Big ol' congratulations are in order for Long Beach band Avi Buffalo, who have signed with long-standing, internationally renowned Seattle-based tastemaking label Sub Pop–y'know, the label that signed Nirvana and Soundgarden back in the day, and have continued to stay cool in the '00s with acts like the Shins and Band of Horses.
Really, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise–Avi Buffalo have been gaining a remarkable amount of traction (deservedly so!) around Southern California lately, including key slots on big shows like LA's FYF Fest. Their next show is November 5 at the Echo, also in LA, but hopefully they'll no doubt add a show closer to home soon. The full text of Sub Pop's press release–including details on upcoming music–is after the jump.
]
Introductions are in order…
Avi Buffalo is the adopted name of Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg, an 18
year-old singer/songwriter and guitarist from Long Beach , CA. Avi
Buffalo is also the name of the band he formed with friends and
like-minded collaborators Sheridan Riley (drums), Arin Fazio (bass)
and Rebecca Coleman (keyboards and vocals). Though Avi started
recording songs 3 years ago, during his sophomore year in high school,
amidst the dissolution of his previous band Monogram, it wasn't until
Bill Cutts of Outsider Folk asked Avi to play a show in 2007 that Avi
Buffalo the band came to be. This first show was an acoustic set at
the Zephyr CafN in Long Beach . Through the following summer and a
local music festival that fall, the band became an altogether more
electric thing. And soon they were asked to play shows in Los Angeles
. They did and then kept on doing it. A year later Avi and Aaron Embry
(who has played with folks like Elliott Smith, Daniel Lanois, Emmylou
Harris, Beth Orton and a whole slew of others) began recording the
songs that will become the band's first record. At the prompting of
early fan and Sub Pop A&R Head Tony Kiewel, the band toured up to
Seattle, played a show, met folks at the label, and began what we all
hope will be a very long and happy relationship.
Since then, Avi, Sheridan, Arin, and Rebecca have toured with and made
fans of new label-mates Beach House, played the FYF Festival and the
Monolith Festival, found unexpected, glowing response and airplay from
Steve Lamacq at BBC1, and closer to home from KCRW and KXLU, and have
received a whole lot of unsolicited press attention. All before
putting out a record.
Because we at Sub Pop are (still…) in the increasingly anachronistic
business of putting out records, we plan to change that. And so! On
Dec. 8th, 2009 we will be releasing “What's in It For?” b/w “Jessica”
as a 7″ vinyl single, recorded by the aforementioned and
comprehensively associated Aaron Embry. One or both of these songs
will also be found on the debut Avi Buffalo full-length that we are
just ridiculously puffed-up about releasing in the spring of 2010.
