September 2015 - Keep It Inside - Lunker Buzz

The September 2015 Single (song) of The Month is called Keep It Inside. A 2:17 minute dash for glory by a little known group called Lunker Buzz. Little known is a shame, the group was every bit as good, if not more interesting than their closest sonic contemporaries, The Foo Fighters. These were the glory days of Marshall Half-Stacks and Ampeg 8x10s married to pop melodies and upbeat tunes. The sound was big, but the vocals were on top and the song was important. The sleepy dirge of grunge had fallen asleep and smiling Dave Grohl was making new fast rules. So was Lunker Buzz.
 
On Keep It Inside Singer/Guitarist Tim Bramstedt’s guitar is lush, wall like and wonderful. His singing is rockin spot on, edgy, yet charming and inviting. Ben Herzon’s pick style bass is warm and rolling; his knack for subtlety is apparent here and typical of his style. Herzon strums the bass playing pretty much every quarter note, laying down a triple thick shake, shag carpet, down comforter pad for the other musical elements to sit comfortably in and on. It’s a warm coat life-jacket; cozy and buoyant. Tim’s guitar is warm yet slashing, thick yet edgy and again, way more interesting than the wall Smear and Grohl put up. Tim’s wall has quirky paintings on it, some sticky notes, pictures, crayon scratches and a dent in the gypsum from someone’s head. Bramstedt has a gift for little snatches of great notes, and thus a more interesting wall.
 
For sheer aural decadence put on headphones, crank this song up and let the rich wash of power soak your brain. Producers Ric Harmon and Matt Fevold captured it pretty well. By the time they made this song Bramstedt and Herzon had played together for almost ten years. They clicked as players and songsters and the power they could produce was joyous. This song showcases a great rock outfit at the peak of its ability.
 
Add to the mix drummer Eric Harneteaux whose relatively simple approach to the kit belied his well thought out parts. This is straightforward rock, it’s not Rush, but listen to the drum pattern of this song. In the chorus it does a 4x4 front beat, a single with a herk, and a 4x4 back beat, and that pattern repeats exactly in the chorus throughout the song. That’s no accident, that’s the kind of shit real drummers do. We all know drummers are dumb, but not good ones. Harnetaux’s parts are parts, clever and ever willing to lend themselves to the song. He rocks like a fool, but he knows what he’s doing, how to do it and why.
 
I asked Eric about the song: “We had only a couple of practices under our belts when Judge Nothing asked us to open for them at Cicero's, so we were coming up with material fast and furious. Keep it Inside was built on a riff Rockabye (Tim) pulled out of his A.  He thought it sounded like Keith Richards, so for the longest time it was simply titled Keef.” 
 
“I thought it had an Alt-Country feel, so, for my part, I laid back on the driving rhythm and added a one-tom fill before the chorus to give it a little more bounce 'ala "Long Cut" by Uncle Tupelo.”
 
“It was recorded at Ric Harmon's house in Glen Carbon.  The vocals were recorded later by Matt Fevold at Grand Central Post in St. Louis.  We were real proud it landing on the Pointessential Volume 5 CD.” 
 
Pointessential was a CD put out annually by St. Louis’s major “Alt” station KPNT. The song was also praised by revered critic Thomas Crone. Rightly so, it deserves accolades, it is a great song. Bramstedt wrote the words, and while never being known as a wordsmith, he crams a great story and a lot of food for thought into 2 mins and 17 seconds. He even saves room for a vocalized horn solo. It’s fun, it’s banging, the words are great, the chorus is stellar, it’s got parts, it’s got changes, it’s got skill, it’s raw, it’s a beautiful little nugget of rock-n-roll. It’s a great lesson in song writing if nothing else! Had one member of Lunker Buzz been in Nirvana, Lunker Buzz would be on a World Tour right now.
 
Please enjoy Keep It Inside, download it, it’s yours, and check out more Lunker Buzz on this site. In fact buy some Lunker Buzz from this site. All proceeds go to the members of the band - who deserve it for giving you great little ditties to rock out to and make your day better.