Donna the Buffalo has employed a variety of influences to keep fans grooving throughout the band's 17-year history.

Donna the Buffalo is a band on the roam

Date published: 10/13/2005

By BEN SELLERS

If there is one unifying principle behind the music of Donna the Buffalo, it's that when something feels right, you run with it.

That philosophy has kept the upstate New York-based band's fans grooving throughout its 17-year history.

With a newly released album, "Life's a Ride," Donna the Buffalo seems ready as ever to take fame to the next level. But when it comes to stepping up their business approach (labels, producers and contracts--oh my!), guitarist and co-founder Jeb Puryear laughs at the notion.

"Making music, that's the really exciting part," he said. "The rest is a bunch of crap."

Puryear's outlook may have influenced Donna the Buffalo's decision to start from scratch, so to speak, on the new album. They eschewed costly studio time in favor of producing in a remodeled chicken coop.

"All that was an attempt to make the best record we could by having a little more time to track it," Puryear said. "The way the recording industry is now, with everyone copying your stuff, it's hard to get a large budget."

Another problem is trying to brand the Buffalo, which will visit the Canal Club in Richmond on Friday, and the State Theatre in Falls Church on Saturday.

Puryear said he's not exactly sure what makes the band's varied perspectives and diversity of styles gel into one distinctive sound--it just does.

Donna the Buffalo started as a collection of old-time musicians playing fiddle tunes. But as Puryear and bandmate Tara Nevins began writing songs, the influences expanded to include classic rock, reggae and zydeco music.

With six songs by Puryear and six by Nevins, "Life's A Ride" incorporates even more elements into the mix, like Dylanesque political anthems ("Deeds of a Few") and American Indian flute jams ("Love and Gasoline").

"I think it's a cool thing to get both angles of life, the male and female perspective," Puryear said. "The songs might have a different vibe, but there's a whole atmosphere."

It doesn't hurt having a throng of dance-ready fans at any of the approximately 100 shows they do per year. Since its birth, the band has enjoyed a successful run on the festival circuit, including gigs at North Carolina's MerleFest and Colorado's Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

They even founded their own Grassroots Festival in 1990 to benefit AIDS research. And like the legions of Grateful Dead groupies before them, Donna the Buffalo's fan base has taken on a life of its own, being dubbed "The Herd."

"Everybody's always wanted to move their body when we played," Puryear said. "From the minute we started as a band, people always moved."

But though the atmosphere remains the same, the band's lineup has changed. Longtime fans might expect to hear some minor changes in the band, following the departure of another founding guitarist, Jim Miller.

"In general," Puryear said, "we tend to be a little more focused, have a tighter sound, a little clearer."

To reach BEN SELLERS:540/374-5423bsellers@freelancestar.com

WHAT: Donna the Buffalo will perform WHERE: The State Theatre, 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church WHEN: Saturday, 9 p.m. COST: $17 in advance, $19 day of show INFO: 703/237-0300 WEB: thestatetheatre .com, donnathe buffalo.com TICKETS: Available by calling Ticketmaster at 800/551-SEAT or online at ticketmas ter.com. WHAT: Donna the Buffalo will perform WHERE: The Canal Club, 17th and Dock streets, Richmond WHEN: Friday, 9 p.m. COST: $15 in advance, $17 day of show INFO: 804/643-2582 WEB: donnathebuffalo .com TICKETS: Available online at thecanalclub.com.

Date published: 10/13/2005