The Buddhahood Self-Produce Album

Summer tour to support of its second album, "Muddy Roots"

Story by Eric Rushia

The problem with so-called "super groups," like The Buddhahood, is that the studio albums they produce, well, to put it bluntly, suck. The musicians have either never played together before or are a tight-show band, and sometimes they end up stepping on one another’s toes. When you add giant egos to the mix, what you get is most likely a recipe for disaster.

The Buddhahood has managed to buck this trend with the recent release of its second studio album titled, "Muddy Roots." While "Muddy Roots" is seemingly perfect in its structure and offers a song selection that resembles today’s more mainstream dancehall-style music, expect fewer releases of this caliber in the future. Each song builds upon the previous one. The recording quality, which showcases a full band complete with horns, guitars, and drums, is monumental and projects a band at the height of its evolution. The bar has definitely been set very high by this ragtag bunch of 30-somethings, who have been playing together for over five years. "Muddy Roots," proves The Buddhahood is not only a superb live-act, but also a respectable studio band as well. Being a self-produced album, "Muddy Roots" offers laid back melodies with intense trance-like drum beats and a blazing horns section.

The Buddhahood is a mix of free-form improvisation whose influences span the musical galaxy and form conscious unity. The unity can be found in the music that encompasses audiences across the northeast to The Buddhahood’s distinct sound. The band plays a diverse array of music, rooted in jazz, funk, rock, and reggae along with traditional Brazilian samba, Caribbean, and Latin-style influences all blended in ancient harmony.

For east coast music fans, the path of Rochester-natives, The Buddhahood has been on a slow, steady trajectory from indoor clubs to small halls and outdoor festivals, to its most recent performance at Ri’Ra’s in Burlington, Vermont, on March 31.

"We still like the smaller venues and the closeness to the audience. The give-and-take and the energy we draw from them even the physical closeness among us onstage," Bellavia said. "You take all these people, throw them in a room, and a lot of great things can happen. That’s one of the unique things about The Buddhahood. Our chemistry wouldn’t work well with all bands but it suits us just fine."

From the start it is clear "Muddy Roots" will engage fans of experimental or improvisational music to get up and move around. Early on they set the tone for the rest of the album as one that seems relaxed; a confident statement of where the band so far in its early evolution. From the haunting ache of "Dirt Sleep," to the closing "On My Way Home," The Buddhahood lives vicariously through their own creative muse, and let the listener treasure the albums' contents bit by bit. The album opens with "Dirt Sleep," which can be described as a music merry-go-round, or carnival music. Other songs on the album like "Purify My Mind," or "When Are We Gonna Go?" have a slow beginning only to gradually pick up the pace in the middle, right up until what seems like an abrupt end. The steady beats of "Care," and "Shady Side of the Hill," help keep the listeners’ interest throughout the entire album.

If you have never heard of The Buddhahood, then you will most likely find there latest album, "Muddy Roots," as diverse as the band itself. Listen to the disc once from the start. No skipping. The first few tunes may need multiple listens to really catch on. Even though it is hard for The Buddhahood to recreate the atmosphere of a live-show, each track remains different in its own way. Serving as a backdrop for many of the albums songs feature a saxophone, guitar, shakers, and trumpets, all given equal weight. "Muddy Roots" certainly proves, with heartfelt lyrics and a groovy dance-feel, that it is actually possible to recreate their live sound in a studio album. In that respect, "Muddy Roots" is quite commendable, at times even enjoyable. With horns blazing, drums pounding, and guitars jamming, The Buddhahood captures the essence of its live performances in much of the album, with songs like "All Our Own," "Parachute Ride," and "Big Fish."

"The choruses of our songs are easy to remember the first time round, but not so annoying after the third or fourth time," Bellavia said. "To makes things work, we have a lot of give and take going on all the time or as a band we would fracture."

With radio-friendly tunes and lyrically driven melodies, songs like "Worry Time," and "No Mind," sandwich themselves between extended instrumentals, which showcase the band’s four-piece horn section, two steel drums, and two guitars. While "Muddy Roots" may not be that hip with the older crowd, it is a guarantee the younger generation will love it. For much of the album, The Buddhahood lays down intricate yet odd rhythm patterns that all work well with many of the band's lyrics. From the groovy "Kaya" to the more upbeat delivery of "Listen," each exemplifies these odd combinations of rhythm and lyric. The Buddhahood has figured out a way to incorporate lyrics into its standard instrumental compositions, thus avoiding the 20-minute solo instrumentals of traditional jam bands and concentrating more of their energy on appealing to the masses and not just jam fans. "Muddy Roots" certainly has a jamming quality, but in more of a musical sense. On nearly every track, The Buddhahood does its best not to compromise its fresh sound with catchy vocals. With rehearsals twice a week, along with live shows every other night, the band rarely finds time to spend in the studio.

Clearly, all members of The Buddhahood are what you would call musicians’ musicians. The nine-piece band not only manages to give each other the space to do their own thing, but they are aptly able to bring out the best playing in each other, whether in studio or on-stage. Several times throughout the album, The Buddhahood displays a unique combination of precision and speed, along with an ability to dominate a wide selection of musical styles, thus solidifying why they are one of the most entertaining bands touring today.

Drums are a fixture of The Buddhahood and figure heavily to its overall sound by keeping a steady beat. Now, the percussion serves as another component of the band as opposed to an overwhelming presence. During some live shows, everyone in the band picks up a drum of some sort and line up in front of the stage and start drumming as the horns blare. The song is known as "Enzyme." Other times they have even marched into the audience with drum or horn instrument like a New Orleans-style Mardi Gras festival.

Even with the effort of "Muddy Roots," The Buddhahood still remains a disciplined improvisational band on the fringes of pop-music popularity. Prior to the horn section four years ago, The Buddhahood was a loose collection of percussion-orientated jam music with a couple of songwriters and other various musicians that swapped in and out for the band’s first 10 years, Bellavia said.

The Buddhahood is now recording a much anticipated third studio album, which should be released late fall 2007. They are also working on releasing a live album that highlights its 2005 national tour. The Buddhahood will tour the northeast this spring headlining summer festivals like Sterling Stage Folk Festival and Mountain Jam.

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The Buddhood - "Muddy Roots"

Self-Produced

A revitalized lineup that includes Tony Cavagnaro, lead guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist; bass guitarist, Rick Whitney; a four-piece horn section that features Gabe Costanzo on trumpet, Courtney Balles on alto saxophone, Drew Bellavia on tenor sax, David Ferreira on baritone sax. Ferreira, Paul Hansen, and John Payton serve as the band's percussion, setting the backdrop for The Buddhahood's hypnotizing rhythms that are clearly one of the album's highlights.