KING BUZZO Recruits Trevor Dunn For New Acoustic Album & Tour

After three decades of heading one of the most influential projects in modern rock history, Buzz “King Buzzo” Osborne released his first solo album back in 2014.  Throughout their existence, Melvins have consistently pushed their sound forward in new and fascinating directions, but the casual fan will, more often than not, associate the outfit with a few fairly specific details or descriptors.  The first is that the band were pioneers laying the foundation for what would, eventually, give birth to Grunge music and the scene surrounding it.  Buzz is known for introducing Kurt Cobain to punk rock, at a young age, while the Nirvana frontman is often referred to as being the Melvins “roadie” for a brief period of time — it always seemed like he was really just a pal hanging out with them that, possibly, moved some equipment.  Melvins drummer, Dale Crover, was even in projects with Kurt, including being a temporary drummer for Nirvana.  Basically, they were all friends, but since Cobain‘s music was a lot more accessible to the masses, Melvins are widely accepted as important figures in history, even by those who haven’t bothered to listen to them.  And that’s the interesting bit, because, while Buzzo‘s group is associated with grunge, the doomy lurching style that they created is also what became known as sludge metal, splintering off into further sub genres like stoner metal.  In other words, these guys are heavy.  That’s why, when Osborne chose to put out This Machine Kills Artists, as a solo acoustic effort, it was difficult not to be intrigued.  What would it sound like?

We caught his tour stop in Seattle for that project, and it was definitely an enthralling spectacle.  With Melvins, the guitarist/vocalist is typically shielded by a wall of distortion as fellow band members absorb some of the focus of the onlooking crowd.  For the shows promoting his solo LP, a much different environment was at play.  It was just Buzz and his guitar.  All eyes on him, just like 2Pac; he was up there all by himself  The music itself was really terrific to experience, because it wasn’t just the new material, or even the ability to hear a new spin on a classic song, but it also provided insight into Osborne‘s writing process and the structural foundation of some of these tracks in a way that nothing short of that format could really provide.  In witnessing a stripped-down rendition of a monstrous tune like “Boris,” it was remarkable how much the overall tone and feeling remained.  The only real downside of the show was the drunk asshole standing behind me, who I eventually had to check, so he would shut the fuck up.  Buzzo delivered that night, even though he was playing to a room that contained audience members who were willing to scream shit out to him during the quieter passages, if not over his performance, itself.  But, despite the minor obstacles, he never seemed shook.  If anything, Osborne seemed to adapt swiftly to the intimacy of the setup, commanding the crowd while embracing the opportunity to interact more directly with his fans in a more intimate setting.  My hope since then has been that Buzzo would feel that it was worth it enough for him to do it all again and come back out on the road.  That hope is now, finally, coming to fruition.

Today, King Buzzo announces a brand new acoustic LP titled, Gift Of Sacrifice, and one great aspect about it is that, this time around, he’s joined by longtime collaborator, Trevor Dunn.  Trevor might be most recognizable as the founding bassist of Mr Bungle, but he’s also demonstrated his range performing and recording with folks ranging from the likes of legendary avant-garde, experimental jazz composer/genre hopping multi-instrumentalist, John Zorn to The Nels Cline Singers, of which he is a touring member.  Along with his own avant-jazz outfit, Trio-Convulsant and his brief stint in Secret Chiefs 3 (originally formed with Bungle bandmates Trey Spruance and Danny Heifetz), Trevor has also appeared on a half-dozen releases by cellist, Erik Friedlander; performed with Sean Lennon during a Letterman performance; and took over bass duties in the supergroup, Tomahawk, alongside Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr Bungle), Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard), and John Stanier (Battles, ex-Helmet).  His working relationship with Buzzo includes the project Fantômas, which is yet another Mike Patton project, this time featuring ex-Slayer drummer, Dave Lombardo.  Beyond that, Trevor has intermittently filled the hole of the ever rotating bassist position in Melvins.  In fact, the three-piece incarnation of the group that features Dunn, Crover, and Osborne; referred to as Melvins Lite; is the lineup that the group successfully completed their “51 states in 51 days” tour with.  Dunn and Osborne know each other well, and to find them in a collaboration of this nature is exciting.  While it still might seem, somewhat, novel to hear Buzzo manning an acoustic, Trevor has regularly demonstrated his brilliance on an upright bass in countless projects and situations over the years.  The dimension that he has the potential to bring in on a of project of this nature cannot be overstated; operating as the left-field John Kahn to King Buzzo‘s doom-laden Jerry Garcia.

Gift of Sacrifice is a 9-track effort being released on May 15 through Ipecac Recordings and will coincide with the duo embarking on an extensive North American live tour that extends into early July.  The album is available for pre-order now through bandcamp and the Ipecac webstore, with a limited mailorder exclusive pink vinyl pressing.  There will also be an opague tangerine “tour only” variant.

Of his new project, King Buzzo says, “Gift of Sacrifice was a stone groove to record and it will be a fucking blast to finally hit the road with my buddy Trevor Dunn,” promising, “Once we take the stage, I guarantee we’ll kick the crap out of this album.”

Check out the first single, “Science In Modern America” followed by a full track list and current schedule of tour dates.