Buzz Zeemer Live from CBGB's [1996]

Buzz Zeemer Live from CBGB's in 1996. I Didn't Know is included on Buzz Zeemer's Lost and Found (Deluxe Edition) on MSM Records.

Let Them Eat Rock - Live with Buzz Zeemer

While working on my master’s thesis in 2012, I spent a lot of time trying to track down the live version of Buzz Zeemer performing The Upper Crust’s “Let Them Eat Rock.” 

It’s a rare find from April 4, 1997–with Tommy Conwell on vocals at Upstairs at Nicks. PHILLY, USA! 🎸🤩🎶 Thanks to Buzz Zeemer for rolling this tune out at Ardmore Music Hall on March 29.

 

AUDIO LINK from the 1997 concert ➡️ https://soundcloud.com/audio.../let-them-eat-rock-live-buzz

Buzz Zeemer, Lost and Found, Philadelphia Inquirer Article - March 29, 2024

 ENTERTAINMENT | MUSIC

The pandemic made a Philly power-pop band go digging for its old songs. Today, it’s playing its first shows in 17 years.

'Lost and Found' by Buzz Zeemer is an unearthed gem from the 1990s. The group, fronted by Frank Brown and featuring Tommy Conwell, plays two shows at Ardmore Music Hall tonight.

Buzz Zeemer, the Philly power-pop band, is led by singer Frank Brown (left) and guitarist Tommy Conwell, seen rehearsing here in Manayunk on Monday, March 25, 2024.
Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer

by Dan DeLuca

Published Mar. 29, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET

High on the short list of Philadelphia bands that coulda, woulda, and shoulda made it big in the 1990s is Buzz Zeemer.

The power-pop outfit fronted by songwriting savant Frank Brown and local guitar hero Tommy Conwell grew out of Brown’s previous band, Flight of Mavis, which, like Buzz Zeemer, featured drummer Ken Buono and bass player Dave McElroy.

Buzz Zeemer packed Philly clubs like Upstairs at Nick’s and J.C. Dobbs, played CBGBs in New York, and traveled twice to the SXSW festival. Two stellar albums — Play Thing in 1996, and Delusions of Grandeur two years later — were released on Philly’s Record Cellar label before the group split.

Since then, the band — named after a neighbor of Brown’s in Horsham who frequently operated a chainsaw — has played just one gig, a reunion at the Grape Room in 2007.

Last September, a newly unearthed album of the band’s previously unreleased material was released. Called Lost and Found, its 14 tunes are so good that it’s puzzling why they stayed in the vault so long.

On Friday, a deluxe streaming version with five bonus tracks will be launched by the band’s manager and ardent supporter Pat Feeney, who owns Main Street Music in Manayunk.

The band will celebrate with two shows at Ardmore Music Hall on Friday. First, the quartet will do a Free at Noon broadcast on WXPN-FM (88.5), followed by a full-on performance with the Tisburys opening. The evening show will be streamed on live music platform Nugs.net.

This week, The Inquirer spoke to Brown and Conwell, their guitars at their side — a Les Paul and Fender Telecaster, respectively — at the Manayunk rehearsal space where, along with Buono and McElroy, the band has been working up nearly three dozen sparkling 3-minute pop songs from Brown’s Buzz Zeemer songbook.

Philly power-pop band Buzz Zeemer in the 1990s. Left to right, Ken Buono, Tommy Conwell, Frank Brown, and Dave McElroy. The reunited band's new album of unreleased material is "Lost and Found." The quartet will play a Free at Noon concert at Ardmore Music Hall on Friday, March 29, that will be broadcast on WXPN-FM (88.5) and then again that night at the same venue.

Back in the 1980s, Brown, 59, remembers hearing Tommy Conwell & the Young Rumblers’ “I’m Not Your Man” on WMMR-FM (93.3) while driving to high school when Conwell, the Hooters, and Robert Hazard and the Heroes were Philadelphia’s great rock and roll hopes.

In 1988, Flight of Mavis opened for the Young Rumblers at the Chestnut Cabaret. “They made an impression,” says Conwell, 62, who had a two-album run on Columbia Records that came to an end with Guitar Trouble in 1990.

“I was sitting in my kitchen, and my manager called and said ‘Tom, we got dropped,’ Conwell, who grew up in Bala Cynwyd, recalls. “And I cried.’”

Putting rock star aspirations behind him, Conwell got a degree from Chestnut Hill College and taught third grade for five years while playing locally with his Blues-based combo Tommy Conwell & the Little Kings.

By the time Conwell started playing with Brown, Buono, and McElroy in 1995, the trio who grew up together in Horsham had also been through the music industry wringer.

The album cover to Buzz Zeemer's "Lost and Found." The Philly power-pop band plays a Free at Noon show at Ardmore Music Hall on Friday and a second show that evening at the same venue. MSM Records.

Flight of Mavis first caught Feeney’s attention when he was working at Neil Drucker’s Record Cellar store in Northeast Philly.

The teenage trio gave him a tape, and “I couldn’t get the songs out of my head,” he says. It brought to mind Marshall Crenshaw, as well as Brown’s heroes, Nick Lowe and Terry Adams of NRBQ.

Flight of Mavis’ debut came out in 1989, and the band flirted with big-time success, touring steadily and opening for Sinead O’Connor on a run of dates that year. By the early 1990s, the band was without a deal and frustrated.

“I was tired of it,” Brown says. The band called it quits, but Brown kept writing songs “and they kept getting better,” says Feeney. “More mature.”

“I know it seem ridiculous,” Brown says, “to have two different bands with the same three people in them.” But Brown, Buono, and McElroy started recording new material with producer Adam “Red” Lasus at his Queen Village studio, this time as Buzz Zeemer. When Conwell heard a demo tape, he was blown away. “This is out of character for me, but I said to Ken, ‘This is amazing music. If you ever need a guitar player, give me a call.’”

Before long, they did. Their fourth member, guitarist Kevin Karg, couldn’t make a gig at the Grape, and Conwell stepped in, injecting the indie band with wildcat rock star energy. “I was having a ball,” he says. When Conwell formally joined the band, the band started fresh with Play Thing and left the older tracks behind.

Many Lost and Found songs feature Conwell, like the jangly earworm “Shelly Don’t Mind,” that XPN has been playing regularly. Others feature guitarists like Karg, Kevin Salem, and Philadelphia players such as Andrew Chalfen and Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner.

Buzz Zeemer flirted with wider success. They “knocked me out the first time I laid ears on them,” Peter Jesperson, cofounder of the Twin Tone label who discovered the Replacements, recalls on the Lost and Found notes. “This is classic power pop!”

But no label deal materialized, and the band — now older, starting families, and no longer committed to relentlessly touring — split up.

Meanwhile, Feeney kept listening to the songs that would become Lost and Found. “I always loved it. I always wanted to put it out.”

Buzz Zeemer, the Philly power-pop band, is back performing together. It's led by
singer Frank Brown (left) and guitarist Tommy Conwell.
Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer

Brown and Conwell both stayed active in music. Brown lives in Havertown, teaches fourth grade math in Upper Darby, and fronts Travel Lanes, which released Let’s Begin to Start Again in 2015 and On in 2020.

Conwell, who lives in Oreland, works for his brother-in-law’s company, the Fence Guys. He reassembled the Young Rumblers for 2019′s Showboats & Grandstanders and is headlining the Wayne Music Festival with them on June 8.

During the pandemic, Brown started digitizing old cassettes. He found a rough mix of a song called “C’mon If You Can” to be “just blazing.”

He sent it to Feeney, and the two started digging for songs, turning up 22 that hadn’t been released. “The whole thing has been a labor of love,” says Feeney.

It’s been a challenge pulling a show together with Buono living in Nashville and McElroy in Virginia. But for Buzz Zeemer to get back together, Flight of Mavis needed to reunite first.

So in June of last year, Brown, Buono, and McElroy played a Flight of Mavis date at Wayne’s 118 North. “I hadn’t played with those guys in forever,” said Brown. “So that was really the first step.”

The show sold out the 180-capacity room, gathering old fans to sing along, and pointing ahead for Friday’s show at Ardmore, a venue three times the size.

Conwell is “really excited” to be back on stage with the band. “Buzz Zeemer is some of the best music I’ve ever played. There’s craftsmanship to Frank’s songs. But a lot of art there, too.”

Going forward, one gig a year sounds good, he thinks. “I don’t see why we couldn’t do it again.”

But first things first, says Brown. “This is a big deal. We’ll see if we can pull it off.”

“It won’t be flawless,” says Conwell, with a laugh. “But it will be fun. The spirit will live.”

-------------------------------------------

Dan DeLuca
I cover pop music, from what's happening in the local scene to national trends and touring acts.

Buzz Zeemer - The Red Sessions

Somewhere in the early 2010's, I picked up some Buzz Zeemer "demo" tracks online that were ID'd as "The Red Sessions" or "The Red Days." What I didn't know was that these tracks--Easy Does It, All Better Said, What I've Got--were recorded at Adam Lasus' Studio Red in the 1990s. You can see Studio Red on the inner sleeve of Buzz Zeemer's "Lost and Found" vinyl. If you still haven't heard any of these tracks, check it out soon! 
Meanwhile, one of my goals is to walk down a city street, turn a corner and BOOM! There's my favorite band just performing on the sidewalk! And listen to that TC solo! 🎶🤩🎸 

Buzz Zeemer - 2023

 

Buzz Zeemer - Record Cellar 1999

Promo pic of Buzz Zeemer (left to right: Tommy Conwell, Gordon Townshend, Frank Brown and Dave McElroy) for the Record Cellar label, 1999. Photo credit: Eric Hartline.

103.9-FM WDRE Modern Rock DREgional: Buzz Zeemer

From the liner notes of "103.9-FM WDRE Modern Rock DREgional: Volume 1"-- a compilation of Philadelphia-area bands released by now-defunct modern rock station WDRE in 1996.

Buzz Zeemer – I Live Next Door

          With guitars at turns jangly or biting, hummable melodies, and killer songs, Buzz Zeemer live in a world somewhere between Matthew Sweet and a younger, tighter version of NRBQ.
          The band is led by Frank Brown on vocals and guitar, with Philly legend (and really nice guy) Tommy Conwell on guitar and vocals, Dave McElroy on bass and Ken Buono on drums.
          After kicking around town for the past couple of years, they released Play Thing, and from the songwriting and playing to the production and even the artwork, this is one of the best local discs to come down the pike. In fact, the release party in March ’96 was like a who’s who in the Philly scene, and with fans like Inquirer music critics Dan DeLuca and Tom Moon, the City Paper’s a.d. amorosi, WXPN’s Bruce Warren, and DRE’s own Rumour Boy, the future looks up for Buzz.
          Voted most likely to get a record deal in 1996, we’d love to help make it happen for one of Philly’s best – Buzz Zeemer!

Travel Lanes' bass player Mitch Cojocariu on Buzz Zeemer

Travel Lanes' bass player Mitch Cojocariu adds some words about #BuzzZeemer20.

Matt Maguire - #BuzzZeemer20

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Matt Maguire with some words on #BuzzZeemer20.

An EP from Maguire's project, Larabee, was produced by Ken Buono, Buzz Zeemer drummer and a veteran of the Philly scene; Buono also played drums with Flight Of Mavis and for his own band, The Tell-Alls. 

Buzz Zeemer - In Reviews

A snapshot of Buzz Zeemer…in reviews. 

(Various Buzz Zeemer critic reviews -- Plaything in 1996 and Delusions of Grandeur in 1998 -- compiled by Audio Rumble from the now defunct Record Cellar website.) ‪

Buzz Zeemer Billboard Magazine mention - October 1995

"…melodic pop-rock band Buzz Zeemer…has stepped up to the most-unjustly unsigned level since adding Tommy Conwell on lead guitar."

- Billboard Magazine, Indie Labels Discover Freedom in Philly – 10/28/1995

Onstage at the Theatre of the Living Arts: Buzz Zeemer

In 1996, PRISM, a now-defunct cable television channel in Philadelphia, aired a concert special -- PRISM and The Art Institute of Philadelphia Present ‘Onstage at the TLA: Buzz Zeemer.’ 

Included with concert footage of Buzz Zeemer at Theatre of the Living Arts were thirteen songs, interspersed with interviews of the band: Frank Brown, Tommy Conwell, Dave McElroy and Ken Buono.

*Complete concert*

Setlist: 

• Sometimes 
• Break My Heart
• I Live Next Door 
• Everything You Should 
• Downed 
• She Don’t Care 
• Chosen One 
• Red Balloon 
• Don’t Pull Away 
• Crush 
• Lost and Found 
• Goin’ Home 
• Through It All 

Everybody’s got a favorite band that they think nobody knows about...

A 2007 Buzz Zeemer piece from the blog, Teenage Kicks:

"Everybody’s got a favorite band that they think nobody knows about. Mine is Buzz Zeemer (nee Flight of Mavis). If you live in the Philadelphia area, shame on you if you don’t know these guys. They recorded the jangle power pop gems Delusions of Grandeur (1999) and the near perfect Play Thing (1996) and if you’ve got room in your heart for Cheap Trick, the Replacements, NRBQ, Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, Big Star, The Clash and The Beach Boys, then head right to cdbaby and buy Play Thing. 

It's uber-melodic, heart-on-your-sleeve, poptastic songwriting with Frank Brown's slightly melancholic yet pitch perfect vocals evoking a love child of Elvis Costello and Lucinda Williams.

Yeah... it's that good."

L to R: Tommy Conwell, Ken Buono, Frank Brown, Dave McElroy

Buzz Zeemer on Walnut Street - 1996

Buzz Zeemer plays on Walnut St.- Philly-1996. Tommy Conwell, Ken Buono, Frank Brown, Dave McElroy.(Image from Buzz Zeemer's MySpace page.)

Buzz Zeemer PRISM Interview - 1996

To quote Tommy Conwell -- "Frank (Brown) is a great songwriter..." ‪

Buzz Zeemer's lead singer and songwriter, Frank Brown, talks about the "three-minute, thirty-second" pop song and how it fits into the band's mold. 

Interview on PRISM with Tommy Conwell, Ken Buono and Dave McElroy in 1996. 

I Live Next Door

“I live next door to Buzz Zeemer!”

This video performance showcases an early version of Frank Brown’s Buzz Zeemer featuring Kevin Salem (Dumptruck) on lead guitar. With Dave McElroy on bass and Ken Buono on drums.



A different version of the recording for the song "I Live Next Door" was later officially released on Play Thing in 2006.

Delusions of Grandeur - Buzz Zeemer [1999 Review]

 

Article below is a reprint posted on The OGC Reviews by Jeff Gemmill in 1999. Re-posted to this link in 2021. 

 

I was a chess-club geek, a freak, an outsider forever looking in and at the cliques that ruled my high school, not so much fascinated with them but, instead, disdainful and distrustful. In my eyes, those "cool" kids were simpletons, too concerned with keeping up appearances than keeping up their grades. And while they traded in phone numbers, dates and dances, I traded in books, stories, scripts and, most of all, dreams. See, Frank was going to be a rock star and me, me I was gonna learn to fly; he took off for the spotlight -- me, I took off for the sky. In other words: During our teen years, Frank Brown and I knew each other. I use "knew" in its loosest sense, though. If we had a conversation beyond 9th grade, it was one born of necessity, not want. On both our parts, I hasten to add. We ran in different circles, dreamed different dreams. 

I say that so folks know I'm not pushing a "friend" here. Fact is, after we graduated in 1983, I didn't think of him for a good seven or eight years. 

Then, in 1990 or 1991, I saw Frank -- fronting Flight of Mavis -- open for legendary rock eccentric Alex Chilton at Philadelphia's Chestnut Cabaret. Brown and band achieved something few opening acts in Philly succeed at: They captured the audience's attention and affection, whipping out tasty concoctions that served up equal parts feedback and catchy melodies. Small wonder, then, to discover their influences. "We loved NRBQ," recalls Brown. "If anyone was my mentor, it was Terry Adams. He opened everything up!" Other influences consisted of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Ramones and Nirvana. I saw 'em a few other times in the years that followed, the highlight--for me, at least--being WXPN's annual Singer-Songwriter Weekend.

Why? They didn't just perform Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"; they made it their own. Yet, as confident as Flight of Mavis was on stage, their lone studio recording, 1991's six-song Spools, is tentative at best, the arrangements stilted and sparse and a tad too reminiscent of R.E.M. Not bad, in other words, but not great, either. So, no, I didn't approach Frank. What would I have said? "Hey, you're great live, but. . ." Puh-leez. If I was him, I'd have slapped me upside the head.

 

Flash forward to the present: Flight of Mavis has metamorphosed into Buzz Zeemer and, aided by local legend Tommy Conwell, have become one of the area's premiere purveyors of power pop. "Tom was a fan of Flight of Mavis. He offered his services at a time when we needed a guitarist for a gig. It worked out so well, he wound up sticking around. His role is to take as much advantage of the holes I leave for his solos. . . and he does. He's the musician in the band." 

Power pop? Eh. It's a lousy term, I admit, one that does a grave disservice to Buzz Zeemer. They're so much more than that. For evidence, folks need look no further than their 1996 release Play Thing or their last album, Delusions of Grandeur.

Released in late 1998, it's one of those rarities in today's disposable pop culture: An album that grows stronger with each listen. For example, consider the glorious, guitar-driven "Giving It All." "It's just about being a bit fed up," Frank says, allowing that it's difficult for him to enjoy his own songs. "You're always thinking about something you might have done differently." Perhaps that's true. But to these ears? With Conwell's guitar winding and whirling around Frank's impassioned, somewhat bitter vocals -- about love gone sour? Dreams derailing?--it's a damn near transcendent moment. "Would I have it any other way?" he asks, before declaring, 

"I'm just giving it all I got / If I could I'd give it all away..." 

There is no other way, of course. You give it all you got, rope-a-dope the tough moments and wait for an opening to launch a counteroffensive. "Sometimes it feels so long ago," he sings in "I Get This Feeling," a wistful song that opens with a wink at the nostalgic memories old friends invariably share. "It has a nice vibe," Frank concedes, displaying a disarming modesty. "That song sounds mature but it's probably the oldest one on there." Uh-huh. Just when you think that's it, the nostalgia transforms into a bittersweet paean to a former flame: 

"I get this feeling when I hear your name/and after all this time I don't know why" 

In print, I suppose, the lyrics seem somewhat plain, but Frank's aching vocals (not to mention Conwell's chiming guitar) lift it, and Delusions of Grandeur as a whole, into required listening for Rock 101. In short, as I've written elsewhere about other artists, albums and songs, "you're there, wherever there is."

Let Them Eat Rock (live) - Buzz Zeemer (featuring Tommy Conwell on vocals)

Featuring Tommy Conwell on vocals, Buzz Zeemer performs a cover version of The Upper Crust's "Let Them Eat Rock."

Upstairs at Nicks - PHILLY, USA

April 4, 1997

Frank Brown-Vocals,Guitar;

Tommy Conwell-Guitar, Vocals;

Dave McElroy-Bass;

Ken Buono-Drums

Don't Hang Up - Buzz Zeemer

DJ Caterina's favorite Buzz Zeemer song from Play Thing is "Don't Hang Up." The song is not featured in the band's 1996 PRISM performance, recorded live at Philly's Theatre of the Living Arts. 

To correct this rock 'n' roll wrong, DJ Caterina has created a video mash-up of Buzz Zeemer's TLA performance clips--with audio of "Don't Hang Up."