely devastating. We continue to feel it so deeply. In his own way, he brought us so much closer together. We miss him every day, but we know he continues to be on stage with us, and the lyrics and melodies he gave us continue to influence our sound. Picking ourselves up after he was gone was one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do, but we can always hear him telling us to keep going.
Our sound has continued to grow and change. When people ask us what genre we are, we have a hard time answering because our music has so many diverse style influences. We have such diverse tastes in music. When these are brought together, we think it creates something truly special and different. Our music has something for those who love rock, ska, reggae, jam, funk, and even electronic, but most of all, for those who love to dance.
We always like to think that we each found the band when we needed it the most. It has brought each of us to hope in a really dark time of our lives, and we think that’s why we each treasure it so much. This band has become a family. Our bonds are even tighter now that we’ve experienced both the trials and the joys of being a nationally touring band.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
The best thing people can do to support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem is to show up – buy a ticket to the show, dance to the music, tell their friends, buy some merch, spread the word in general. The only way bands and other creatives can grow their brand and get closer to making a living from their art is if the group of people who care about what they’re doing continues to grow. It takes nothing to share a social post or tell a friend about a song they like. The more people share the music that impacts them, the longer and better the band who makes the music can continue to do so. This is not a career any of us are in for the money (although it’ll be nice if that eventually comes). We’re in it because music connects people at its core. The energy a group of people can share at a concert is everything. It’s human connection – what could be better?
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Every once in a while, a show comes along that is so special that we can’t stop thinking about it and celebrating it. Every show is special, but there are a handful that feel life-changing. For example, we just played a show at The Sand Dollar Lounge in Las Vegas, and from beginning to end, the experience was so uplifting and so memorable that it stays with us. When we get to play a show like this, where every person in the audience, and even on the staff, connects with the music and matches our energy… well… the feeling is indescribable. This is the most rewarding part of what we do. When our music helps people lose sight of their problems for a minute and just connect with each other to dance and sing and cheer and laugh – it’s real and it’s special, and its everything.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.floatlikeabuffalomusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floatlikeabuffalo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FloatBuffalo/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/flab303
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FloatLikeaBuffalo
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@floatbuffalo https://open.spotify.com/artist/4wOJnYk1HAGnMqljn79qq3?si=nTf0ke0lQZGPoE3PgfFcrQ
Image Credits
Rocky Montaño Photography Sarah Shuel Photography Tara Gracer Chad Zellmer