Showing posts with label Frank Brown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Brown. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Onstage at TLA: Buzz Zeemer
Bring back the 90s! 😍 Watch the complete live 1996 performance of Buzz Zeemer at Philadelphia’s Theatre of Living Arts. Premiered July 1996 on PRISM.
Saturday, April 6, 2024
Lost and Found Record Release Party - Buzz Zeemer
Last week on Friday, March 29—two concerts in one day from a band that I found out about in 2004. When I shared my “Buzz Zeemer reunion” meme last year, I did receive a couple of “yeah, it’ll never happen”-type comments. So, I never thought I’d get to witness them live in my lifetime, but dreams do manifest themselves in the most unusual ways! 🤩
The WXPN Free at Noon was a solid performance, but I could never have imagined the transcendental event that would transpire later that evening. What Frank Brown, Tommy Conwell, Dave McElroy and Ken Buono, brought to us onstage that night didn’t happen by magic—they must have practiced for a long time and been really thoughtful about their performance to give us the kind of quality show they knew we would be expecting from them. Buzz Zeemer was the best band in America in their prime and they truly lived up to it! 🎸🎶
I went through a universe of emotions with each song as it was playing and thinking about the years I’ve spent enjoying them: Don’t Hang Up, This Town, Porch, Sometimes, Lost and Found, Crush, Don’t Pull Away, These Things, Shelly Don’t Mind—so many songs! 🥰
How awesome was it to hear the cheers of “one more song”—the audience was so loud! And seeing the younger kids in the audience flashing “heart hands” after “Through It All” in the encore—amazing!
Life can make us see our past in rosy shades and attempts to recreate moments may only muddy our memories. But the music experience with Buzz Zeemer in 2024 has left a positive impact on me--getting to meet new friends, hearing their stories and realizing how much the music means to any community willing to support their artists.
Yes. Let’s do this again next year.
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Friday, December 1, 2023
Music Dreams Do Come True!
And they said this day would never come! Tickets go on sale today for Buzz Zeemer at Ardmore Music Hall with The Tisburys. Tickets can be purchased here.
Saturday, January 22, 2022
Friday, May 4, 2018
Buzz Zeemer - Record Cellar 1999
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
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!
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!
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Buzz Zeemer No Depression article - 1999
A July/August 1999 No Depression Buzz Zeemer article written by Phil Sheridan.
Buzz Zeemer - Nothing Comes Easy
June 30, 1999
The story of Buzz Zeemer is really two stories, each straight out of the standard rock 'n' roll manual. First, there was Flight of Mavis, a three-piece band from the Replacements school of melodic, attitudinal rock. Distinguished by Frank Brown's cut-above songwriting and warm, personable singing voice, Mavis seemed in flight toward great things in the late 1980s and early '90s.
The highlight and lowlight were one and the same: a six-week tour opening for the Reivers. "We were exhausted," Brown said. "We were gone for six weeks and we each came home with $50 in our pockets. I mean, it was a great experience. It was fun. But 50 bucks?" A lot more than 50 bucks was riding on the second story, whose star was a promising rocker named Tommy Conwell. Signed to a big bonus and hyped to the hilt by Columbia Records, Conwell and his band, the Young Rumblers, were all set to be stars. Surprise, surprise: It didn't quite happen.
The stories collided in the mid-1990s. Brown broke up Mavis around the same time that Conwell got his degree in education and became the hippest second-grade teacher in North America. Eventually, the two started playing together in a new band, Buzz Zeemer (whose lineup also included other former Mavis members). Their debut disc, Plaything, came out in 1995.
Looking back, Brown can't say whether it was a mistake to break up Flight of Mavis. Any momentum they'd built up seemed to disappear with the name change, but Brown's view is that there wasn't much there to begin with. "We had momentum when the first Buzz Zeemer came out; that was like another round of attention," Brown said. "But I think you only get a certain amount. You have certain periods, and that really goes with any band."
Buzz Zeemer's new record, Delusions Of Grandeur, is a subversively brilliant pop-rock record on Philly's Record Cellar label. Brown, 34, is a master of the three-minute pop song, a quality craftsman along the lines of Jack Logan or Tommy Keene. Brown's innate gift for melody is surpassed by spare lyrics that reveal layers of meaning and emotion not apparent on first listen. "Red Balloon", from the new album, is a straightforward tale of a kid being goaded to spend more money by the barker at a midway water-gun game. But when Brown lets loose with "Nothing is free, nothing comes easy," you realize the barker is every slick A & R guy and the kid is every wide-eyed musician who ever stepped up to take a shot at the grand prize.
"I love pop songs," Brown said. "You get to a point where you invested so much time listening to rock music, it doesn't do you any good. You can't make any money from it, but you have all this worthless knowledge."
Again and again on Delusions, Brown establishes the foundation with a catchy verse and memorable chorus, and then Conwell steps up and elevates the song to another level with a virtuosic solo or two. That might sound formulaic, but the whole thing is carried off with a joy bordering on goofiness. You can't help smiling along.
"Tommy's great," Brown said. "My feelings about getting anywhere [with the band]...I mean, I don't think about it. But just the idea of playing with Tom, that's half of what keeps you going. I'd write a song and I always had this hole left for Tom. It's so hilarious to be able to write something you're happy about and then have Tommy put the icing on. Anything you imagine, he can play."
There is a definite connection between the relaxed brilliance of the tunes and the life stages of the band members. Brown has a 1-year-old son and is working on getting his degree. Conwell is teaching. The pressure is off.
"You still hope," Brown said, "but everyone has so much going on in their lives. It's so different from eight or 10 years ago. That's a whole different world. There's nothing you can do to make yourselves bigger. You can't just go, 'We're big.' Because we just can't take it seriously enough to believe it."
June 30, 1999
The story of Buzz Zeemer is really two stories, each straight out of the standard rock 'n' roll manual. First, there was Flight of Mavis, a three-piece band from the Replacements school of melodic, attitudinal rock. Distinguished by Frank Brown's cut-above songwriting and warm, personable singing voice, Mavis seemed in flight toward great things in the late 1980s and early '90s.
The highlight and lowlight were one and the same: a six-week tour opening for the Reivers. "We were exhausted," Brown said. "We were gone for six weeks and we each came home with $50 in our pockets. I mean, it was a great experience. It was fun. But 50 bucks?" A lot more than 50 bucks was riding on the second story, whose star was a promising rocker named Tommy Conwell. Signed to a big bonus and hyped to the hilt by Columbia Records, Conwell and his band, the Young Rumblers, were all set to be stars. Surprise, surprise: It didn't quite happen.
The stories collided in the mid-1990s. Brown broke up Mavis around the same time that Conwell got his degree in education and became the hippest second-grade teacher in North America. Eventually, the two started playing together in a new band, Buzz Zeemer (whose lineup also included other former Mavis members). Their debut disc, Plaything, came out in 1995.
Looking back, Brown can't say whether it was a mistake to break up Flight of Mavis. Any momentum they'd built up seemed to disappear with the name change, but Brown's view is that there wasn't much there to begin with. "We had momentum when the first Buzz Zeemer came out; that was like another round of attention," Brown said. "But I think you only get a certain amount. You have certain periods, and that really goes with any band."
Buzz Zeemer's new record, Delusions Of Grandeur, is a subversively brilliant pop-rock record on Philly's Record Cellar label. Brown, 34, is a master of the three-minute pop song, a quality craftsman along the lines of Jack Logan or Tommy Keene. Brown's innate gift for melody is surpassed by spare lyrics that reveal layers of meaning and emotion not apparent on first listen. "Red Balloon", from the new album, is a straightforward tale of a kid being goaded to spend more money by the barker at a midway water-gun game. But when Brown lets loose with "Nothing is free, nothing comes easy," you realize the barker is every slick A & R guy and the kid is every wide-eyed musician who ever stepped up to take a shot at the grand prize.
"I love pop songs," Brown said. "You get to a point where you invested so much time listening to rock music, it doesn't do you any good. You can't make any money from it, but you have all this worthless knowledge."
Again and again on Delusions, Brown establishes the foundation with a catchy verse and memorable chorus, and then Conwell steps up and elevates the song to another level with a virtuosic solo or two. That might sound formulaic, but the whole thing is carried off with a joy bordering on goofiness. You can't help smiling along.
"Tommy's great," Brown said. "My feelings about getting anywhere [with the band]...I mean, I don't think about it. But just the idea of playing with Tom, that's half of what keeps you going. I'd write a song and I always had this hole left for Tom. It's so hilarious to be able to write something you're happy about and then have Tommy put the icing on. Anything you imagine, he can play."
There is a definite connection between the relaxed brilliance of the tunes and the life stages of the band members. Brown has a 1-year-old son and is working on getting his degree. Conwell is teaching. The pressure is off.
"You still hope," Brown said, "but everyone has so much going on in their lives. It's so different from eight or 10 years ago. That's a whole different world. There's nothing you can do to make yourselves bigger. You can't just go, 'We're big.' Because we just can't take it seriously enough to believe it."
Travel Lanes' bass player Mitch Cojocariu on Buzz Zeemer
Travel Lanes' bass player Mitch Cojocariu adds some words about #BuzzZeemer20.
Monday, March 7, 2016
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.
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.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Buzz Zeemer - 20th Anniversary Release of 'Play Thing'
The year 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the official release of an independently-released album from Record Cellar called Play Thing--made by the little band that could--a band called Buzz Zeemer.
Audio Rumble is taking a week out of 2016 to revisit the music and musicians of Buzz Zeemer--one of the great Philadelphia rock bands of the 1990s!
Follow the posts on Audio Rumble's Facebook page.
Day 1
:::: Concert audio (and images) - "Useless Information” at Upstairs at Nicks in Philly, USA - April 4, 1997
:::: I Live Next Door to Buzz Zeemer!
Day 2
:::: To quote Tommy Conwell [interview]--"Frank (Brown) is a great songwriter..."
:::: Buzz Zeemer - live on Walnut Street
:::: "Everybody’s got a favorite band that they think nobody knows about. Mine is Buzz Zeemer."
Day 3
:::: Buzz Zeemer concert special on PRISM - "Onstage at the TLA: Buzz Zeemer"
:::: Billboard magazine mention, October 1995
:::: The greatest combination of a lead rock singer and rock n roll guitar player since Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen: Buzz Zeemer’s Frank Brown and Tommy Conwell!
:::: Record Cellar's Last Hurrah
Day 4
:::: Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Matt Maguire with some words on #BuzzZeemer20.
Day 5
:::: Buzz Zeemer interview: Tommy Conwell's role in the band
:::: "The hook on 'Crush' is so infectious you want to loop it over and over and play it forever."
:::: "TC in the house!" Buzz Zeemer performing "My Blue Heaven"
:::: A snapshot of Buzz Zeemer…in critic's reviews.
Day 6
:::: Buzz Zeemer performs a cover of The Upper Crust's "Let Them Eat Rock" with Tommy Conwell on vocals
:::: "Don't Hang Up" mash-up video
:::: Gerry McGoldrick (of Napalm Sunday) and his thoughts on Buzz Zeemer
:::: Buzz Zeemer at South by Southwest | 1996
:::: Record Cellar's promotional concert image of Buzz Zeemer
Day 7
:::: Link to a July/August 1999 No Depression article written by Phil Sheridan
:::: Thanks to Travel Lanes' bass player Mitch Cojocariu for his contribution to #BuzzZeemer20
:::: Buzz Zeemer covers Flight of Mavis' Through It All
Monday, August 3, 2015
Let's Begin to Start Again. Again. [Review of Travel Lanes]
Attention avid music lovers! It's been two years since the release of Travel Lanes well-reviewed EP, "Hey, Hey, It's Travel Lanes!" They have now graced us with the release of a new self-produced project entitled, "Let's Begin to Start Again." So it's now 2015 -- and exactly who are the musicians in Travel Lanes and why do they need to begin to start again? Again? Well, any invitation to start again should at least begin with an introduction of the talent.
Frank Brown: Vocals, acoustic/electric guitars, keyboards
Mitch Cojocariu: Bass, background vocals, mandolin, keyboards
Derek Feinberg: Guitar, vocals
John Bicer: Drums, percussion
In this latest release by Travel Lanes, all songs were written by Frank Brown except ‘Little Outta Love’ - written by Frank Brown and Gerry McGoldrick. The tracks were produced by Frank Brown and Mitch Cojocariu.
Personal aside: Let me tell you something about this little band from Philly called Travel Lanes. I once asked Travel Lanes if they would be able to play a gig on a weekend that I would, by chance, be in Philadelphia. (Unfortunately, they were not playing the weekend that I would be in town.) They checked around and then found a place where they could play so I could see them play live.
I. WILL. NEVER. FORGET. THAT.
Something else that I will never forget are lyrics written by Travel Lanes’ lead singer Frank Brown. Frank is a long-time Philly music staple, however, his name is fairly common -- see the links to a music festival with his same name all over the place -- and with no real social media presence – it's hard even for me to find out anything about him other than his musical history: Flight of Mavis, Buzz Zeemer, some work with other bands on the now-defunct Record Cellar label, a solo album in '05, and then, of course, the Travel Lanes' EP release in 2013.
But back to the lyrics… Frank Brown is my songwriting hero and I'll spend a greater part of this review analyzing lyrics from many of the songs on this new album. One of the first lyrics from the prolific songwriter that I latched onto came from a 1989 Flight of Mavis song that I first heard in 2004 (the year I discovered the band). The song is "It Comes in Time" which was featured in an Olsen Twins movie back in 2002. Don't ask.
Don’t think that you shouldn’t call /
it’s mine to take I’m awake /
If something’s on your mind, it’s on mine too /
I’m part of you /
And there’s nothing you can hide that I can’t find
For my future screenplay, imagine a fade into a tiny apartment at night in the late 1990’s in the heart of Austin, Texas. A young, pretty girl calls a guy on the phone and hears these words back to her. It’s in the screenplay because it never happened in real life, but think of how nice if it would have happened if that guy would have said that instead of, oh, ...wait. Where am I and what am I talking about – oh yes...Travel Lanes!
Which begs the question that maybe these lyrics aren’t as brilliant as I think they are, but maybe they do speak to something that can be recognized as special by the individual, and, therefore, are redeemed by being held to this higher, very personal, standard.
Right.
This blog has already covered my personal ‘history’ with Travel Lanes and how popular and influential an artist Frank Brown is in many circles:
"Now I don’t want to talk about the kinds of things that happened long ago /
I don’t want to celebrate the infinite wisdom of Columbo /
Songs that meant the world to me are now only hawking mediocrity"
So, true story about the first time I listened to “Let’s Begin to Start Again” (a week ago now) in its entirety. I was so awestruck in my first listen that I had to really, really think about what I had heard. Was it brilliant? Was I overwhelmed by the themes I thought I was hearing? Was I low on B vitamin supplements? Anyway, I decided to stew over these first impressions and not listen to the album for an entire day, so as to completely get my thoughts together before getting back to the music.
And now for a song-by-song review:
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Class Trip
This opening track from Travel Lanes really channels Cheap Trick. Crunchy guitars, powerful rhythm section, great vocals. And I'm talking about Cheap Trick in the late 1970's, y'know, after Budokan, but before Dream Police. It could easily be mistaken for a track in the 'Heaven Tonight' LP, because it would fit right in between "On Top of the World" and "California Man" - it's a great rock song! I know my Cheap Trick, so take my word for it.
“Well, you’ve got your permission slip / It’s all you need on this class trip!”
Plus I enjoy the almost menacing tone of the lyrics towards the end:
"Hold tight, don't lose your grip / if you want to come home from this class trip!"
What? What do you mean "if" I want to return? How rough is the ride on this class trip? Holy cow - that is awesome! Where are my parents to sign this permission slip...
In the World
The first time I heard "In the World" was in May of last year. Travel Lanes played it in rehearsal at Dawson Street Pub and also played it in their main set. After the song was over, I cheered so hard for this song and Frank said, 'We'll keep that in the set' and I smiled like a Cheshire cat. It felt so great to hear a new Frank Brown song on its first night. Themes of true love and melancholy in spades. And it' s a great song.
Lyrics: “A picture that you took / that she kept inside a book / It holds the memories of a summer so sublime”
No Go
"No Go" begins very rhythmic and has an engaging tone. Frank's vocals are not overly complex and neither is the song. But it has one of the best pleading lines a song has ever had about intimacy.
Lyrics: “Darling, there’s a reason that this night is just so-so”
Little Outta Love
A song co-written by Frank Brown and Gerry McGoldrick, former lead of a couple of cool Record Cellar bands, including Napalm Sunday and Solid for Sixty. The soft-rock pop harmony and rhythm section find their stride just as the singer is "...trying to find (his) way up."
Lyrics: “Not everything’s behind you / Sometimes it’s merely a precursor / nothing’s wrong just make sure your seatbelt's on”
100th I Told You
Quick. Write a catchy, witty pop song that is under 2 minutes and 30 seconds. You can't do it, can you? That's too bad, because that's Frank Brown's stock-in-trade. By the way, did you hear Travel Lanes cover Taylor Swift earlier this year on WXPN? In my imagination, this is Frank Brown's way of throwing down the gauntlet and saying, "Yeah, Tay-Tay, I've been doing this pop music brilliance for years. Big deal."
Nah, that's just me talking. Frank is probably way too nice to ever say that. But this song is so good, I'm not even going to give you a snippet of the best lyrics. You'll have to buy it yourself and check it out. Rocker's Dive Radio has been playing it a lot, too.
Lyrics: “…losing your nerve / as I’m finding mine”
The Year
“The Year” is my personal favorite and, additionally, Frank Brown's vocals are at their best on this track. The overall feel is very reminiscent to me of Frank Brown’s work from his 2005 solo album, “Out of the Blue.” A review from music mag No Depression that year stated:
Lyrics:
“Life rearrangin’ / Time started changin’ / Not hard to see / when it inevitably unfolds in front of you”
But I’m Not
A straight forward rock/country-ish love song that's touching in the mood that it creates. This song reminds me of Buzz Zeemer's "Delusions of Grandeur"-era, which was a series of tracks that created an atmosphere so dreamy and rapt, it made you want to cocoon yourself into the next rainy day - because it was that good. This song is that good, too.
Lyrics:
“All I can do is follow through this love for you / There ain’t a doubt the way out’s an avenue / Sometimes this world makes me want to run away / But I’m not”
TA
So an inside source tells me that the title of this track is a real person's initials: 'The name in the chorus is so much fun to say that Frank had to write the song.'
"From the moment I heard it said, I had this song going through my head...."
With that being said, let me know if you can figure out the name being said in this song because I'm lost. It will be added to the category of "Great Misunderstood Song Lyrics of All Time." But I love the creativity of how this song was created, the punchy and fun lyrics -- "Her aunt and uncle are extraordinary" -- and it's yet another great pop-rock song. And a mini-Flight of Mavis/Buzz Zeemer reunion with David McElroy on keyboards.
Death
An alt-country stylized track about the inevitability of death that might be a surprise for some, but it works here. And how poignant this bridge:
“While I know that you’re surprised / you‘ve got to try it on for size / All the things that you used to worry about / Well they all just went away with all the pain that you’re without”
I won't give away the lyrics of the song at the intro, but once you hear it, you won't ever forget it. The song is a detached look at its subject, yet at the same time a personal and connected look at the weariness that the eventualities of death brings for everyone. And some great work by Point Entertainment's Jesse Lundy on guitar.
Cream Soda
At one level, "Cream Soda" expresses itself on the joyous effects of the simple pleasure of a cool refreshing childhood drink. On another, the band may be imploring us to enjoy their confectionery hooks, melodies and lyrics because they are as palatable as a cream soda. Whatever the case may be, it’s a happy, hip rock song that really comes to life with the line:
"Cream soda, it’s the only thing that I’m sure of"
It's so catchy, it’s a musical crime. I especially enjoy the fact that this song really amps up the listener for the last ¾ of the entire album.
More Than Me
Lyrics:
"How come everyone seems to have more than me / Got more friends, got more money /How come everyone seems to have more than me / Seems so, I don't know"
The almost universal lament of this track seems to get verified at the end when the song fades out and then fades back in:
"Everybody / everyone..."
If you need a comparison about what this somewhat alt-country throwback sounds like, think a more Americanized Elvis Costello meets Ricky Nelson. Hey look! You said you wanted a comparison, right? But a good bit of roots rock, if I do say so myself. And that's Frog Holler's Michael Lavdanski on banjo.
It’s My Pleasure
And then the last track....this last Travel Lanes track was haunting me for days. The song opens with an acoustic sort of musical scale that then opens up into a piece that is quite ethereal. That scale runs throughout the track then, and ties everything together. It is a perfect cap to everything musically that came before -- which is fitting because it's as if saying, "Look at all we’ve been through on this musical journey. I’d do this all over again with you, you know?”
Before I let you go, I need to know / If you are a part of me, of me
The last few lines - ‘All you are is dreaming’ - come across like a musical sigh in its repetition, as the listener becomes even more enchanted with the addition of the lines ‘So let’s begin to start again....you go first’ The release of acceptance to everything comes with the line ‘It’s my pleasure’ — a completely unexpected statement aside from the fact that it’s the title of the song. Is life but a dream? It's up to the listener to decide, of course, but in reference to the entire album, it's been a pleasure to hear this work.
---------------------------------------***---------------------------------------
For myself, the entirety of the tracks on Travel Lanes' "Let's Begin to Start Again" encompass almost all of life’s varied experiences. The album runs the gamut from youth and adventure in "Class Trip," "In The World" and its reference to true love via woefulness, the humor found in "No Go" and "Cream Soda," commitment and dedication in "Little Outta Love," the persistent failure yet hopeful tone of "The Year," and the sweet melancholy of "It's My Pleasure."
The fact that Frank Brown has surrounded himself with excellent musicians -- Mitch Cojocariu's bass, John Bicer on drums (both formerly of The Rigbees) and guitarist Derek Feinberg -- is no accident and fully fleshes out this Americana/indie sound, yet these guys are a step above. (As mentioned, the album is produced by Brown and Cojocariu with the latter taking lead in the recording, engineering and mixing.) Their time together as a band in both the studio and in their live shows has made for a cohesive unit and sound -– and they are truly one of the best bands around today. Travel Lanes' new LP is simply one of Frank Brown’s most ambitious and successful projects to date.
You will not go wrong in buying a copy of Travel Lanes’ latest, “Let’s Begin to Start Again” on CD Baby (for digital files), purchase the CD exclusively at Main Street Music in Manayunk, PA, and/or stream on Spotify.
Do all three. You'll make a band happy.
Frank Brown: Vocals, acoustic/electric guitars, keyboards
Mitch Cojocariu: Bass, background vocals, mandolin, keyboards
Derek Feinberg: Guitar, vocals
John Bicer: Drums, percussion
In this latest release by Travel Lanes, all songs were written by Frank Brown except ‘Little Outta Love’ - written by Frank Brown and Gerry McGoldrick. The tracks were produced by Frank Brown and Mitch Cojocariu.
Personal aside: Let me tell you something about this little band from Philly called Travel Lanes. I once asked Travel Lanes if they would be able to play a gig on a weekend that I would, by chance, be in Philadelphia. (Unfortunately, they were not playing the weekend that I would be in town.) They checked around and then found a place where they could play so I could see them play live.
I. WILL. NEVER. FORGET. THAT.
But back to the lyrics… Frank Brown is my songwriting hero and I'll spend a greater part of this review analyzing lyrics from many of the songs on this new album. One of the first lyrics from the prolific songwriter that I latched onto came from a 1989 Flight of Mavis song that I first heard in 2004 (the year I discovered the band). The song is "It Comes in Time" which was featured in an Olsen Twins movie back in 2002. Don't ask.
Don’t think that you shouldn’t call /
it’s mine to take I’m awake /
If something’s on your mind, it’s on mine too /
I’m part of you /
And there’s nothing you can hide that I can’t find
For my future screenplay, imagine a fade into a tiny apartment at night in the late 1990’s in the heart of Austin, Texas. A young, pretty girl calls a guy on the phone and hears these words back to her. It’s in the screenplay because it never happened in real life, but think of how nice if it would have happened if that guy would have said that instead of, oh, ...wait. Where am I and what am I talking about – oh yes...Travel Lanes!
Which begs the question that maybe these lyrics aren’t as brilliant as I think they are, but maybe they do speak to something that can be recognized as special by the individual, and, therefore, are redeemed by being held to this higher, very personal, standard.
Right.
This blog has already covered my personal ‘history’ with Travel Lanes and how popular and influential an artist Frank Brown is in many circles:
“(Flight of Mavis) ran on the gas that was the songs of one Frank Brown, who had a great voice if ever there was one.”Not to mention Frank Brown’s stint as the lead singer of Buzz Zeemer -- which I mention because I have contractually obligated myself to mention Tommy Conwell in every post. This blog is called Audio Rumble for a reason! But again, I don’t want to get caught up in any kind of nostalgia – a subject which (ha!) allows me to drop-reference another Brown-penned song from his solo effort in 2005 released by Record Cellar, "Out of the Blue." From a song called “Nostalgia”:
- Nov. 27, 2002 [Philadelphia Weekly]
"Now I don’t want to talk about the kinds of things that happened long ago /
I don’t want to celebrate the infinite wisdom of Columbo /
Songs that meant the world to me are now only hawking mediocrity"
So, true story about the first time I listened to “Let’s Begin to Start Again” (a week ago now) in its entirety. I was so awestruck in my first listen that I had to really, really think about what I had heard. Was it brilliant? Was I overwhelmed by the themes I thought I was hearing? Was I low on B vitamin supplements? Anyway, I decided to stew over these first impressions and not listen to the album for an entire day, so as to completely get my thoughts together before getting back to the music.
And now for a song-by-song review:
---------------------------------------***---------------------------------------
Class Trip
This opening track from Travel Lanes really channels Cheap Trick. Crunchy guitars, powerful rhythm section, great vocals. And I'm talking about Cheap Trick in the late 1970's, y'know, after Budokan, but before Dream Police. It could easily be mistaken for a track in the 'Heaven Tonight' LP, because it would fit right in between "On Top of the World" and "California Man" - it's a great rock song! I know my Cheap Trick, so take my word for it.
“Well, you’ve got your permission slip / It’s all you need on this class trip!”
Plus I enjoy the almost menacing tone of the lyrics towards the end:
"Hold tight, don't lose your grip / if you want to come home from this class trip!"
What? What do you mean "if" I want to return? How rough is the ride on this class trip? Holy cow - that is awesome! Where are my parents to sign this permission slip...
In the World
The first time I heard "In the World" was in May of last year. Travel Lanes played it in rehearsal at Dawson Street Pub and also played it in their main set. After the song was over, I cheered so hard for this song and Frank said, 'We'll keep that in the set' and I smiled like a Cheshire cat. It felt so great to hear a new Frank Brown song on its first night. Themes of true love and melancholy in spades. And it' s a great song.
Lyrics: “A picture that you took / that she kept inside a book / It holds the memories of a summer so sublime”
No Go
"No Go" begins very rhythmic and has an engaging tone. Frank's vocals are not overly complex and neither is the song. But it has one of the best pleading lines a song has ever had about intimacy.
Lyrics: “Darling, there’s a reason that this night is just so-so”
Little Outta Love
A song co-written by Frank Brown and Gerry McGoldrick, former lead of a couple of cool Record Cellar bands, including Napalm Sunday and Solid for Sixty. The soft-rock pop harmony and rhythm section find their stride just as the singer is "...trying to find (his) way up."
Lyrics: “Not everything’s behind you / Sometimes it’s merely a precursor / nothing’s wrong just make sure your seatbelt's on”
100th I Told You
Quick. Write a catchy, witty pop song that is under 2 minutes and 30 seconds. You can't do it, can you? That's too bad, because that's Frank Brown's stock-in-trade. By the way, did you hear Travel Lanes cover Taylor Swift earlier this year on WXPN? In my imagination, this is Frank Brown's way of throwing down the gauntlet and saying, "Yeah, Tay-Tay, I've been doing this pop music brilliance for years. Big deal."
Nah, that's just me talking. Frank is probably way too nice to ever say that. But this song is so good, I'm not even going to give you a snippet of the best lyrics. You'll have to buy it yourself and check it out. Rocker's Dive Radio has been playing it a lot, too.
Lyrics: “…losing your nerve / as I’m finding mine”
The Year
“The Year” is my personal favorite and, additionally, Frank Brown's vocals are at their best on this track. The overall feel is very reminiscent to me of Frank Brown’s work from his 2005 solo album, “Out of the Blue.” A review from music mag No Depression that year stated:
“This is what The Eagles would be if they were still making music every other year…. It’s like Don Henley and Glenn Frey came together again to make another classic…a bit of low-cal SoCal country-rock that temporarily turns Brown and band into...wait for the punchline...the Philadelphia Eagles."Fact: No band currently does alt-country live right now better than Travel Lanes. In one night, I witnessed them cover (with much depth and expertise) both Ricky Nelson’s “Anyone Else“ and the Carter Family's “Lover's Lane.“ I proclaim Travel Lanes to be the music industry's updated version of The Eagles in 2015...but just a lot more exciting.
Lyrics:
“Life rearrangin’ / Time started changin’ / Not hard to see / when it inevitably unfolds in front of you”
But I’m Not
A straight forward rock/country-ish love song that's touching in the mood that it creates. This song reminds me of Buzz Zeemer's "Delusions of Grandeur"-era, which was a series of tracks that created an atmosphere so dreamy and rapt, it made you want to cocoon yourself into the next rainy day - because it was that good. This song is that good, too.
Lyrics:
“All I can do is follow through this love for you / There ain’t a doubt the way out’s an avenue / Sometimes this world makes me want to run away / But I’m not”
TA
So an inside source tells me that the title of this track is a real person's initials: 'The name in the chorus is so much fun to say that Frank had to write the song.'
"From the moment I heard it said, I had this song going through my head...."
With that being said, let me know if you can figure out the name being said in this song because I'm lost. It will be added to the category of "Great Misunderstood Song Lyrics of All Time." But I love the creativity of how this song was created, the punchy and fun lyrics -- "Her aunt and uncle are extraordinary" -- and it's yet another great pop-rock song. And a mini-Flight of Mavis/Buzz Zeemer reunion with David McElroy on keyboards.
Death
An alt-country stylized track about the inevitability of death that might be a surprise for some, but it works here. And how poignant this bridge:
“While I know that you’re surprised / you‘ve got to try it on for size / All the things that you used to worry about / Well they all just went away with all the pain that you’re without”
I won't give away the lyrics of the song at the intro, but once you hear it, you won't ever forget it. The song is a detached look at its subject, yet at the same time a personal and connected look at the weariness that the eventualities of death brings for everyone. And some great work by Point Entertainment's Jesse Lundy on guitar.
Cream Soda
At one level, "Cream Soda" expresses itself on the joyous effects of the simple pleasure of a cool refreshing childhood drink. On another, the band may be imploring us to enjoy their confectionery hooks, melodies and lyrics because they are as palatable as a cream soda. Whatever the case may be, it’s a happy, hip rock song that really comes to life with the line:
"Cream soda, it’s the only thing that I’m sure of"
It's so catchy, it’s a musical crime. I especially enjoy the fact that this song really amps up the listener for the last ¾ of the entire album.
More Than Me
Lyrics:
"How come everyone seems to have more than me / Got more friends, got more money /How come everyone seems to have more than me / Seems so, I don't know"
The almost universal lament of this track seems to get verified at the end when the song fades out and then fades back in:
"Everybody / everyone..."
If you need a comparison about what this somewhat alt-country throwback sounds like, think a more Americanized Elvis Costello meets Ricky Nelson. Hey look! You said you wanted a comparison, right? But a good bit of roots rock, if I do say so myself. And that's Frog Holler's Michael Lavdanski on banjo.
It’s My Pleasure
And then the last track....this last Travel Lanes track was haunting me for days. The song opens with an acoustic sort of musical scale that then opens up into a piece that is quite ethereal. That scale runs throughout the track then, and ties everything together. It is a perfect cap to everything musically that came before -- which is fitting because it's as if saying, "Look at all we’ve been through on this musical journey. I’d do this all over again with you, you know?”
Before I let you go, I need to know / If you are a part of me, of me
The last few lines - ‘All you are is dreaming’ - come across like a musical sigh in its repetition, as the listener becomes even more enchanted with the addition of the lines ‘So let’s begin to start again....you go first’ The release of acceptance to everything comes with the line ‘It’s my pleasure’ — a completely unexpected statement aside from the fact that it’s the title of the song. Is life but a dream? It's up to the listener to decide, of course, but in reference to the entire album, it's been a pleasure to hear this work.
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For myself, the entirety of the tracks on Travel Lanes' "Let's Begin to Start Again" encompass almost all of life’s varied experiences. The album runs the gamut from youth and adventure in "Class Trip," "In The World" and its reference to true love via woefulness, the humor found in "No Go" and "Cream Soda," commitment and dedication in "Little Outta Love," the persistent failure yet hopeful tone of "The Year," and the sweet melancholy of "It's My Pleasure."
The fact that Frank Brown has surrounded himself with excellent musicians -- Mitch Cojocariu's bass, John Bicer on drums (both formerly of The Rigbees) and guitarist Derek Feinberg -- is no accident and fully fleshes out this Americana/indie sound, yet these guys are a step above. (As mentioned, the album is produced by Brown and Cojocariu with the latter taking lead in the recording, engineering and mixing.) Their time together as a band in both the studio and in their live shows has made for a cohesive unit and sound -– and they are truly one of the best bands around today. Travel Lanes' new LP is simply one of Frank Brown’s most ambitious and successful projects to date.
You will not go wrong in buying a copy of Travel Lanes’ latest, “Let’s Begin to Start Again” on CD Baby (for digital files), purchase the CD exclusively at Main Street Music in Manayunk, PA, and/or stream on Spotify.
Do all three. You'll make a band happy.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Buzz Zeemer - Critic Reviews [1995 - 1999]
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.
"Heavy-hitters ... if the word 'catchy' didn't exist, someone would have to invent it to fully describe these guys."
- Reggie Beehner, University Reporter, 2/96
"The hook on 'Crush' is so infectious you want to loop it over and over and play it forever."
"...For three minute pop songs there isn't a better songwriter around than Frank Brown..."
- Bruce Warren, Philadelphia Weekly 3/98, 6/96
"Only February, and already we have the local debut album of the year. ...Buzz Zeemer has something most don't -- songs, packed with chugging rhythms, sprightly bridges, and hooks galore."
- Ed Hewitt, Montgomery County Newspaper's Ticket 2/96
"Frank Brown, the songwriter of Buzz Zeemer, owns a special place among area talents who deserve wider recognition. For nearly a decade, he's improved steadily, honing a personal approach and writing songs far more sophisticated than those of like minded major-label bands. The wry Delusions finds him still plugging away. It's got crisp rock laments, astringent Elvis Costello pop hooks, forays into pure 60's pop, and a few of those galvanizing moments when blind fury crystallizes into something that sounds like wisdom."
- Tom Moon, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/99
"Frank Brown's power pop anthems just keep getting stronger, especially with Tommy Conwell now riding shotgun on guitar and harmony vocals. As modern and catchy as anything put out by critics' darling Paul Westerberg, ..."
- Jonathan Takiff, Philadelphia Daily News, 1/99
"Another Buzz Zeemer album, another enticing bunch of songs catchier than anything on the radio."
- Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/98
"I'm not sure these guys are delusional; this is a grand record."
- Rick Cornell, Amplifier, Summer/1999
"Buzz Zeemer's new record, Delusions of Grandeur, is a subversively brilliant pop-rock record... . Brown's innate gift for melody is surpassed by spare lyrics that reveal layers of meaning and emotion not apparent on first listen."
- Phil Sheridan, No Depression, 7/99
"On Delusions of Grandeur, they knock out 12 near classics and make it look so easy."
- Tim Hinely, Surfnews, Summer/1999
"Delusions of Grandeur is in my top ten for 1999."
- Peter Blackstock, Co-Editor, No Depression, 12/99
"...Singer and songwriter Frank Brown's tunes come on with a melodic subtlety that keeps bringing you back."
- Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/96
“…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
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
One Shot - Singer/Songwriter Frank Brown
The following is an excerpt from articles originally found on www.mpprojects.com/tc. Originally published in 2007.
Tell me about the new song, "One Shot."
Singer/songwriter, Frank Brown, formerly of Flight of Mavis, hooked up with Tommy Conwell in 1996 and Buzz Zeemer (along with drummer Ken Buono and bassist Dave McElroy) and recorded a pop masterpiece, Plaything. Zeemer featured Brown’s witty, tuneful songcraft complimented by Conwell’s tasty hooks and grooves. Buzz Zeemer’s sophomore effort released in 1999, Delusions of Grandeur, generated a buzz with music critics. The band performed at South by Southwest in Texas along with countless gigs at their home court - Grape Street Pub in Manayunk. After a long hiatus, Buzz Zeemer reunites and records a new song titled One Shot, featured on Record Cellar’s fifty-song compilation titled Town and Country.
Frank Brown: One Shot was one of five songs I sent Dave (McElroy) to choose from for Town and Country. We recorded it on one of the hottest nights of the summer with producer/engineer Matt Muir in Manayunk. Learned it and recorded it the same night. I like it.
Tell me a funny story from a Buzz Zeemer live gig.
Frank Brown: I think the funniest Zeemer gig stories are when the joke is on us. When you agree to play anywhere, you never know where you will wind up. We played at a Best Buy store opening. A 40th birthday party down the shore. We played a gig where so few people showed up that we started playing any Steve Miller song we knew. "Swingtown," anyone?
You have spent time with Tommy Conwell in the recording studio. What makes Tommy a sought-after guitarist?
Frank Brown: Tommy is an absolute blast to play with. I had a song called Crush that was recorded with a couple different guitar players before Tommy played on it. It was never how I heard it. I asked Tom to play it in a certain way and in a minute, it became the song it is today. Much like the rest of the band, Tom enjoys playing all kinds of music. We can be very rock at times and very nice at times. It's nice to play with someone who can play anything you ask ...and more.
What was your reaction hearing a Flight of Mavis song on the alternative radio stations for the first time?
Frank Brown: I never get tired of hearing our stuff on the radio. I think the first time we were played on the radio was on XPN when Jim Moran (of the Wishniaks) played our 4-track demo. It was fun. We were extremely green.
Who are your musical heroes?
Frank Brown: There's so many...Terry Adams, Lennon and McCartney, Nick Lowe, Captain Beefheart, Brian Wilson, Rick Nielsen, Bill Evans -- all the good ones.
Your songwriting has been compared to Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, and Squeeze. How do you go about writing a song?
Frank Brown: All different ways! It depends on the situation. Sometimes the music is first, sometimes the lyrics. The best ones take about fifteen minutes. The rest are much longer -- sometimes 45 minutes.
The Philadelphia press reported that you offered sleeping accommodations to former Replacement Tommy Stinson. Tell me the story.
Frank Brown: I had the pleasure of opening for both Tommy Stinson and Slim Dunlop (latter day guitarist of The Replacements) and actually had both of them stay at my house in West Philadelphia. I think the Westerberg story was written in the paper but wasn't actually true. I would hate to think that we opened for Westerberg and that I had no memory of it?! Then again... our place in West Philadelphia was host to a lot of bands on Peter Jesperson's Medium Cool label. They were all very fine guests but I think we enjoyed Slim the most. Great character and great stories.
Buzz Zeemer’s Let Them Eat Rock is a crowd favorite. Any chance it will ever be recorded?
Frank Brown: I would like to think we'll have a live version of it from our reunion gig at Grape Street. I can't imagine it ever being officially recorded by us. We're in awe of the original by The Upper Crust.
What is in the future for Buzz Zeemer?
Frank Brown: I would hate to think that the reunion show is the last time we will play together.....but it might be. As of now, there are no plans to do anything together in the future. Regardless, as long as everyone continues to have a pulse -- you never know!
Monday, April 8, 2013
My Travel Lanes Journey
My journey to see Travel Lanes in concert this Friday, April 12, at Milkboy Philly began on a Texas college campus almost ten years ago.
I admit it. I missed the late 80’s debut of Flight of Mavis. I had never heard of Flight of Mavis, Buzz Zeemer or Frank Brown before 2004. My introduction came as I dug into Tommy Conwell’s music catalog for a disc jockey gig I had at my college radio station. All I knew about Flight of Mavis was the story of three guys who started out as high school friends and one of them starts to write songs and decides he’s not too bad.
“Hey guys! Let’s start a band…”
In 1988, Flight of Mavis was three twenty-year old kids who lived on the same street in a suburban Philadelphia town. They were friends since the second grade. They grew up on Kiss and Cheap Trick and loved the Ramones. They wrote a song about the Loch Ness Monster. They were together for less than a year and had played only a gig or two when they recorded their first record in the summer of 1988. It was released early in 1989 on vinyl. The songs that made up that original album were recorded in about 40 studio hours, mostly on 'first takes'. With little experience, lots of raw talent, and the good instincts to stay out of their own way, Flight of Mavis made this very cool little record.
- BeatForTwo
I missed out on Flight of Mavis touring with Sinead O’Connor and hearing about the ‘underground’ stories that emerged about R.E.M. performing secret concerts on the East Coast under the name Flight of Mavis. Except it wasn't R.E.M. -- it was Flight of Mavis. People would show up because they wanted to perhaps hear a more intimate version of "Stand," and instead, find a three-piece trio from Pennsylvania performing songs that might have been simple, but yet, not so simple and yes, even sublime.
…now I don’t know \ where to go \ and things that used to seem so normal just don’t seem to feel that way at all \ and I don’t like it at all…
- Top of the Pops, Flight of Mavis
In 2003, Philadelphia Weekly reviewed the re-issue of Flight of Mavis’ self-titled 1988 album on CD with a quote:
Flight of Mavis was in heavy rotation on my college radio show in '05, and I even got some props on song selection via instant message. I was right in the middle of playing a two-song set from Flight of Mavis.
"At the time of the album's original release, Inquirer music critic Tom Moon wrote, "With little production beyond what's needed to realize the songs, Flight of Mavis, the band's debut album, glows with honest love for the whole wide world of rock and roll."
Flight of Mavis was in heavy rotation on my college radio show in '05, and I even got some props on song selection via instant message. I was right in the middle of playing a two-song set from Flight of Mavis.
Listener: It is so refreshing to hear great college radio.
RadioUTD: wow you like it! thanks!
Listener: my pleasure- keep it up.
Not only was Flight of Mavis in rotation on my show schedule, but in April 2005, so was Frank Brown’s new release on Record Cellar, Out of the Blue, his fifth recorded effort. My favorite song to emerge from that release is the brilliant "No Resistance." A 2005 No Depression article characterize both that song and "She Just Wants To Be Loved" as "testaments to the almightiness of the hook."
And then, around that same time – out of the blue! – someone unexpectedly mailed me a DVD of PRISM’s Buzz Zeemer 1996 concert live at Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia. There it was – thirteen songs and interviews captured in video that up until then I had never even known existed! I wanted to share it, so I posted some performances to YouTube. This act did not go unrecognized, because not long after, the blog Philebrity.com acknowledged Buzz Zeemer’s ‘Sometimes’ video with the following statement:
I have an odd feeling that I am one of only 10 people that
remember this band.
So I counted myself Number 11. But two others also left quotes in the comment section -
Quote 1: Love this band. Best band you never heard of.
Quote 2: The best Philly ever had....
To which I responded, both then and now, “So true. I will quote you into forever…”
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In the words of Billboard Magazine [“Indie Labels Discover Freedom in Philly” – 10/28/1995]:
“…melodic pop-rock band Buzz Zeemer…has stepped up to the most-unjustly unsigned level since adding Tommy Conwell on lead guitar.”
One of my favorite Buzz Zeemer songs from Plaything is "Don't Hang Up," and because the song was unfortunately not featured in the band's 1996 PRISM performance, I took it upon myself to correct that rock 'n' roll wrong. I can go days at a time just listening to only Buzz Zeemer, and enjoy catching some obscure nuance that I think only I know about. For example, the “oh-oh-oh-oh” refrain towards the end of "Irrational" always reminds me of Hall and Oates same verse in another pop classic, "Did It In a Minute." Buzz Zeemer’s MySpace page has some free listens if you want to delve into some of the more obscure recordings and demos. One of my more recently discovered finds is "Punching Bag," but I also hold a special place in my heart for the story of unrequited love told in "Easy Does It."
It always makes me wonder why this kind of music and fantastic songwriting didn’t get played on the radio.
I found myself a little gem, and I tried to make it shine again…
- Sometimes, Buzz Zeemer
While working on a Tommy Conwell documentary for my master’s thesis last year, I spent a lot of time tracking down the live version of Buzz Zeemer performing The Upper Crust’s "Let Them Eat Rock". It’s a rare find. And it’s rockin’!
But I also came across video of Flight of Mavis in a WMMR feature TV special from 1989 called, Makin' It In Philadelphia II. Also featured in this special were performances and interviews from many of Philly’s most promising acts at the time, a mix of both successful and up-and-coming acts, including the Hooters, Bricklin, Richard Bush of The A’s and Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers. WMMR supported these local acts to the hilt, and maybe there was reason to believe that Flight of Mavis would also eventually be a part of that 'success' bandwagon.
But I also came across video of Flight of Mavis in a WMMR feature TV special from 1989 called, Makin' It In Philadelphia II. Also featured in this special were performances and interviews from many of Philly’s most promising acts at the time, a mix of both successful and up-and-coming acts, including the Hooters, Bricklin, Richard Bush of The A’s and Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers. WMMR supported these local acts to the hilt, and maybe there was reason to believe that Flight of Mavis would also eventually be a part of that 'success' bandwagon.
There was a time in the '80s – we had the A's, the Hooters, Tommy Conwell, Robert Hazard – when I thought Philly was going to become what Seattle wound up becoming in the ‘90s.
- Pierre Robert, WMMR DJ
---------------------------------------------------
In 1995, Frank Brown found himself in with a new band of his creation, Buzz Zeemer. That band needed a guitar player. Tommy Conwell needed a band.
[Their] stories collided in the mid-1990s. Brown broke up [Flight of] Mavis around the same time that Conwell got his degree in education and became the hippest third-grade teacher in North America. Eventually, the two started playing together in a new band, Buzz Zeemer (whose lineup also included other former Mavis members, Dave McElroy on bass and Ken Buono on drums). Their debut disc, Plaything, came out in 1995.
- No Depression article, 1999
Buzz Zeemer even made their way down to Texas for South by Southwest, reviewed courtesy of Houston music writer Hobart Rowland [Thursday, March 21, 1996]:
One of my favorite videos from the TLA performance includes the genius of Buzz Zeemer covering Flight of Mavis’s "Through It All". As someone stated in the YouTube comment section:
Also Saturday, a small crowd at Tropical Isle witnessed the curious re-emergence of blues-based singer/guitarist Tommy Conwell, whose major-label career was cut short after two so-so releases for Columbia six years ago. A frontman at heart, Conwell hasn't lost any of his ham-it-up style in his new role as second gun to Frank Brown in the hook-heavy Buzz Zeemer, one of the few exceptional new bands coming out of Philadelphia these days…
One of my favorite videos from the TLA performance includes the genius of Buzz Zeemer covering Flight of Mavis’s "Through It All". As someone stated in the YouTube comment section:
Wow!! Thanks for all of the videos. This one makes me wish i could go back in time. We're all lucky to have been part of this sh*t ! And for all of you that missed it… Sorry about your luck. It was one hell of a ride !!!
So there it was -- in black and white. The truth that I missed the best years to see one of the best bands to ever come out of Philadelphia. I missed Buzz Zeemer. And because I had been tied down in real-world life, I even missed the Buzz Zeemer reunion in 2007 at Grape Street Pub.
Every year the same folks at the same place every time \ Shove about, crawl around and see what you can find
- Through It All, Flight of Mavis
But then in April of last year, I received the following message on YouTube:
If you are in the Philly area and dig Frank Brown, he and a new band are playing Dawson Street Pub in Manayunk, Friday May 11th. Playing some Zeemer, Mavis and new songs too! Sorry for the spam-ish message, but seems as though you were/are a fan.
The simple fact is that I am nowhere near the Philly area. But as luck would have it, David Uosikkinen’s In the Pocket were playing the historic 23 East in Ardmore the next night, May 12th – two birds, one stone!
It was my chance to see Frank Brown – the man, the myth, the musical legend – for the FIRST TIME EVER. So I hopped on the plane to Philadelphia and paid a little visit to Dawson Street Pub - even though I apparently couldn't pronounce the name Manayunk well enough for my cab driver to be satisfied. When the band went through a one-song sound check of "Break My Heart," I was ecstatic! And when the concert began, I heard the brilliance in songs that are now currently on the new Travel Lanes' EP: "Intervention" and "The Other Side."
But what struck me most was hearing the other songs that I had spent years listening to only in solitude. What I had formerly only heard in my lone musical bubble, now all of a sudden came to life all around me in that little pub. The band played Buzz Zeemer’s "Red Balloon," "This Town," and "Lost and Found." I caught many others also singing along to "Crush." And hearing a rare performance of a Buzz Zeemer demo called "Shelly Don’t Mind" was ethereal.
WXPN's Bruce Warren says, "... for three minute pop songs, there isn't a better songwriter around than Frank Brown."
Listening to the new Travel Lanes EP is like a trip in time as you weave through echoes of Flight of Mavis, Buzz Zeemer, and Frank’s solo work...
What music critics had once called that jangly guitar is back and reminiscent of a lot of what I enjoy when I hear Frank Brown's songs. It's not just nostalgia, either. This EP is not perfect -- because it's an EP only, of course -- but it is great.
If you are in Philadelphia, stop by Main Street Music and buy the band's new EP, Hey, Hey, It’s Travel Lanes. Featuring John Bicer pounding out the beat on drums, the youthful exuberance of Derek Feinberg on guitar, Mitch Cojocariu providing background vocal and bass support, and of course, Frank Brown singing and playing guitar.
So… guess what?! Travel Lanes is playing MilkBoy Philly this Friday night. And I am not going to miss it!!!
Update:
Travel Lanes at MilkBoy Philly - they were amazing!
- The setlist -
Class Trip
Delinquent
Intervention
Scared of Girls
She's the One
Crush
She Just Wants to be Loved
Let You Down
Shelly Don't Mind
The Other Side
Break My Heart
Encore
Rain Fallin' Down
Hang Onto Yourself
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