By Sami Martasian
BUFU Records has been one of the most influential forces in the Boston music community in the past few years, but we can’t keep these guys all to ourselves. BUFU Records is moving and shaking all over the map. January 2nd will be the start of an unmissable festival starring some of our Boston favorites, all together in Florida…that’s right BUFU Fest is coming to Miami. We took a break from searching for cheap Florida plane tickets to ask Ben Katzman, Chris Collins, and Greg Alvarez about BUFU Fest Miami.
AP: Starting with Ben: what kind of relationship do you specifically have with the Miami music community?
BK: Well, I grew up in Miami. My old thrash band Acidosis used to play a lot of shows and book a lot of touring bands in the city. I was like 15 or 16 when Acidosis started. I’ve always managed to keep in touch with a lot of my favorite homies in Miami. When I started BUFU Records in Boston, I always wanted to try and help push some of my favorite Miami bands. Now with BUFU Fest, we get to bring down some of my favorite musicians ever like Colleen Green, alongside some BUFU bands like Free Pizza, and The Jellyfish Brothers, and other Miami favorites. Also God’s Dog’s featuring members of Guerilla Toss and Cave Bears will be shredding the southern panhandle. Woowee!
(The Jellyfish Brothers)
AP: What else is happening in Miami/the Miami Music scene right now?
BK: Miami seems to have been poppin’ off recently! There are so many awesome bands to see, labels to check out, and places 2 chill! There have been multiple sick DIY festivals and events in the last couple months such as the Audio Junkie Art Basel Distraction, and 305 fest! Both of those brought some of the illest bands from all over to Miami.
Idle Hands is a sick booking crew who have been booking some of the best shows ever. They bring all the illest classic bands through town. They have booked
D.R.I.,
Negative Approach,
Toxic Holocaust and so many others. Greg and Audio Junkie have been booking sick touring bands like
Whitegold, and
Mannequin Pussy. On top of all that, there are so many sick crews and labels pushing bands. Shout out to
No Work Records,
Jolt Radio,
Blood Oath Slumber Party, and
Cheap Miami to name a few for pushing sick bands like
Nunhex, Juju Pie, and Pariah. Also extra special shout out to Bogdan at No Work Records for being a true Miami bad boi.
GA: There is a sense of community and DIY attitude thats has been feeding new bands and new attitudes toward our scene . A sense of real family and community has developed and Miami is about to flourish.
AP: Do you think BUFU Fest will ever come to any other cities outside of Boston and Miami?
CC: Definitely! Miami is our spiritual home, and Boston is our current home base, so it makes sense to throw fests there first – but no way we’ll stop there. Who knows where the future will take us, but we plan on bringing the BUFU spirit all across the states and beyond.
GA: HELL YEAH – LETS DO IT IN PHILLY BEN !
BK: I’m going to go ahead and say BUFU Fest 4 is going to happen on a cruise.
AP: For Boston listeners interested in getting into the Miami-based bands on the bill, where’s a good place to start? Do you think we’ll get to see some of those musicians in our neck of the woods any time soon?
BK: A good place to start would be the
BUFU Fest Miami Comp that we are co-releasing with Blood Oath Slumber Party. It’s going to feature some of the BUFU bands like The Jellyfish Brothers, and Free Pizza as well as other Miami bands who are playing the fest like the Gun Hoes, Couples Counseling, Plastic Pinks, Nunhex and more! Shoutout to Urp Durp for the ill art work.
AP: For those of us who can’t make it down to Florida: are there any albums or videos from the artists playing that you suggest we check out from home to join in the fun?
BK: I’d recommend checking out Audio Junkie on youtube. They have a bunch of ill videos and interviews with some Miami bands from over the last couple of years!
GA: This Jellyfish Brothers music video, Plastic Pinks, Pariuh, Juju Pie
AP: What else is on the horizon for BUFU this upcoming year?
CC: In a word: LOTS. We got a ton of ssik new releases for 2015, including new tapes from
The Lentils, Sam Gas Can, Ben Katzman’s Degreaser and a couple a co-releases with west coast buds
GNAR TAPES, plus a bunch of stuff we can’t even mention yet. Add to that another Boston BUFU Fest in the spring, a bunch of other sweet shows, yummy snacks, and – oh yeah – Katzman might even graduate from music school (whoopie!). BUFU Records is hitting the ground running in 2015 – why? cuz we’ve reached the point of no return bb! #inittowinit #2015 #vanhalen #unchained
GA: taking over the world and shredding
