Buzzhead Republic

Writing a biography on the origins of Buzzhead Republic would read like the introduction to a novel. After releasing no less than three albums in one month, Buzzhead Republic founder, Matt Shaffer, felt that there was little else, but to do just that. When I contacted Matt he kindly invited me to hang out with him at the Starbuck's he regularly walks to from his house. At first glance, Matt looks like an ordinary guy and yet so completely different from everyone else around him that I wonder how he manages to slide by almost unnoticed. As I shake his hand I also wonder that maybe this has something to do with why his music is so discordant and off tempo but still soothing enough that you could sleep to it.

After we get our drinks and sit down I ask him about the release of his albums, and what's behind his sound.
'I've always liked the idea of lo-fi, or in my case because of my history with other, more technical bands, I've combined the two schools of thought and made something I just call lo-tech. One of my friends calls it electrocoustic. [smiles] I'm also inspired by the calm feel you get from the middle of winter after the snow has fallen and it's so silent that silence has a sound. I've actually recorded static and fans and placed the microphone far away from my acoustic when recording to recreate the silent 'sound. I feel that sometimes a song or composition is actually more perfect because of it's imperfections.

'I released the three albums in the same month that I was [signals quotations] politely asked to leave my now former band of which I was a co-founder more than five years ago. Don't get me wrong. I had wanted to leave for a while as it was, but it was surprising how quickly it happened.'
The band Rooster (as his friends call him) is referring to is none other than Machinegun Symphony, a band well known for its technical prowess and unsurpassed light shows. Rooster goes on to tell me, 'I wish the guys the best, but my life story doesn't end with one band. In fact, I have so many things starting right now that I see Machinegun Symphony more as a starting point for where my life is taking me.'

That's no understatement. Rooster is currently in the writing process with friend, Nate Cornick, on a script for a short film they brainstormed late one night.
'It's mostly his idea. I'm just writing a couple of scenes, and working on dialogue.'
Well, modesty aside, that's not all he's up to. Of the three albums released, his first 'Reaver Doves' was composed for a movie that Nate Cornick wrote, but hasn't been filmed yet. 'We work really well together. Our brains really. I'll write music to a scene he's written or he'll write a scene to some music I think will fit well with the feel of the movie. It's kind of funny how things are. That I would release the soundtrack, well [pause] at least part of the soundtrack before the movie has even finished it's final draft. The movie is a long ways away from being finished so I'll probably be continuing to publish music composed for it for a long time.' (He couldn't tell me the name of the movie for legal reasons.)

So what else is in store for this man of many talents? 'The last three albums were written over a period of about a year. It took so long to get them out that I ended up releasing them all at the same time. There's a pressure to do more, faster when you do something like that. It can inspire you or slow you down. I have slowed down, but maybe I just need to rest a while. Even in my down time I'm writing lyrics or poetry, or recording an idea. I have enough ideas already to fill a double album, so maybe that's what I'll do next. [smiles] Besides writing more music, I thought it'd be a good time to get started on my novel. It's really just autobiographical, but all these things from my life have been sitting in the back of my head for so long that I need to get them down on paper. I started writing it about a couple of weeks ago, so it's going to be a while before I'm done. [laughing] If things keep happening the way they've been, I'm going to have to keep revising!'

Dean Michaels, Bomb Gifted Magazine (Sept.2007)