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.

Through It All - Buzz Zeemer (live)

Fans on YouTube sometimes leave the most amazing quotes: 

“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!!!”

This statement really sums up the adoration for this amazing Philly band! Hope you enjoyed Buzz Zeemer week on Audio Rumble!

Travel Lanes' bass player Mitch Cojocariu on Buzz Zeemer

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

Gerry McGoldrick

From Gerry McGoldrick, frequent song co-writer with Frank Brown, a Record Cellar alumnus and songwriter behind Napalm Sunday, Emily Valentine and Solid for Sixty--with his thoughts on Buzz Zeemer’s Plaything. #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.

Useless Information (live) - Buzz Zeemer

Just one of the many examples of their great live showmanship, here’s audio of Buzz Zeemer performing “Useless Information” live at Upstairs at Nicks in Philly, USA - ‪‬ April 4, 1997. With Tommy Conwell on backing vocals!

Audio featuring Frank Brown on lead vocals and guitar, Tommy Conwell on backing vocals and guitar, Dave McElroy on bass and Ken Buono on drums.

 

Bonus images of Buzz Zeemer [Brown, Conwell, McElroy, Buono] at the same event--Upstairs at Nick's in Philly! [April 4, 1997]

Thanks to Henry Kujawa for posting to his Facebook page.

Buzz Zeemer - 20th Anniversary Release of 'Play Thing'

The year 2016 marks the 20^th 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

One Shot - Singer/Songwriter Frank Brown

The following is an excerpt from articles originally found on www.mpprojects.com/tc. Originally published in 2007.

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.   

Tell me about the new song, "One Shot."

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!

Buzz Zeemer: Tommy Conwell's role in the band

Buzz Zeemer talks about Tommy Conwell's role in the band. Featuring Frank Brown, Tommy Conwell, Ken Buono, Dave McElroy in 1996.

Conwell calls himself "Just another guitar player..." Just another guitar player? DJ Caterina doesn't think so.

Buzz Zeemer - "Play Thing" Review on iTunes

Image courtesy of Buzz Zeemer's MySpace page.

DJ Caterina left a review of Buzz Zeemer's "Play Thing" on iTunes:

“Melodic pop-rock” at its best..."

What a great band! What great songwriting! Why didn’t Buzz Zeemer become more famous?

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.”

I love “Break My Heart” and “Don’t Hang Up” – they are my favorites!

“Crush” also comes highly recommended. But all of these tunes from Buzz Zeemer are excellent!