Buck Dewey Big Band
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Buck Dewey Big Band

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"The Washington Post"

"...the quintets' high-spirited brand of turn-of-the-century vaudeville in which the spirits of Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway and Spike Jones are apt to commune with those of Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Frank Zappa."<BR><BR>-- Mike Joyce, Washington Post, - Mike Joyce


"CMJ New Music Report Issue: 619"

"The Buck Dewey Big Band's freewheeling amalgam of jazz, blues, funk, rap and other genres keeps the group a few steps ahead of those trying to label the band with a 'neo swing' tag."

-- Steve Ciabattoni, CMJ New Music Report, Issue: 619 - May 24, 1999
- Steve Ciabattoni


"Boston Phoenix"

"...it was the Buck Dewey Big Band that grabbed my ear in a live show at the Lizard Lounge. The Buck Deweys were a six-piece that night, if I recall (a quintet on their Fruitpunch release Friday Night Chicken Waltz), but the sound was plenty big. They delivered a bunch of originals, including jump blues and swing, but also made natural leaps to ska and rock and roll, and even a raucous old country oompah beer hall song that had a singing-from-the-tabletops mania. They can play a big arsenal of instruments with aplomb, but that tabletop insanity is never far away."

-- Jon Garelick, Associate Arts Editor, Boston Phoenix, from the 1999 Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll - new acts to watch category
- Jon Garelick


"MP3boston.com"

The Buck Dewey Big Band's name says it all. Almost. No, there's not anyone named 'Buck Dewey' in the band, and technically a 5-member band isn't very big, but you get the point. What separates the Bucks from other post 'Swingers'-swing bands is their ability to cross genres and play several distinct styles. At one moment you'll get a Squirrel Nut Zippers-esque rag-time ditty, then, a stomping revivalist-cum-calliope tune ala Tom Waits. The track featured on MP3.Boston.com is 'Rasta Mog', a tongue-in-cheek reggae tilt. This is not your grandfather's big band. These guys have fun and don't like sticking to one genre or instrument. The five members of the Buck Dewey Big Band all serve the song's individual needs by playing whatever implement is available; guitars, trombones, flutes, keyboards, and various means of percussion. Each Buck also takes a turn showing off his golden throats at the microphone. The melting-pot formula, which has been known to make bands sound schizophrenic and disjointed, works well here. Surpassing expectations and the ability to morph their sound across genres with a devil-may-care attitude will draw you in. The last aspect of the band that really stands out is it's live energy, which comes across even recorded. Each track, as 'Rasta Mog' demonstrates, exudes charm, humor and the promise of a good time.

--1999 In The Spotlight at MP3boston.com
- In the Spotlight


Discography

2001---War Bonnet Love Sonnet---

1. Atomic War

2. Fickle Mighty Possum

3. Heart Against Yours

4. Turpentine

5. Moonlight

6. A Foreign Affair(We Got The Bombs)

7. Mystery Jerk

8. Several Injuries, No Deaths

9. Exile

10. Jesus

11. Hale Bop

12. Grease Trap

13. The Speckled Trout Inn

1998---Friday Night Chicken Waltz---

This album charted in the top 20 on college radio in 20 states on the east coast in 1999.

1. Central Square

2. Innocent Kind

3. Baby Baby

4. Seabreeze

5. Rasta Mog

6. River Road

7. Tijuana

8. Walk the World

9. Happy Froggy

10. Now That Yr

11. Dasies

12. Cowfull

Photos

Bio

The Buck Dewey Big Band formed in 1997 around the strange blues and hip hop album, 'I Am the Spider', by Jimmy Fox. It features Chris Barrett on trumpet and keys, and Matt Myers on drums and vocals. The curious Bulgarian double-bass man, Plamen Jetchev, and singing bone-man Rob O'Dwyer jumped on board to complete this team of devil-may-care- genre-blending pioneers.

A synergy occurred that pulled the works of Myers' own 4 song EP the 'Buck Dewey Song Book' into the set, and started a frenzy of songwriting collaboration that spawned both the debut album, 'Friday Night Chicken Waltz ' and the latest release 'War Bonnet Love Sonnet '.

Friday Night Chicken Waltz ' was released in July of 1998 and received national recognition on college radio charting in the Top 20 in most of the eastern States. The album was also A&R pick of the week at CMJ, garnered band of the day on Rolling Stone.com, and received international attention as most down loaded on FranceMP3.com. Steve Morse of the Boston Globe lauded the bands' sound as 'Salvation Army music on acid', and the band was invited to interpret the theme song for ESPN2's Winter X Games in Colorado in 1999.

After an East Coast tour in support of 'Chicken Waltz ' the Buck Dewey Big Band returned to Boston to open a WFNX show with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Avalon. Work also began on the follow-up album at Sound Station 7 in Providence.

The 'War Bonnet' release took place in November, 2001 at the Middle East Downstairs. It featured Boston Music Award Winners, Seks Bomba, and a special appearance by Patti Smith. The 'War Bonnet Tour' pushed as far west as Cincinnatti, and as far south as Atlanta. The club dates were promoted in part by the Buck Dewey tradition of busking city streets and student unions along the way.

'War Bonnet Love Sonnet ' marks a milestone on the journey of musical exploration for the band. Synthesizing a broad array of influences into an aural parade, this album celebrates both unity and diversity as it propels the Buck Dewey Big Band on their quest for international success.