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Buell Thomas
171 Plays5 years ago
BUELL THOMAS - master on trumpet, vocals and philosophy ---
Buell began playing the trumpet at 9 years young. The Marriage between the two, like any other, has had its peaks and valleys throughout but every musician has his soul instrument. Mr. Thomas has used his to be able to share the gift of expression with many others over his Career.
His first Band was SUPERBUG, in South County, Rhode Island. Superbug went on to enjoy local success in Southern New England, culminating with a first place finish in the then prestigious 1994 95.5 WBRU Rock Hunt. The group recorded three albums together, most notably, the 12 song PRIZED. The group disbanded in 1995 and Thomas left for New York City where he continued writing while also spending one year studying at the City College Of New York.
As a trumpet player, Buell was able to contribute to many live and recorded performances. In 2007, upon meeting TJ Swan (Joe Carter), he recorded his first solo album, 'In The Air.' 'In The Air' was recorded at Velvet Swan Studios in 100% analog format, and was pressed to 500 vinyl albums.
Thomas continues to release great music under his newest project WELL BRED MONGRELS with a new album soon in the offing . . .
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Transcript
00:00:01
Speaker
You are listening to something rather than nothing. Creator and host, Ken Vellante. Editor and producer, Peter Bauer.
Introduction of Buell Thomas
00:00:16
Speaker
All right, so this is Ken Volante with something rather than nothing podcast. And I have to tell you, it's a great pleasure to be having as a guest of Yule Thomas, a friend of mine, extremely talented musician. And interestingly enough, went to the University of Rhode Island together, studied some classes.
00:00:41
Speaker
and listen to some great music, including his music
Musical Journey Begins
00:00:45
Speaker
at the time. He was in a band called Superbug. He's got a new band, a project he's been working on called Wellbred Mongrels. And we'll hear a couple tracks. We'll hear a track from from each one of those bands. But Buell just wanted to welcome you to the podcast. Much obliged to be here and honored. Can't wait to
00:01:10
Speaker
have people hear the well-bred Mongrels and talk about growing up and enjoying the state of Rhode Island, man, because I haven't been back. All right, all right. So yeah, let's start off. The first question we ask is, what were you like as a young child? Were you dabbling with music, dabbling with art? What did you do? What were you doing? Born and raised in Providence.
00:01:37
Speaker
Born in the same hospital as my mother, lying in hospital. My first instrument was a cello that my dad thought that I might like because that was his favorite instrument. However, I could not take carrying that thing to school every day, so I broke it.
00:02:00
Speaker
And I took some time off. I was about seven years old when I started playing the cello that lasted about a month and a half. And then when I was nine, I'm sitting in a classroom and this really cool guy named Carlos from Fox point comes in with a trumpet and a tattoo on his arm and starts playing. And I'm like, that guy is the coolest guy.
00:02:27
Speaker
and I am going to be a trumpet player, and that's when I started playing the trumpet. So it's just kind of like lightning like that, right? Yes. When I talk to people about what to do with kids and music, kids know what they're going to play as soon as they see the instrument. In other words, that's my instrument. I've been playing it for years.
00:02:57
Speaker
And if I could go back and change, I would have, I would have become a guitarist. I love the guitar and would have wanted to be like a rock guitarist, but I can't change the fact that it was love at first sight. And that is, it's just, it's been with me since nine years old, man. So yeah, I love that. It sounds like the,
00:03:23
Speaker
The question answers itself, right? It just comes to you. It does. Yeah, Buell, what forms of art have attracted to you both, obviously you're a musician, but both in the sense of maybe what you participate in or what you like to consume or enjoy within the art world. What's your jam?
Artistic Influences and Passions
00:03:49
Speaker
Starting off, literature, man.
00:03:52
Speaker
from the time that I guess I was about 13. So I took the test to get into classical high school in Providence. Got in the first summer that ninth grade, they give you a reading list. Well, they give you a reading list every year. But I remember reading The Hobbit and The Hobbit changed my life forever because it was the most
00:04:22
Speaker
incredible thing that I had ever experienced. I mean, I still remember getting goosebumps reading that book. So throughout my life, I've always been into literature. When I came to New York, I've been lucky enough or blessed enough to go to every single museum and I love, love, love paintings. I just
00:04:52
Speaker
I've gone to every museum to see exhibits and I'm just in love with the whole painting thing of aspect of art. Yeah, I think we share, we definitely share that. You know I'm a huge fan of literature and
00:05:13
Speaker
a door, just a door painting. And it's interesting for me, because I've studied, you know, deliberately studied an intense amount of literature over the years, right? But in within school, and then on the with with painting, it's all all been kind of like self self taught. And but both passions, passions of mine, as well. And it's
00:05:38
Speaker
It's great that you have that same level of enjoyment, probably that I do, that passion for it. So what is art, Buell? In your opinion, what do you see, you know, you refer to paintings and music and such, but when you look at something, you say, ah, that's a beautiful piece of art. What do you say? I think that art reflects life.
00:06:06
Speaker
And it reflects it in a couple of different ways. It reflects it in a real way, whereas we get a real image of life, society, history, what's going on in the world. And I think we get a virtual where we see somebody's own image of something that might not look anything
00:06:36
Speaker
like the real image or even the real thing. So I think what artists do in all forms of art is to show what they see real things as. Sometimes you get an image that looks exactly like a tree.
00:07:03
Speaker
And then sometimes you get an image that looks nothing like a tree, yet it's the artist's image of a tree. So we're always, as artists, we're always trying to show what we see in real life. Am I making sense when I say that? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And yeah, go ahead, go ahead. It's everywhere.
00:07:33
Speaker
Art is everywhere. I mean, nature produces art. Humans produce art. You look at a place like New York City, it's everywhere. The graffiti, the murals. We've got museums. If you look in Rhode Island, it's the same thing. If you walk along a beach,
00:08:02
Speaker
the way the sun is hitting the ocean, the way the sunset rises, no sunset or sunrise is the same every single day, you know what I mean? So, I mean, art is just, it's how the world is visualized.
Art During Pandemic Times
00:08:24
Speaker
And right now, you know, the last few episodes of the podcast have been recording the course
00:08:32
Speaker
with the coronavirus pandemic, with the huge restructuring of the way we're living and kind of anxiety around that. And I think one of the things that I've been very interested in talking to artists or within the role of artists is you're there in the Bronx, right? And it's kind of an intense scene. As an artist, as a performer,
00:09:00
Speaker
Can you take a swing at the question of what the role of art and music is right now within that context, within the pandemic? I think it's complete and utter distraction because basically the world is, or in New York City, we are in full on lockdown, quasi, quasi,
00:09:28
Speaker
quarantine and we're basically shuttered. Any news that we get, any announcements that we get are always somebody's sick, the numbers of people who are being diagnosed with or testing positive for the coronavirus, it's everywhere.
00:09:54
Speaker
And so I think art needs to be a distraction for us, whether it's enjoying it, listening to music, or just doing it, even if it's not something that you do every day, but to do it to just distract yourself from, I mean, a pretty much grave situation.
00:10:24
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And so you find yourself, the role, do you think it's a little bit more of a role of the distraction than, than normal, like that we need the distraction of the arts right now? Definitely. Yeah. Definitely. I mean, so about two weeks ago, a large number of people in New York were not permitted to go to work.
00:10:54
Speaker
If you think of the everyday ritual that a lot of New Yorkers have, which is to wake up, quickly get dressed, get on the subway and go to a job. It takes up a lot of time, but it distracts you from being a creative person. You see what I'm saying? In other words, it's like you turn into a robot. Like a funny story like
00:11:24
Speaker
About two and a half weeks ago, I had been taking the train for almost two years to lower Manhattan for my job. And same thing, every single day, get up, take the kids to school, get on the train, go to work, without fail. Two weeks ago, my wife says, listen, man, I really don't think it's smart for you to take the train. No, but I gotta go to work.
00:11:53
Speaker
Where am I going to park? I got to drive. I got to die. I'm not going to drive to the city. It costs such and such amount of money. Finally, she's like, I'll put my foot down. You're driving. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean? And so what to make a long story short, it takes you out. This has taken us out of our everyday ritual, especially in New York, which is like everything is centered around going to work and making money. And now we're home. You see what I mean?
00:12:24
Speaker
So now you need to be distracted. And then every time your phone bleeps or you turn on the TV, it's another report of somebody who's tested positive or passing away. So, you know. Yeah. And yeah. And thank you. I find myself, it's curious. One question has popped into my head as far as
00:12:48
Speaker
like with music is, uh, last night I was listening for a while and really, really enjoying kind of my tangent of music that I enjoy of a doom metal, right? It's like going, yeah, like right into it, right? Right into the monsters, right into the aggression, right into the confusion. And then, then I think about like, it feels like I'm going into that, but then at other times I know that the music I'm picking is,
00:13:17
Speaker
for a very different reason of being like, this sounds good. It's upbeat. Let me just go along with this. So I find myself kind of moving back and forth between immersing myself into some of that darkness and then kind of pulling back and being like, all right, it's time for some Taylor Swift, something a little bit lighter, something a little bit. No, I mean, it's really, I mean, music is something that is, there's so
Band Experiences and Evolution
00:13:46
Speaker
much of it.
00:13:47
Speaker
that you really can't quantify or qualify. It's like we all get certain feelings and emotions, but we listen to music for completely different reasons. We might listen to Led Zeppelin,
00:14:11
Speaker
one day to get riled up. We might listen to death metal to get riled up. And then another day we might listen to the same music to chill us out. And it might be that you listen to Joni Mitchell Blue because you want to feel relaxed. But also, sometimes you listen to Joni Mitchell's Blue and it gets you to a point where you could go out and run a marathon. You know what I mean?
00:14:40
Speaker
The thing about the triggers that, and this is the thing about art, it triggers all these different things in your senses. And I mean, thank God there is so much art out there.
00:14:58
Speaker
Yeah, I completely agree. So hey, let's go to the way back time travel machine. The next podcast after you, I got a really brilliant physicist who's going to be like looking at like
00:15:14
Speaker
We're gonna talk about time travel and why there's something rather than nothing and right all this stuff But let's let's do our own little time travel here. I'm going back to Maybe about 25 years ago. Yeah, you're in That you're in in in in lead on with the superbug at the University of Rhode Island as as you know you know, I love the music that that you guys produced a lot of my friends did and
00:15:42
Speaker
got to see you live. So can you, um, can you take us back a little bit to, um, to, to your experience, you know, back at the university of Rhode Island, putting together the band and just, just tell us the story of the band and what you were up to. Right on, man. Basically, Superbug started on Caswell street. It started in an apartment right across from the IGA and the big parking lot. And so,
00:16:12
Speaker
I was rooming with Mark Archambault, who was the guitarist in the band. And every Saturday, he would have Craig come over and the guys from Subgum Soup, and they would jam. And so eventually,
00:16:42
Speaker
I started to just get involved with them. I started playing jamming with them on the horn. Craig asked me to, and then also singing, Craig asked me to sing with some gum soup. So I started off singing with them. I was going to go do a recording with them, but it never materialized. And then Mark had started Superbug
00:17:12
Speaker
around the same time and then said, well, if you're not going to be in SubGum, why don't you come sing with us? And literally that's how the band began. So we went through a couple of different lineups. We recorded Fitness, which was the first album. We did, our first show was in
00:17:38
Speaker
Newport was like an open show and that's where we met. Remember Dave Joy? Yes. We met Dave Joy from Uber Alice and we did another album with Ron Kroll on drums and then we finally got the final lineup with Rob Verde
00:18:05
Speaker
Bill Lying and the rest was quote-unquote history. I mean the experience It I could do a whole podcast on that And so It took us through through 1995 and we were in the we won the WBRU rock heart we recorded
00:18:36
Speaker
four albums. I mean, the whole scene of the Rhode Island music scene was so tight-knit and powerful that, I mean, it's an experience that I can't ever, ever, ever forget and never will forget. And the people that we met
00:19:05
Speaker
the people that we played with is just something that I can't, it's hard to even talk about it. Unfortunately, we lost Bill Long before we could reunite. But like I said, it was an experience that it's hard to
00:19:34
Speaker
to rope into a couple of sentences, you know what I mean? So, well, you know, one of the things is, is I think, uh, a lot of people who experienced the band experience, the music around that time, we're really just really excited about it. It was a great experience. It was a shared experience of both the enthusiasm and the great music that you guys were. I think it was special and I think that's what's cool about it. Um, and, um,
00:20:04
Speaker
you know, for, for everybody who's listening, uh, we're going to have a track at the end of, um, this episode from super bug, uh, Buell right now you're working, uh, your latest project. So well-bred Mongrels, right. And, uh, let's, let's talk about, let's talk about your, um, let's, let's talk about that project and, uh, what you've been up with that. That project basically got off the ground in about 2010. So I, I,
00:20:32
Speaker
When we broke up as Superbug, I came down to New York and studied at City College. And then I played around the city with various other people. I sat in with people mostly. And then I met a man named TJ Swan, Joe Carter, who had a recording studio on 58th Street.
00:21:00
Speaker
I had a conversation with him that I had songs that I wanted that I had been meaning to record. And I went to his studio, which was a museum of analog equipment. And basically he and I sat down and arranged an album and recorded it in his Velvet Swan Studios. I recorded 10 songs with him and then put it out on vinyl.
00:21:30
Speaker
I pressed 500 copies of that, and then it's also on SoundCloud under the Well-Bread Mongrels. I did a couple of shows for that album, and then unfortunately, Joe passed. So I was sort of left with nowhere to turn, but I decided that I was going to start.
00:22:00
Speaker
doing everything myself. So I recorded this album basically by myself, and I have 12 songs that I release six as a volume one, and I'm gonna release six more as a volume two. Well, yeah, thanks for catching us up. Hey, Buell, right now I wanna play a track
00:22:28
Speaker
one of your tracks called real thing we're gonna cut into that right now I'll pick up the chat after we play it all right okay
00:22:54
Speaker
And we like this place that you call home. Found it. And we like to call this place our home. Oh, divine, yeah. Then your name will stake our claim to this pitot.
00:23:27
Speaker
Struggle, struggle is real, struggle is real Intertwine, buy a lease on this here spit of land
00:23:54
Speaker
So we'll praise and thank you with our pain The struggle is real, the struggle is real, transparent
00:24:14
Speaker
Fresh form, reef form is a solid process. Crafted. Real growth through better chemistry is undisputed. Struggle. The struggle is real. The struggle is real. The struggle is real.
00:25:22
Speaker
Struggle is real, struggle is real Grounded We'd like this place that you call home Grounded We'd like to call this place our home
00:26:22
Speaker
The struggles.
Creative Drive and Inspiration
00:27:16
Speaker
A-b-b-b-b-yeah A-b-b-c-yeah A-b-b-b-b-yeah
00:29:02
Speaker
But you still got the groove, brother, right? Oh, man. That was fun. I've never listened to it like in that in that. That was fun. Yeah. I love I love that track. You know, it's it's I always really enjoyed really enjoyed your vocals and
00:29:24
Speaker
My mind, I don't have it pinned down yet, but I just like hearing the various influences that are going in there, the jazz, a little bit of Stevie Wonder, a little bit of that funk groove. I'm digging on that. Well, that's the thing that coming from Superbug and the types of people that we grew up with in Providence and in Rhode Island and the mix of cultures.
00:29:54
Speaker
Yes. Even when, and I have to give props to, to all the members of Superbug because they're my boys, man. I have to say hi to Chris Manchester and I have to say hi to Mark Archibald and Rob Verde and rest in peace to Bill. Absolutely. But, but all that is what began with Superbug. And if you listened to, and people are going to listen to sovereignty and the same thing, we had all this,
00:30:25
Speaker
these out these influences coming together as one. And it's something that has never left me, man. Yeah, yeah. And I definitely know what you mean by the by the influences. You know, I grew up next door in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. So we might even might have ran past each other. Great town. Might have ran past each other. Great town. People don't even know.
00:30:52
Speaker
Great Pawtucket is the same thing with so many great people came out of Pawtucket. So, you know, it's Rhode Island. Rhode Island, people don't realize that Rhode Island is a heavy, heavy place for music, man. It's heavy. It is. It's just as heavy as a place like New York in its own way. It's like there's so many influences there, man.
00:31:19
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, so um so a big big question behind behind all behind all this and you've been you've been a creator musician and been you know making art for for quite a long time If you ever asked yourself why you create I have not really ever asked myself that I've
00:31:47
Speaker
only been thankful that I did. It's just something that I felt like I had to do. I went through a period of time where I did not have any direction. And I remember I was sitting somewhere and I was living in like South County, Narragansett. My dad came down. I was like about 20, 21 years old.
00:32:16
Speaker
and I hadn't played my trumpet in years, like three or four years, you know? So he comes down and we go to the willows, the twin willows for fish and chips. And in his truck, he had my horn and he just handed it to me. And I'm like, why? He's like, I don't know, maybe one day you'll play it again.
00:32:47
Speaker
It just, I started playing that. I met some, you know, it's just, it started the whole creative process with wanting to write music, to be around people who were playing music. And the next thing I knew, I was doing it. Amen. You know what I mean? Have I ever asked myself, do I want to create? I have to be honest or the reason why I create, I do not know.
00:33:15
Speaker
Yeah, I've never asked myself that question and it's It's as simple as that. Yeah, just the way things have developed. Um, yeah, that's that's a big question I get an even bigger one for you. Um Why is there something rather than nothing? I thought about the title or the the the the name of the podcast and of course I started messing around with the song and
00:33:45
Speaker
some simple lyrics and that's what I had in my notes and I just wanted to read them to you. So give me one second. So great minds that idle and neutral do nothing and decay. Ho hum, oh well, ho hum, another one that got away. Ho hum, oh well, ho hum,
00:34:15
Speaker
Another one that got away. People of the world be vital. Create something today. And that's my present to Ken Volante. Something rather than nothing. That's what I believe. I believe that the idle mind is a devil workshop, brother. Do something. That's what my father always used to say.
00:34:39
Speaker
I received your gift in totality. I knew you'd have something special for me. And I'll send you the musical arrangement because I can't send it over the phone. That's fantastic. I love it. Absolutely love it. Hey, we got one more question.
Where to Find Buell's Music
00:35:02
Speaker
And this is a way for the folks that I talk to, my guests, artists,
00:35:07
Speaker
to lay it out for listeners to be able to connect with, whether it's you, your music, where did they go? Where did they look? Where did they listen? Can you help folks along? I am on SoundCloud under the Wellbred Mongrels. That's the album I recorded with TJ Swan. The Wellbred Mongrels, the latest music is on Spotify, Apple Music,
00:35:36
Speaker
Bandcamp, which is the most killer, killer, killer, killer service. And people need to know that Bandcamp takes maybe like 0.1% of all the money that comes into the artist. 99% of the money goes right back to the artist. So it's a great, great, great, great company.
00:36:02
Speaker
And hopefully we'll be seeing us soon somewhere in the Rhode Island area when this whole coronavirus thing decides to leave us alone. Yeah. Well.
00:36:17
Speaker
And thank you so much for that. And yeah, the band camp, um, I've, I've enjoyed, I've gotten a lot of my, uh, a lot of music, uh, that way. And, uh, what I really appreciate about band camp, uh, for me, the kind of ways I use it to kind of supplement all my other listening is that, you know, bands that you wouldn't be able to find or connect to around the world, you know,
00:36:42
Speaker
They're right there getting their stuff out there. Also, I went on a deep, deep, deep dive into some actually very good quality Pink Floyd bootlegs that showed up on Bandcamp. Just some concerts, 1978 in Boston, just listening to different versions.
00:37:11
Speaker
That'd be a great place. Everybody can find the Wellbred Mongrels on Bandcamp. Just another, I forgot to mention the, we're also on Facebook. We have a wedge page, wellbredmongrels.com. That's great. And so you have a dedicated website, as you mentioned. We do. I love, I've completely enjoyed
00:37:39
Speaker
speaking to you and before, I mean, I know. And I feel like there's so much more to talk about, dude. Well, well, you didn't you didn't know that, you know, being a guest initially lays the groundwork for, you know, episode number two. So you're you're you're you're obligated. You're obligated in that way. Well, you know, because the thing is, is like speaking about
00:38:09
Speaker
the whole history of music from 1991 to 94. You could do a whole podcast of just 91 to 94 in Rhode Island. I think that's a fantastic, fantastic idea. And you mentioned it's a small state, tight-knit community, a lot of radar coming out in the scene. Yeah.
00:38:38
Speaker
But absolutely. I digress. No, hey. Hey, Buell, I'm going to play everybody. I'm going to play a Superbug, sovereignty is the name of the track. Hang on, Buell, because I'll probably yell and make a couple of explanations after we have done listening to this. OK. All right. Let's get into that track right now. It's a great track. OK, Matt.
00:39:55
Speaker
Because I'm freezing into something lovely
00:40:23
Speaker
What is it you're here then you're gone But I never worry baby Moon time's the loon
00:40:54
Speaker
That you're found breathing into suffering the plan. Oh hey hey, I'm so glad that you're coming around.
00:42:43
Speaker
That's the bottom, man. All right. I'm saying now rock and roll is going to save us. It will. Rock and roll will save us. Everybody, Buell Thomas, Superbug and Well-Bread Mongrels. It has been a great thrill and pleasure, Buell. I want to thank you so much for joining us. And likewise, brother, it was an honor to be here. We'll talk soon.
00:43:38
Speaker
Take care now.