Grand Buffet

Grand Buffet

Left to right: Jarrod Weeks, Jackson O'Connell-Barlow
Background information
Origin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Genres Alternative hip hop, Experimental
Years active 1996–Current
Labels Self Produced
Fighting Records
Website www.grandbuffet.com
Members Jackson O'Connell-Barlow
Jarrod Weeks
Past members "G-Rude"

Grand Buffet is a hip-hop funk duo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, made up of Jackson O'Connell-Barlow (stage names: Iguanadon, Grape-a-Don, Plaps, Nate Kukla, and Mr. Pennsylvania) and Jarrod Weeks (stage names: M-Dog, Lord Grunge, Viceroy, Matt Kukla, Fred Durts). Their music is a unique brand of humorous, often satirical rap. They have toured several times with notable artists such as Gil Mantera's Party Dream, Sage Francis, Of Montreal, Cex,[1] Sole, Magnolia Electric Co.,[2] Streetlight Manifesto,[3] and the late Wesley Willis.[2] They have also toured the USA and Europe extensively.[1] In 2005 they finished a European tour with Sage Francis,[4] and an American Tour with Of Montreal and MGMT in 2006.[1] They toured with Girl Talk in 2008, and Third Eye Blind in 2009.

History

Grand Buffet has been together since 1996.[1] They have released two self-produced, full length LP's, Scrooge McRock (1997, out of print) and Sparkle Classic (2000), as well as a "Trilogy of Terror": 3 EP's - Undercover Angels (2002), Cigarette Beach (2002), and Pittsburgh Hearts (2003). Each of these releases has included different names for Jackson and Jarrod in the liner notes; the stage names are listed chronologically from Scrooge McRock to Cigarette Beach - Pittsburgh Hearts attributed them by their real names.

Grand Buffet performing live as an opening act for Of Montreal at The 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia on March 24th, 2006

Their MySpace account also lists them as Viceroy (Jarrod) and Plaps (Jackson). There was a third member, a DJ named G-Rude (Dan), who was credited on Scrooge McRock but no subsequent albums – thus the liner art for both Scrooge McRock and Dicer contains three member's pictures instead of two. In 2004, they released a full length CD of outtakes, rarities, and radio performances called Dicer: The Unheard Funk Tracks. In 2005, they released a greatest hits collection, Five Years of Fireworks, which included a new track and a bonus DVD filled with music videos, outtakes, backstage antics, and live material. A sequel to Dicer was announced in 2005, and Weeks mentioned possibly expanding it into an annual release.[5] It is notable to mention that they once again toured with a DJ for some shows in 2005 and 2006; a DJ from Texas, DJ Jester the Filipino Fist, who has toured with Kid Koala.[6]

On May 8, 2007, "The Haunted Fucking Gazebo" EP and on January 8, 2008, "King Vision" were released, both on Fighting Records.

Abandoned and unreleased material

The band has distanced itself from Scrooge McRock in at least one interview, dismissing it as more of a retrospectively-viewed collection of demos than a proper album.[7] For the following two years, they worked on material for an album that was to be called Peter Weller (after the actor), which ultimately was never released, culminating in an abandonment in 1999. (Several tracks from these sessions were released on Dicer). Sparkle Classic is the first album they consider part of the official discography.[7]

Grand Buffet have hinted at a children's album entitled Gorilla and Fox,[7][8] but there has been no official release date announced.

Discography

Videography

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 rocksellout.com interview
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fighting Records bio page
  3. ↑ Lumino Magazine article
  4. ↑ Cleveland Scene article at archive.org
  5. ↑ Official site, July 10, 2005
  6. ↑ San Antonio Current article about DJ Jester
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Philler Interview
  8. ↑ New Times Broward-Palm Beach article
  9. ↑ Golden Lemons a documentary roadmovie by Jörg Siepmann
  10. ↑ Golden Lemons at the Internet Movie Database