Local punk rock group Donovan Wolfington kicked off BUKU Music + Art Project with the first performance of the weekend on the festival’s main Power Plant stage.
The band is composed of Neil Berthier, Matthew Seferian, Alex Skalany and Michael Saladis. The bandmates seek to blend their nostalgic punk sound with southern charm while incorporating elements of indie rock and metal.
The latest album, “How to Treat the Ones You Love,” was released in 2015. This was the group’s first performance at BUKU.
The Daily Reveille: New Orleans isn’t exactly known for its punk and indie rock scene. How has the city influenced your style?
Neil Berthier: It’s just a really good place to grow and be yourself without having to worry about the other bands coming out of your region.
TDR: Your latest album, “How to Treat the Ones You Love,” was written during a tough time in your lives. Can you tell me about the album’s writing and recording process?
NB: It was rough. A good friend of ours and the head of the studio we were recording at passed away unexpectedly mid-recording. We had to move all of our equipment out to Ponchatoula and do it in some random house. But we got through it and came out with the record. We’re working on another one right now and it’s way better than the last one.
TDR: What can you tell me about your new record?
NB: I want it to be released in the winter. We don’t know what it’s going to be called yet. We’re in the process of writing it currently.
TDR: Do you have any upcoming performances?
NB: Yeah, we’re playing April 7 with Pears and Classhole at Siberia Nola. That’ll be really fun. We just got back from a two-week tour. We’ll be at SXSW next week and Nashville the week after.
TDR: What’s the most memorable performance you’ve ever had?
NB: Oh man. For bad reasons, I would say the time we played at One Eyed Jacks and it was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. It was a sold out show. We played with The Front Bottoms and we blew it. We had new gear, which broke and people broke strings. Our old bassist puked on stage. It was crazy. We ended up getting through it, but it was horrifying. Everything went wrong. The most positive memory I have is from our show in LA when we played in this weird Zen garden. There people in front of us, looking down at us and on a road above us. There were a lot of different angles. And there were helicopters flying over you because that’s how they catch criminals in LA. It was just packed as hell and people went nuts. It was sick. Headlining in New York was really nuts, too. It felt like we were in The Ramones performing in this smoky brick building. It really had that New York punk feel.
TDR: What’s your favorite city to perform in?
NB: With the exception of New Orleans, I’d have to say New York. New Orleans is really poppin’ because all of our friends are there.
TDR: Are you going to be sticking around for the rest of Buku? What sets are you looking forward to?
NB: Oh, hell yeah. We’re looking forward to Kid Cudi, Earl Sweatshirt, Crystal Castles, A$AP Ferg, CHVRCHES… I can’t wait for the rest of the weekend. I’m kind of glad we performed first.
BUKU Q&A: punk rock group Donovan Wolfington talks about new album, memorable performances
March 11, 2016
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