Strobes pulse, colors swirl, the scent of incense is everywhere. A pretty girl in a mini skirt brushes past you and smiles. A strange and colorful crowd has filled the tiny club and there is a tangible sense of expectation.
This is a typical setting for The Red Plastic Buddha, Chicago's latest entry into a resurgent psychedelic underground. With the release of their debut CD Sunflower Sessions (Spade Kitty), the Buddhas have burst onto the Chicago music scene like a Technicolor flashback from the late 60s.
"I don't think our sound is post-modern at all. We play psychedelic music because of the freedom it allows us as musicians and songwriters,' says singer / bass guitarist Tim Ferguson. 'This music style allows us to experiment and not be bound to typical song structures. We do the catchy three-minute pop song as well as anyone, but I personally find it more rewarding to have an audience lock into a groove and go for a ride with us. There's a shared intimacy there that is really amazing."
Independent press and Internet based radio are noticing The Red Plastic Buddha and the word is beginning to spread. Since releasing Sunflower Sessions, the Buddhas have added new guitarist Tom Valenzano and backing vocalist Pamela Richardson and have filmed two videos. Recently, PBS Series Road Trip Nation announced that they are adding The RPB song 'Clouds' to the soundtrack of the new season.
The RPB are currently booking festival and club dates for the summer of 2008 and are polishing up material for their follow up recording, slated for fall '08.
Psychedelic music is back and as The Red Plastic Buddha prove, it's stronger than ever.
'Sunflower Sessions', the official debut release of the Red Plastic Buddha, is out NOW on Spade Kitty Records. Hear more clips and buy yours today at: www.spadekitty.com. We can also be found at: Amazon.com, CDBaby.com, CDUniverse.com and the wonderful
Current line up: Tim Ferguson - vocals, bass guitar; Todd Lazar - lead guitar; Tom Valenzano - guitar, backing vocals; Dav Kling - drums, percussion; Matt Walters - keyboards; Pamela Richardson - backing vocals, percussion .
Sunflower Sessions lineup: Tim Ferguson - vocals, bass guitar; Todd Lazar - lead guitar; Todd Leiter-Weintraub - guitar, backing vocals; Dav Kling - drums, percussion; Matt Walters - keyboards; --- with Pamela Richardson - backing vocals Ric Salazar - lead guitar on Kerosene.
Syd Barrett and the Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Love, Tomorrow, Ravi Shankar, The Action, Rickenbacker guitars, the Kinks, 007, Che Guevara, Van der Graaf Generator, Milan Kundera, Photon Band, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Lounge Axe, Hawkwind, Jaguar 'E' Types, Wire, Pere Ubu, Bobby Kennedy, Guided by Voices, Pretty Things, farfisa keyboards, swinging London, The Seeds, Buddhism, the Zombies, Bettie Page, MGBs, West Berlin, Yo La Tengo, the Weather Underground, Bruce Lee, Eleventh Dream Day, Television, Joy Division, Edinburgh, the Darkroom, 13th Floor Elevators, New York Dolls, the Wedding Present, Empty Bottle, Vox guitars, Samuel Beckett, Mad Max, Antonin Artaud, Debsey Wykes, lava lites, Spacemen 3, Built to Spill, Albert Camus, T-Rex, gummy bears, Beau Brummels, Three 4 Tens, aikido, Jacques Tati, Ibiza, High Dials, Grand Mal, Brian Eno, the Warlocks, Eloy, the Wipers, Malcolm X, Crash Palace, Sufism, Peter Max, Jack Keroac, Francoise Hardy, The Jam, Tangerine Dream
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