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Buford?

Boo-ford?

What About Buford?

All About You, Kurd?

No, ALL ABOUT BUFORD!

While many have mistaken their name, there is no mistaking the talent of this Boston-based a cappella group. And in the 3 short years that have passed since their cataclysmic coming together, they’ve been a tour de force in the a cappella community.

All About Buford has competed in both the Boston and the New York City regional Harmony Sweepstakes competitions, and they’ve participated in numerous folk festivals as well. Most recently, they have kicked serious keester in the 2002 A Cappella Community Awards, having been named runners-up in the Folk/World Group, Male Vocalist (Shah Salmi), and Female Vocalist (Taunia Soderquist) categories. And these awards are not determined by some stuffy panel of judges, but by the fans themselves, so you know that they’ve made a major impression in the a cappella world. Not only are they consummate professionals and extremely pleasant to work with, but they happily accept Krispy Kreme donuts in lieu of payment.

It all started when tenor Shah Salmi & alto Taunia Soderquist met while they were taking classes at the Berklee College of Music. Taunia knew soprano Amy Malkoff from their collaboration in the now-defunct group Deadline Poet. An audition led them to vocal percussionist Adeel Pandith, but it turns out that Taunia knew him as well from swing dancing, of all things. (Despite these events, recent scientific studies have concluded that the entire world does NOT revolve around Taunia!)

Now that they had a group, all they needed was a name. They considered several possibilities, including Stifled Moans, Churchill-Hubbard Road, and my personal favorite, Ambidextrous Genitalia (just ponder THAT mental image for a while!); but they settled on All About Buford in deference to Amy’s cat. There’s a pic of him on their website, and after looking at it, I don’t blame them for bowing down in deference to him. Buford is one cranky-looking kitty. I wouldn’t want to cross him, either!

You might wonder why since most vocal groups have a bass, All About Buford doesn’t. As Amy explains: “One [reason] is that there aren't a lot of basses out there. Legitimate basses are fairly rare. Two is that the belief that a vocal group NEEDS a bass comes from a choral way of thinking, and since we're not a choir, we don't feel the absolute need to have the structure of one. Three is that we are looking for a specific type of POP singer, and basses are more likely to come from a barbershop or doo-wop tradition. And finally, the smaller the group is, the easier everything is: travel, making a living, etc. But, we're still on the lookout, and should a great pop singer/bass come along that we sound good with, we'll take him!” Taunia adds: “I thought I was the bass!”

All About Buford just scored a major coup, having recently added vocal percussion god Wes Carroll (previously of Five ‘O’Clock Shadow and currently of the House Jacks) to their ensemble. Wes is splitting spit duty with Adeel. Welcome Wes!

Since this is the month of February, I thought it appropriate to observe the occasion of Black Friday—uh, I mean Valentine’s Day--by asking the group the following question: “If you had the opportunity to spend Valentine’s Day with the celebrity of your choice, whom would you pick and what would you do on the date?”

Amy says: “I have Revolving Celebrity Crushes. [Author’s note—I guess the ambidextrous genitalia really come in handy, then!] Right now I'm gonna go with Matthew Perry. While not a particularly exotic choice, I think he's cute as a button. Bring on the Matt!”

Sez Wes: “Salma Hayek, because she's HOT; and what we'd do would be unprintable. And let's face it -- you'd do the same. ;-)” (Umm, no I wouldn’t. Scroll to the end of the column.)

Taunia responds: “I'm surprised Wes didn't pick me - as I am the celebrity of choice these days. Clearly, you don't recognize that Selma and Brad are way old news! I have always had a thing for Gary Oldman - ever since he was in Bram Stoker's Dracula. So, I guess we'd be having a good, wholesome night of the dead kind of hang. Either that or Al Jarreau and we'd be jammin' like nobody's business!”

As for Shah, he failed to respond to the question before my deadline, so nerts to him!

All About Buford has several gigs coming up in the New England area in the coming months. Go to their website for details. You can also listen to tracks from their CD “Supercar”. (My recommended pick: “My Funny Valentine”) And if you like what you hear, the CD is also available for purchase through their site.

SHIVERY DELICIOUS

One night in December I trekked to an East Village bar (that even by New York City standards was a real dive) to see one of my many phenomenally-talented-yet-toiling-in-obscurity musician friends. I arrived early, and thus had the chance to catch the act who proceeded my friend. Sometimes the best things in life are discovered en route to seeking something else. And such was the case with my discovery of Shivery Delicious.

Originally from Santa Rosa, California—a town whose main claim to fame is having the world’s most photogenic high school (it was featured in the movie “Peggy Sue Got Married”), Shivery Delicious is now attempting to make her mark on the New York City music scene. With a knockout voice and heartfelt lyrics, she shows a lot of promise as a singer/songwriter. Her Britney Spears impression and ode to Judd Nelson are not to be missed!

She started with formal training as a child, studying piano for 10 years (“I can now play chopsticks on a good day”) and saxophone for 5. But like many musicians, she is also self-taught. “I started playing the guitar when I was sixteen, after finding an ancient classical guitar at a yard sale for about ten dollars. I spent the next few years teaching myself how to play it.”

Shivery migrated to this half of the continent when she enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. Like most of us who graduated from college, her major ended up having little to do with her chosen career: “I never officially studied music there. I was more of a vigilante; I infiltrated the department because a wonderful voice teacher decided I had enough potential to be a worthy project. Officially, I was studying film theory and literature.”

And that name? No, of COURSE it isn’t real! The name Shivery Delicious was bestowed upon her by a friend who emailed her one day and basically said, “I’m going to call you Shivery Delicious from now on—just because I can!” The name just sort of stuck.

After graduating from college in 2001, Shivery has settled down in the NYC area and is now attempting to establish herself as a musician. She is hoping to participate in the North by Northeast Festival in Toronto this upcoming June. Because she’s so brand-spanking new, her website is still under construction (get on it, Shivvy!). But you can listen to her MP3s by clicking here. (My recommended pick: “In Vein”)

And who is Shivery’s Valentine’s Day dream date? “Probably Aidan Quinn circa 'Desperately Seeking Susan,' and it would involve an old-school Sam Raimi double feature and a bar with good vodka and a great house band.”

I asked some other folks who have previously been mentioned in this column to tell me about their Valentine’s Day fantasies. Here’s what they had to say:

Jenn Lindsay: “Dude, I'm torn between Clea Duvall and Parker Posey...we could get our indie film faces on and be misfits and snobs all night long. On second thought, why do I have to choose between these girls? Parker could bring the long walk, Clea can bring the candlelight, and I'll bring the acid tabs so that the fact that I'm dating Parker Posey and Clea Duvall at once won't seem nearly as surreal as the fact that, you know, the Empire State Building is melting, or whatever.” Jenn has a West Coast tour planned for March and April, with stops in Seattle, Portland, Eugene, and MANY California locations. Visit her website for more information.

From the irreparably warped mind of Sean Altman: “I'd spend Valentine's Day in a slippery, bipartisan menage-a-cinq with the Bush twins and the Gore girls. Filibuster all night long....”

Deni Bonet: “I would have to say that if I was going to spend Valentine's Day with a celebrity, it would have to be Neil Finn. His voice makes me weak in the knees! I CRIED several times seeing him live! (Got to talk to him for a few minutes after his show last week, and I felt like I was 15 again! I invited him and his brother onto my TV show next time they are in town! He didn't say no!) I could go on and on about Mr. Finn. I'm not physically into him, I'm just in love with his vocal cords!” Deni’s cable access show, “Duets With Deni” is now airing in Brooklyn and Queens as well as Manhattan. Check her website for days and times. If you live outside the NYC area, you can watch on the web at www.mnn.org on Sunday nights at 10pm Eastern Time. (Click on Channel 56.)

As for my Valentine’s Day date? I’d pick George Clooney. As for what we’d do on that date, well…let’s just say that it would involve mass quantities of Hershey’s chocolate syrup!

Warning: this next segment has absolutely nothing to do with music. But hey, it’s my column, and I’ll do what I like with it. So nyaah!

My interest in George Clooney is a relatively recent development. I’ve never seen a single one of his movies (I rarely go to movies at all) and while I watched “ER” from time to time (and still do), I’ve never been a die-hard fan of the show. It all started a few months ago when I happened to catch him on one of the late-night talk shows and he was REALLY funny. So then the next time I was online I Googled him just for the heck of it.

One of the MANY websites that came up was a very comprehensive fan site that had, among other things, an archive of letters and articles he’d written and statements he’d made in order to stand up for something he believed in. As I read his words I was stunned by how incredibly well-written they were. I may be the last heterosexual female on the planet to have discovered this, but this is not just another pretty face, folks. He is clearly a very intelligent and articulate human being.

What absolutely blew me away, however, was the press statement he made following the death of Princess Diana. For those who don’t remember, he was waging a battle against some tabloid photographers at the time of her accident. Because of the role that the paparazzi played in her death, he was repeatedly asked by members of the media to comment on the matter. Although he initially refrained from commenting because he felt that the tragedy had nothing to do with him, he ultimately relented—and delivered a scathing statement that slammed the slimy pseudo-journalists for the sleazy scumbags they are.

So for taking the tabloid trash to task, George Clooney is my new hero. And I would strongly encourage you to check out the website and the archive I talked about. Even if you’re not a big fan (and hey, I wasn’t either until I looked at the site), the site is extremely well designed. While you’re there, drop Katie the webmaster an email and let her know how much you like her handiwork!

Someday when I’m wealthy (or at least not teetering on the brink of absolute poverty) I’m going to buy a DVD player and then I’m going to buy every single one of his films. (Yes, even “Batman”! Hell, I’ll even get “Return of the Killer Tomatoes” and “The Harvest”!) Not that he needs my financial support—it’s the principle of the thing. And if by some miracle the man himself is reading this--

You are brilliant. Or as we say in New York—you’re f—kin’ brilliant, pal!

That’s it for now. I’ve got to go work on making my genitalia more ambidextrous. (It’s going to be tough—I don’t even know what muscle to flex!) Till next month…

If you have a suggestion for a column or would like to be considered as a columnist yourself, feel free to write to me at .


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