Music
Press
July 11, 2008
Section: Pelican
Page: 8, 9
Nashville Songwriter Returns to Perdido
Brian Kelly
If you ask Nashville singer/songwriter Buzz Kiefer where's he calls his birthplace, he might respond like this: "I was born in a place I never lived and raised all over the South. I've lived in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and other southern states."
Not exactly a concrete answer one can wrap their mind around.
No matter where this songwriter claims the place of his formative years, for the last eight, he's called Nashville and, at times, Perdido Key home - and this weekend, the veteran Frank Brown International Songwriter's Festival will make appearances at two venues along Perdido Key.
Though no region can be pinned to Kiefer's early influences, like many byproducts of the 1970's, the aspiring songwriter was influenced by the F.M. sound of that era, plus a few not-so-typical teachers.
"My early musical influences were a nanny that sang the blues, my evil brother David, Pink Floyd, Nancy Sinatra, and a South Carolina blues man I only ever knew as Black Mike," Kiefer said. "I tried to play guitar at the age of seven but I had a crappy guitar which wasn't tunable or playable. At fifteen a friend of mine gave me a long-term loan on a sweet little Hohner acoustic and taught me how to play a couple of chords. Then I met Black Mike and did a little apprenticeship in the down and dirty blues."
Not long after that, Keifer moved to Nashville. There, he played the usual gigs, recorded a CD with his former band, Crimson Moon, and visited the Panhandle each November for Frank Brown and making a name for himself along the way. These days, Kiefer is a seasoned musician with a number of recordings under his belt. He's also shared the stage with some of the biggest names in country.
Moving to Perdido Key will be a change for Kiefer, after living in arguably one of the most competitive musical environments in the world (and after living in his Cadillac for a brief period).
"I like to say that Nashville won't let their songwriters starve. If you are a songwriter in Nashville and you go hungry, chances are, you're no good. You can get publishing deals and record deals and deals with the Devil and deals with the Gods, but in the end you're on your own."
Buzz Kiefer's relocation to Perdido Key is a loss for Nashville, but a gain for us. The talent pool just got a little deeper - and Buzz Kiefer can't wait to get going on what he does best - entertaining a crowd.
"I like to have a lot of fun at my shows and many of my songs make people laugh. Some of them make girls blush (in a good way). Some of them have even been known to offend people. They all come from a place of wanting everybody to be moved to a deeper understanding of life, love, and the greater universe."
Buzz Kiefer will perform at Hub Stacey's on the Point at 6 p.m., Saturday, June 12 and Fisherman's Corner at 7 p.m. Friday, July 11 at 7 p.m.
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Buzz Kiefer
An American Gypsy
"Fantastic songs. Very professional" ~ Merle Kilgore, country music legend
"Buzz is having too much fun" ~ Jason Wilburn, President, Sure Fire Publishing
Alternately hilarious and heartbreakingand and equally comfortable with audiences of one or thousands, Buzz Kiefer has played venues as diverse as high-society fundamentalist churches and clothing-optional pagan festivals, sleazy biker bars and black-tie restaurants, amphitheaters and street corners, house-concerts and art galleries. The result is always the same - a moment in time that transcends ordinary perception. Kiefer can quiet a noisy crowd with a whisper of melody and never fails to win over any audience. His rapport with listeners is showy but natural, goofy and suave, confident yet vulnerable.
"It's a cross between a trance, a dance and a conversation," Kiefer says of his performance style, "Dark secrets and embarrassing truths are my stock in trade. I thrive on intimacy whether it be a one on one conversation with a friend or lover, or getting it on with ten thousand people at a show".
Born into a family of musicians, mystics and rednecks, Buzz Kiefer grew up living and traveling all over the southern United States. His father was a hypnotist, mortician and singer. His mother, a psychic, astrologer and pianist. Kiefer and his three brothers all played music and sang. Kiefer began composing songs at the age of seven and branched out on his own at age fifteen, hitch-hiking and train-hopping across the United States from coast to coast and border to border charming audiences with his precocious wit and highly original musical style.
His earliest influences were southern gospel, and Tchaikovsky. Primarily self-taught, he also apprenticed with South Carolina blues master, Black Mike and underground folk-rocker, Bill Thorne. Later he continued his studies at the University of Tennessee and was mentored in music composition and creative writing by classical composer John Anthony Lennon and poets Art Smith and Frank Robinson. These broad studies of word, melody and life have forged a style that is unmistakable and undeniably original.
"Growing a garden taught me as much about songwriting as any of my formal studies", says Kiefer, "The patience, attention and timing of caring for a growing thing that you're gonna eat is much the same as creating music. That 'Eureka!' moment when the seed first bursts through the soil, to the waiting, weeding and watering as the plants grow to lean under the weight of their ripening fruit."
This passion for life and the euphoria of inspiration and craft transfer to his audience and lingers, permanently in the hearts of listeners. This intimacy permeates every song Buzz Kiefer sings as he continues to carve out his unique place in the history of music.
"I have walked through the heart of this country and I dwell in the hearts of her people. The vastness of our deserts and mountain ranges are equaled by the generosity of love and laughter that people share when I do my thang. I want to return that love and laughter by facilitating the dreams and good hopes of everyone on the planet. That is why I am an American gypsy."
Sync or Swym Management
Darby Jones
Booking & Promotions Manager
615.484.0877
darbyjones@gmail.com
Contact Buzz: buzzkiefer@gmail.com
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