Buck 65

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Buck 65
Buck 65 in Sweden at Storsjöyran.
Buck 65 in Sweden at Storsjöyran.
Background information
Birth name Richard Terfry
Also known as Stinkin' Rich, Johnny Rockwell, DJ Critical, Jesus Murphy, Hilario, Uncle Climax, Ricardo Terfry
Born 1972
Origin Mt. Uniacke, Nova Scotia, Canada
Genre(s) Alternative hip hop, Experimental music
Occupation(s) DJ, MC
Instrument(s) Vocals, turntables
Years active 1993 to Present
Label(s) No, Hand'Solo Records, anticon., Warner Music Canada, Strange Famous Records
Associated acts Sebutones, Haltown Projex, 1200 Hobos, Bike For Three!
Website http://www.buck65.com/

Richard Terfry, better known as Buck 65, is a Canadian hip hop artist, MC and turntablist. However he has recently moved away from hip hop in a stylistic context, and moving closer to blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde genres. That said, his new direction is seemingly still underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his trademark rhyme-phrasing and lyrical aspiration evident in the altered timbre vocal delivery displayed in his more recent releases.

Terfry is also a host at CBC Radio 3, with hosting a program on the CBC Radio 3 website's web radio station during weekdays.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early career and influences

Terfry was born in 1972 and raised in Mount Uniacke, Nova Scotia, a rural community outside of Halifax. He was first exposed to rap music in the mid-1980s while listening to CBC Radio's late night show Brave New Waves, and then by listening to Halifax campus community radio station CKDU. CKDU then broadcast at only 33 watts, and he had to climb a tree in his yard to hear the station's hip hop show on his cheap transistor radio. Fascinated by hip hop, the young Terfry taught himself how to rap, DJ, and, later, to produce records. His musical influences include MC Shan, David Lynch, Gitche Manitou, and Kool Keith.

Using the moniker DJ Critical, he later hosted a hip-hop show on CKDU called "The Bassment" (later renamed "The Treatment Program", when he assumed the stage name Jesus Murphy), which aired for several years. This period overlapped with many of his non-major-label releases.

[edit] Stage names

Buck 65 in concert, July 2006. Photo by Louise MacDonald.
Buck 65 in concert, July 2006. Photo by Louise MacDonald.

Buck 65 has also used a number of other stage names including Johnny Rockwell, DJ Critical, Stinkin' Rich, Haslam, and Uncle Climax. These pseudonyms typically represent different characters in his raps (as in Uncle Climax, Johnny Rockwell and Stinkin' Rich) or different aspects of Buck's creativity (as noted above, DJ Critical was his DJ name on CKDU.) Rumours abound that Buck 65's alias comes from his childhood nickname of Buck and his weight of 165 pounds; possibly the pseudonym comes from the weight of the first buck he shot or the $1.65 standard bus fare for Halifax Regional Municipality riders. He has been known to say on stage, "They call me Buck 65... I don't know why." Buck 65's website mentioned previously that he was named after his uncle's 1965 Buick automobile ("'65 Buick" is a track on the Synesthesia album); he performed a show under that name but the promoter mistakenly wrote the name as it is now spelled.

Recently Buck 65 has recorded an EP under the name of Dirk Thornton alongside Irishman DJ Flip, it was scheduled for release early 2007 but the date was not set.

The first release under Dirk Thornton will be a 7" single with the tracks "Yesterday's News" and "Catwalk".

He is also involved in an online collaboration with "Greetings From Tuskan" auteur Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê, as Bike For Three [2], though a release is yet unforthcoming.

[edit] Early releases

In 1993, he released his first cassette of rap tunes while performing under the alias Stinkin' Rich on the Halifax label No Records. The five song cassette was titled Chin Music, which was a reference to his past interest in baseball. The release brought Stinkin' Rich to the attention of members of Halifax alternative rock band Sloan. Sloan signed him to their independent record label Murderecords and released a 7" single and a full length cassette called Game Tight, again featuring a reference to baseball. (Terfry has often stated in interviews that in his teens he had been scouted to play for the New York Yankees but that the death of the talent scout coupled with an injury had caused the deal to fall through. [3].

After a brief break, Terfry returned reconstituted as Buck 65, releasing Language Arts on cassette and the 12" single Wildlife Trilogy, followed by Vertex, which included his popular song "The Centaur." He recorded Sebutonedef (released in 1996 by Funtrip Records) as a collaboration with fellow Halifax artist Sixtoo. Other releases by the duo, known as the Sebutones, are Psoriasis and 50/50 Where It Counts. While still far from mainstream success, he received several odd jobs in Canada's entertainment industry, including making soundtrack music and providing narration for a TV commercial for NBA apparel, and song lyrics for the popular children's program Sesame Street. During a live performance Buck 65 told a story in which he attributed why he was chosen for Sesame Street to three things; his upstanding lifestyle of not drinking, smoking, or doing drugs, his intelligence that wasn't too intelligent for the kids, and Sesame Street's assumption that he was a virgin.

Man Overboard, originally released on the anticon. label, was a significant turning point in his career. The record, and the entire anticon. collective (of which Sixtoo was also a part), were considered hallmarks of a new avant-garde movement in underground hip hop. It was at this time that Buck met Cincinnati DJ Mr. Dibbs who inducted him into the 1200 Hobos, a loosely-knit hip-hop collective named for their proficiency in manipulating the Technics 1200 turntable.[1]

[edit] Critical acclaim

Many of his early projects attracted attention after they were re-released, first on the independent Metaforensics label and subsequently by Warner Music Canada [4]. While Buck 65 has gained critical acclaim [5] and worldwide exposure through his major label deal, commercial success has escaped him. Although Warner's worldwide affiliates distribute his records, Warner USA does not. After a deal was signed with V2 USA, This Right Here Is Buck 65 was released in the States, a sort of "Best of" that was marketed as an introduction to his work [6]. However after V2 chose not to release his next effort, Secret House Against the World, the deal was amicably dissolved. Buck 65 is now looking for a new label in the US.

Buck's most recent albums have gradually moved away from his original 'pure' hip-hop sound into territory influenced by folk, blues and electronica, with some even comparing elements of his sound to Tom Waits [7]. His most recent record is Secret House Against The World. Some of Buck 65's music is used on the Canadian show Trailer Park Boys, frequently in the character Julian's car. He gained additional recognition in 2006 when he appeared at the national Juno Awards with aging sex symbol Pamela Anderson [8].

[edit] Kerrang! “Controversy”

In August 2004, he sparked controversy in the underground hip-hop world over comments he made to an interviewer in Kerrang! magazine. Buck was quoted as saying:

“ I now hate hip hop, the more I’ve educated myself about music, the more I’ve grown to hate it. I don’t use that word lightly, either.[2] ”

In response, former anticon. label-mate Sage Francis (in a post on his website) stated that "Buck has had his head up his arse for many years now." [9] Buck later wrote in a letter to Exclaim!:

“ I’m apologizing for all that. I lost my cool on tape which is never good. The journalist was provoking me, calling me a sell-out and a whore. I was trying to make a point by playing devil’s advocate, but I went way overboard. No hint of irony or role-playing or intelligence came across in the story. Now I just look like an idiot. I take it back. I don’t really believe any of that. I don’t think being able to read music is a concern. Most of my favourite music was made by non-educated musicians. It doesn’t matter. I still have heavy criticisms of most hip hop, but I really didn’t make them well on this particular day. I put my foot in my mouth and I’m apologizing for that.[2] ”

[edit] Dirty Work

Buck 65 released a 5 song digital EP called "Dirty Work". It was released over a month long campaign, adding one song per week for free download via his MySpace page. All five tracks are still available for download on his official website. The EP comes with artwork drawn by Buck himself, and the tracks are all b-sides from his upcoming full length record 'Situation'.

[edit] Situation

On March 29th in a post on his blog, Buck 65 announced his next album Situation. The cover for the album was viewable on the site's entrance page. On August 7th, it was announced on Pitchfork Media that Situation would be released in the US on Strange Famous Records. [10]

In an interview with Liberation Frequency, Buck 65 explained that for Situation, he will maintain a more 'pure' hip-hop sound than what has been heard on his recent albums. With Situation, he’s hooked up with his old DJ pupil Skratch Bastid (a.k.a. Paul Murphy) to make a classic hip-hop record that pulses with joy and clarity of purpose. [3]

Situation was released on October 30th, 2007.

[edit] Theft

During a May 2008 performance at Alix Golden Hall in Victoria, BC, Buck 65's band manager discovered the theft of $5000 worth of equipment and 40+ hours of video footage recorded during the past few weeks of touring. Buck 65 asked for the return of the footage no questions asked. The footage would have been edited into a dvd documentary of the tour. The footage was recovered a few days later. [4]

[edit] Partial discography

[edit] Albums

  • Game Tight (1995), Murderecords
    • Track listing: 1. Three Up Three Down (3:27); 2. Easy to Be Hard (3:35); 3. Kick Up a Stink (3:55); 4. Caught Lookin' (1:35); 5. You're Pissin' Me Off (3:29); 6. Jackie Robinson (0:36); 7. Work to Do (3:13); 8. Maintenance (2:04); 9. Pennies From 87 (0:48); 10. Fully Equipped (3:09); 11. I Just Laugh (0:57); 12. Get Lost (2:53); 13. Ten Miles (3:36); 14. Thought So (3:40); 15. Killy Nem See (3:58)
  • Shattered Dreams & Broken Crossfaders (1995), bootleg
    • Track listing: 1. Intro (1:10); 2. All About Me (4:00); 3. You Can't See Me (4:38); 4. Daisy (1:22); 5. Killy Nem See (3:55); 6. Who You Frontin' For (3:25); 7. Chin Music (3:44); 8. Success Without College (3:01); 9. Memories of the Passed (4:51); 10. Kick the Poop (3:41); 11. Son of 30,000 Feet (4:26); 12. Carefully by Hand (2:46); 13. The 1 Take Wonder (2:50); 14. We Are Men Who Eat Boiled Owls (2:53); 15. The Bum Rap (2:16); 16. Year Zero (3:16); 17. The Crossfader (3:08); 18. Connecting (1:54); 19. Siclimax (4:00); Featuring Sicsexed: 20. Keep Your Hand Off My Girl (3:32); 21. Taking Breaks (3:18); 22. Michelle (Live) (2:35); 23. Formal or Casual (2:20); 24. The Big Chief (2:46); 25. Yes Yes Y'all (2:19); 26. Fucking Chicks (2:41)
  • Year Zero (1996)
    • Track listing: 1. Here Is (1:08); 2. Style 386 (2:17); 3. In a Bad Way (Remix) (3:03); 4. Urine Trouble (2:22); 5. Hit the Breaks (2:00); 6. Porno Groove (0:58); 7. Keep Your Hand Off My Girl (3:39); 8. The Bassment Show (3:44); 9. Year Zero (1:58); 10. You Know the Science (3:39); 11. Who You Frontin' For (Remix) (4:02); 12. Speak of the Devil (0:36); 13. Chiliwack (3:19); 14. Cat Piss (2:53); 15. A Mic in a Fist (2:14); 16. State of the Art (1:28)

Note: All "Language Arts" records prior to his major label signing were remastered and re-released with new artwork in 2002 by Warner Music.

[edit] EPs and other recordings

  • Chin Music (1992), 12" EP, No Records, performing as Stinkin' Rich
    • Track listing: 1. Intro (1:12); 2. All About Me (4:03); 3. You Can't See Me (4:47); 4. Daisy (1:24); 5. Killy Nem See (4:03)
  • CBC Live Studio Session (2002-03-11), radio broadcast
    • Track listing: 1. The Anthem (3:39); 2. Trees (02:52); 3. Shoes (3:02); 4. The Light (3:41); 5. Dad (3:03)
  • Dirty Work (2006), self-released digital EP [12]

[edit] Singles

  • "Stolen Bass" (1994), 7" single, Murderecords, performing as Stinkin' Rich
  • "Sebutone Def" (1996) 12" single, Four Ways to Rock
  • "The Wildlife" (1998) 12" single from Weirdo Magnet, Hand'Solo Records
  • "The Centaur" (1999) 12" single from Vertex, anticon.
  • "Wicked & Weird" (2003-10-06), CD/12" single from Talkin' Honky Blues, Warner
  • "4-6-3" (2004-04-05), CD/10" single from Talkin' Honky Blues, Warner
  • "Sore" (2004-10-04), 7" single from Talkin' Honky Blues, Warner
  • "Devil's Eyes" (Autumn 2005), 10" single from Secret House Against the World, Warner
  • "Way Back When" (Fall 2007), 7" single from Situation, Warner
  • "Dang" (Spring 2008), 7" single from Situation, Warner

[edit] Videos

  • "To Mock a Killingbird" (1998), from Sebutone Def 12"
  • "Pants on Fire" (2001), from Man Overboard
  • "Phil" (2003), from Square
  • "Wicked & Weird" (2003-10-06), from Talkin' Honky Blues
  • "4-6-3" (2004-04-05), from Talkin' Honky Blues
  • "One Evening" (2004), from Leslie Feist's album Let it Die
  • "Kennedy Killed The Hat" (Summer 2005), from Secret House Against the World
  • "Devil's Eyes" (Autumn 2005), from Secret House Against the World
  • "Dang" (Spring 2008), from Situation

[edit] Awards

[edit] 2006

[edit] 2005

  • Nomination for the Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year.

[edit] 2004

[edit] 2003

[edit] Collaboration

[edit] See also

DJs on Al Tuck's record The New High Road of Song

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Wheeler, Melissa. "Sixtoo And Change", Exclaim!, May 2004. Retrieved on 2008-04-17. 
  2. ^ a b Newell, Aaron (Feb. 2, 2005). Buck 65:This Right Here is Buck 65. cokemachineglow.
  3. ^ Love and a Buck 65. Retrieved on November 1, 2007.
  4. ^ Canadian rapper ripped off at concert. Retrieved on May 9, 2008.

[edit] External links

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