R - Sunday's Heavy Tunes

Kansas City’s Buzzard Fight is a three-piece rock ‘n’ roll machine with more twang than an hour of country radio. Like a metallic Black Oak Arkansas or a countrified Kyuss, Buzzard Fight brings a unique genre-bending sound that the area’s heavy music scene they’ve dubbed, “Psychedelic Country Sludge.”

They’re releasing their debut album Lysergic Speed Diesel next month, and we’re excited to premiere the latest single from that album, “Come On, Myling,” which references a weird bit of Scandanavian folklore, along with an interview from the band members Randall Platt, Patrick McGillicuddy, and Josh Rogers.


The Pitch: “Come On, Myling” leans hard into a really strong Kyuss sound. Where else are you pulling for influences?

Josh: We’ve all played wildly different types of music through our careers, so I think just all of it comes through. Randall is from Houston originally and has been in a lot of heavy country, folk metal type bands and just straight up shreds chickin’ pickin’ riffs. Patty is from Iowa and played a ton of different stuff. I’ve always been in more of the metal and punk world, and bring a lot of double bass and breakdowns vibes. I met the other two through a Facebook post on a local KCMO metal page. We jammed a few times and it just clicked.


Patty: Apart from the heavy Kyuss vibe, we also draw a lot from the gritty sound of early classic country and the sludgy doom metal of the ’90s. We’re big on the early thrash and heavy metal, so those have been big influences as well. This eclectic mix helps us craft our unique sound that’s both raw and psychedelic.

How has the band changed since it formed?

Josh: Before I joined, there were like seven people involved and it was more acoustic and folk punk. We just started jamming riffs Randall had and figured each other and the sound out as we went along. We have a little studio setup and would just record different versions of things and listen back to see what works, what doesn’t, and put the pieces together. It’s my first time in a trio and it’s been really cool to see what we each bring to songs and how we interpret them in our minds. You have to let songs breathe, but also fill the space the right way.

Patty: Years ago, Randall and Patrick started formulating plans to launch a band that was both psychedelic, heavy, but still steeped in their bluegrass and classic country backgrounds. After a multitude of personnel changes, Josh was introduced to the band and we immediately felt it was the right fit. Josh brought a vibe that was cohesive, which allowed the music to breathe and it grew into a dynamic that can’t be replaced.

From the beginning, we unleashed the fierce energy of Randall’s long-guarded riffs, channeling them through Buzzard Fight’s relentless, open-ended approach to songwriting. Crafting every song has been an evolution of meticulous micro-experiments, a lot of, “What if I did this here?” and, “Never mind that sounds like garbage.” Basically, we’ve evolved into a power trio that’s constantly trying to solve a sonically cosmic jigsaw puzzle.

Along those same lines, what’s been the process of honing in on this unique sound?

Patty: Honing our sound has been a journey of experimentation. Early on, we spent a lot of time learning Randall’s endless bucket of riffs. As we continued to strive for more esoteric tones, our pedalboards grew, our instruments were modded or swapped, and our approach to songwriting became more comfortable and unconventional. Everyone in Buzzard Fight has a lot of ideas for songs, and there’s no stone left unturned. We just keep exploring what we think sounds badass with little regard to what our audience thinks.

Randall: The first thing we like to do is shed any idea of genre that we have to fit in. I like to get myself into a medicated state after a hard day at work, and eventually find myself picking up one of the guitars I have lying around my house. I usually just start noodling around until some type of riff just works itself out. Oftentimes, these riffs are too difficult for me to play at first, so I have to play them over and over until I feel like I have them down. Then I start compiling a series of riffs that I think will fit together. Sometimes this can take months because a lot of our songs have 20 plus parts. After I show the other members what I have come up with, they start working their magic.


I am very lucky to have found Patty and Josh because their input and musical abilities are what really shapes the songs into what they are. Usually after all the music is down, we like to listen to it and imagine what the vibe song is trying to relay. This is usually how the lyrics come about. Sometimes this is a long process as well. So as you can see, it’s almost like the song wants to be written and we are just the vehicles that it chooses to come through.

With so many bands releasing albums or EPs soon after their formation, why did you wait until now to record and put out Lysergic Speed Diesel?

Josh: To be honest, it has just taken some time to put the songs together and figure out how we each work and write. A Lot of these songs sounded way different or had different arrangements when they first started out. Randall is a riff machine and we kind of have to sift through it and put it together.

As the drummer, I like to sit with the parts for a bit and work out the “through line,” as I call it, which may be a kick drum pattern that goes all the way through, or a specific fill that pulls around the corner and circles the song back. We actually recorded the album back in November in KCK at Element Recording. We’ve been sitting on it for a bit. All of us have played for a long time with many different bands, and we really wanted to launch and present Buzzard Fight the right way and with just enough intrigue.

Patty: Everyone in Buzzard Fight has demanding day jobs, yet our unique approach to songwriting pushes us even further, elevating our skills and performances as musicians. Unlike many bands who create music within the confines of their current abilities, we compose based on the sounds and visions in our minds, without initially considering whether we can play them. This leads us to relentlessly practice our genre-defying riffs and complex dynamic shifts. It’s a demanding process, but we embrace the challenge and the time it takes because it shapes our sound exactly how we want it.

The release party for Buzzard Fight’s Lysergic Speed Diesel is Sunday, May 26, at the Westport Bowery with Gurney and other artists TBA. - The Pitch KC

Kansas City, Missouri based psychedelic country sludge trio Buzzard Fight presents their debut album, »Lysergic Speed Diesel«, which was released March 8th 2024.

»Lysergic Speed Diesel« is available now on Spotify and other streaming platforms!

Tracklist:
01. New World Vultures
02. Come On, Myling
03. Glove Don’t Fit
04. Long Time Liver, First Time Dier
05. Chicken Fried (20 Sacks)
06. Tearing You Apart Again
07. Bubba Platinum

Buzzard Fight are a 3-piece, psychedelic country sludge band hailing from Kansas City, MO. The band formed in early 2022 as a collection of musicians from different genres who met through the local KC music scene who all had an idea for a new sound that they just couldn’t quite nail down in previous groups. When they first got together they knew something had struck, they were buzzard brothers from different mothers.

Their unique brand of sludge fuses bone crunching riffs with country slap and twang to create songs that take you on a journey through a land of nightmares and surreal stories. With a high energy live show and a tight, groovy sound that will make you want to take a trip down the strange road of the weird, wild and murderous.

For fans of Red Fang to Weedeater, and Jerry Reed to Howlin’ Wolf, Buzzard Fight is seen as a force to be reckoned with and regarded as a “must see live” by fans across the Midwest.

“It’s like dropping acid with ZZ Top and Weedeater, that tone is sick, it’s like a backwoods speed rock nightmare.” – first timer overheard at a show

Produced by Buzzard Fight & Ian Dobyns.
Recorded at Element Recording Studios, Kansas City, Kansas.
Engineered by Ian Dobyns.
Mixed by Ian Dobyns & Buzzard Fight.
Mastering by Element Recording.

Buzzard Fight is:
Randall Platt – Guitar & Vocals
Patrick McGillicuddy – Bass and Textures
Josh Rogers – Drums & Percussion - Doomed Nation