Vue guitarist Jonah Buffa won’t hesitate to tell you that his band’s success has been totally impulsive, when he exclaims, “who let us in the backdoor and left the door unlocked?”
The San Francisco based five-piece Vue, has been rolling along for four years and are about to undergo a big switch. The switch that so many indie bands before them have taken: jumping from an indie to a major label, as in this case, elevating from Sub Pop to RCA. In music terms that’s going from the label that served as home for Nirvana, Sebadoh, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Mudhoney amongst many other archetypal indie rock bands to RCA; the home of Christina Aguilera and The Dave Matthews Band. Not that this is a bad thing, but for a band that prides itself on staying hip through non-commercial success, where does this leave Vue?
On leaving Subpop, Buffa reflects, “It was like leaving the family at eighteen when you are supposed to. We were at the point where we had to go on from that, they couldn’t give us what we needed. We wanted to make different kinds of records, like spend more time on it. And they really couldn’t do that, and they did as much as they could and allowed us to make two fucking amazing records and we toured so much, but they were amazing for that period.”
But where does that leave the band with its fans who will prize exclusivity over popularity? For Buffa, it’s all part of being in a rock and roll band.
If somebody is going to get mad at you for going to a major label they are going to get mad at you for no matter what you do, pretty much.”
Although from San Francisco, Vue is a far cry from the Summer of Love, psychedelic, hippie dream so often associated with bands from the city by the bay. In fact they admit they don’t even listen to that music or know what it is. So much for a New Years Eve gig at the Fillmore. Vue has gained a large following by touring outside San Francisco and becoming fan favorites in trend-setting cities like New York, London and Stockholm.
Now about Vue’s sound — they are obviously a rock and roll band. But that means comparisons to The Strokes — the epitome of today’s retro bands — are absolutely inescapable. It’s hard for Vue not to share a sentence with The Strokes, The Hives and The White Stripes.
“We’re in that little group I guess which is rad, but those are comparisons I take very literally, they are all much more of a bigger thing I think,” Buffa admits. “The music obviously between all those bands is vastly different, take those four bands, but I think their attitude is what’s important and to fit in as peers is cool to be part of it.”
The sound of Vue is a dark, stylish sound. reminiscent of the late 70’s more strut friendly acts like T Rex and “Some Girls” —era Rolling Stones, that pour with electricity and charismatic loud guitar lines. The band’s onstage energy is another act in of itself. Lead singer Rex Shelverton who brings the “lead” back to lead singer, shakes his head like a grizzly, while Buffa and bassist Jeremy Bringetto energetically move about the stage as if their shoes were lit on fire, further igniting the crowd. Although their guitar sways are not choreographed, the band clearly is tight and in the moment. The songs are short and sweet, making the most of every minute on stage, as there is no need for extended jams or lavish stage effects to supplant whatever emotional association is left behind.
 |
| View More Photos |
Vue has been together since 1999, when after a few name and lineup combinations the band lineup now includes: Shelverton, Buffa, Bringetto, keyboardist Jessica Graves and drummer Rafael Orlin. They spent the next three years touring the states in a trashed van, sleeping on stranger’s floors, borrowing money to eat and playing in any decrepit club/bar/basement that would lend them a stage. They recorded an EP for Golden Standard Laboratories, and two LPs and then a maxi single for Sup Pop.
Their latest E.P. — Babies are for Petting — is a five song prelude to their first full length debut from RCA, destined to bring the band to the higher echelons of rock and roll. “Look Out For Traffic,” the opening number on the recording stampedes with oldies meets new wave guitar spilling over Shelveton’s dynamic vocals that are part Mick Jagger flamboyancy with Iggy Pop aggression.
After steadily playing around 250 shows a year, the band has been in the studio with respected producer Nick Launay, who has worked on albums with The Talking Heads, Semisonic, Silverchair and Nick Cave. Launay is getting the most out of them and will push the band to remain tied to their past influences, while advancing their sound forward that will hopefully escape Vue being thrown into a genre that could serve as a staple of pop culture; one that so many of today’s “the” bands might be placed within. Vue has just finished mixing the new record, and is excited about the spontaneous possibilities that the studio brings. Rolling with the punches is their one day at a time. One particular new song on the album is dance-club disco and nobody in the band even knows how that occurred. By placing five people together in the studio, there are numerous directions to roam, and the results even surprised these open-minded musicians.
Although mainstream success is hiding right around the corner, Buffa is still somewhat amazed at the success he has earned, and still feels comfortable as a music fan. Even recently, Vue had the privilege of having a version of a Suicide cover they performed placed on the “Sopranos” soundtrack. This compilation recording featured songs from the legendary Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Elvis Costello. Buffa’s honest answer to this unexpected honor is— “what the hell are we doing here, we are totally at the wrong party.”
The band also got invited to play the prestigious Leeds and Reading Music Festivals, another dream come true. While backstage at Leeds, Buffa teamed up with The Hive’s lead singer Pelle Almqvist on a mission that he repeatedly announced in his playful Swedish accent — “we must find the drummer of Nirvana.”
Buffa and Almqvist finally found Dave Grohl snacking on fruit and introduced themselves. Buffa said, “hey, what’s up, we are label mates.”
Grohl responded, “yeah, that’s nice.”
Little did he know that Vue is one of the more balls to the wall rock and roll acts to share the RCA label with The Foo Fighters. Ironically they were also label mates back on Sub-Pop, but that didn’t seem to phase the drummer of a band that helped re-write rock and roll history.
With the new album coming out in August and the typical video and tour schedule to follow, Vue is optimistic that the public is ready to welcome their turbo charged rock and roll fuel with open arms. After all, people are looking for music that’s not bubble gum; music that’s real, honest, raw and has meaning.
“And loud too, ” Buffa proudly adds.
