THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2008
NEWS
3A
» ENTERTAINMENT
Musician harmonizes past with present
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awiebe@kansan.com
awiebe@kansan.com
As a precocious eight-year-old, Brody Buster first stepped on a professional stage as a harmonica player with enough God-given talent for B.B. King to eventually dub him "one of the greatest harmonica players of our time despite his age."
Now 23 years old, Buster's bluesman roots and progression as a musician will come together tonight at 9 when the Brody Buster Band and 1950 DA, in which Buster plays guitar, perform back-to-back shows at Fatso's.
Unlike the traditional blues he grew up with, Buster said 1950 DA, formerly the Diamond Hearts Club, had a sound similar to "Black Sabbath, but heavier." Mark Hennessy, Kansas
City, Kan., graduate teaching assistant, handles vocals for the band while Justin Parr and Mike Ratzlaff plug in on drums and bass.
Buster said he was interested in pursuing musical opportunities outside the blues but didn't have the band needed to produce the sound he wanted.
"I had a bunch of songs already," Buster said. "I just couldn't pull them off in the blues band because the musicians aren't the right musicians, and the songs are too hard for me to sing and play at the same time. I can't sing that kind of music."
Hennessy, the band's lead singer, said it was interesting to see how Buster's blues training transferred over to his sound with 1950 DA.
"it's really interesting to watch him kind of wrangle this traditional
blues tone and watch how he plays with heavy rock." Hennessy, who met Buster when they were neighbors in East Lawrence, said.
Though he has no formal musical training, Buster is the resident songwriter for 1950 DA and the Brody Buster Band. He said he just allowed music to come to him rather than attempt to blindly find inspiration.
Buster said he started out playing keyboard in the Diamond Hearts Club, but after both guitar players left the band he made the move to guitar. The change has produced dividends, allowing 1950 DA to "solidify" its sound, said Hennessy.
After the change, Hennessy said Buster began writing songs for 1950 DA because he had the musical background and talent necessary to fit the band's needs.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
ESPN spotlights Saturday's game College GameDay to broadcast from Allen Fieldhouse
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
ESPN's "College GameDay" came to Lawrence for last year's game between KU and Texas A&M on Feb. 3, 2007. The crew returns this weekend for the Jayhawks' battle with the Wildcats.
BY LUKE MORRIS
Imorris@kansan.com
Jayhawk fans will get a chance to yell for a few more hours this weekend. ESPN plans to broadcast its "College GameDay" program live from Allen Fieldhouse Saturday.
The "College GameDay" crew will arrive in Lawrence on Friday and do a few segments from the fieldhouse for Friday night's "SportsCenter" program. But the real excitement will begin Saturday morning. Fans will be able to sit in on "College GameDay" and cheer for the Jayhawks before the team takes on the Kansas State Wildcats that evening.
"I'm just hoping nobody camps outside. It's going to be chilly," said associate athletics director Jim
Marchiony. "But I'm sure there will be some fans out that very early."
Many fans already have plans to camp out to get good seats for the program. Some students will be camping in the fieldhouse for "College GameDay" as early as tonight.
Sachi Sakumura, Lawrence sophomore, said that she went to "College GameDay" last year and planned to go again Saturday.
"College GameDay" was really fun. It was awesome to see everyone so excited and to see Digger and Jay," Sakumura said.
Marchiony said that he expected more than 5,000 fans to show up for the program. He said that number would likely be larger if the program were broadcast later in the day.
LawrenceFreenet
"It's really, really early, and I'm not a morning person, but I might be able to get up because it's KU", Tiffany Driver, Memphis, Tenn., junior, said.
This is the fourth consecuive year that "College GameDay" has been broadcast from Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas defeated Texas when "College GameDay" came to Lawrence in 2005, the program's inaugural year, and lost to Texas A&M when "College GameDay" came to the fieldhouse last year. This fall, the college football version of "College GameDay" was broadcast outside Arrowhead Stadium the morning before Kansas played Missouri in the Border War. Fans of the bitter rivals shared TV time at the event.
Coach Bill Self is scheduled to talk on-camera for the program. According to a release from Kansas Athletics, Krispy Kreme will provide doughnuts in the morning, and the Athletics Department will hand out memorabilia.
"College GameDay" will be open to the public. Doors will open at 8 a.m. The segments broadcast right before the game, however, will only be open to fans with tickets to the game.
—Edited by Jared Duncan
"If you're a lobster and it comes time to arm-wrestle, you are going to put the big claw out there," Hennessy said.
Despite Buster's lengthy musical background, that includes playing with musicians such as Quincy Jones, Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Phil Collins, Keb Mo', Richie Havens and Melvin Taylor, Hennessy said Buster was just like any other musician.
"He doesn't emit a glow," Hennessy said. "And he's not always the easiest guy to be around. He fucks up just like anyone else, but the things he brings to practice for me are he plays a real mean guitar, he's my buddy and I like shooting the shit with him."
Buster has been a loyal member of the Lawrence music scene since moving to the area from California when he was in high school. He said although it continued to get more difficult to make a living in music as clubs opt for DJs over live acts, he enjoyed starting over musically after the "blur" that was his childhood.
"This is round two." Buster said. "I've already hit the top then completely vanished. Now I'm on round two, and round two right now is going pretty fucking good."
Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
Marla Keown/KANSAN
Mark Hennessy, University of Kansas graduate teaching assistant, rocks out during 1950 DA's practice Wednesday night. Hennessy, who is in 1959 DA with Brody Buster, said Buster was just like any other musician.
Marla Keown/KANSAN
Mike Ratzlaff plays one of his basses Wednesday night during 1950 DA's practice. "This is my bass from a long time ago," said Ratzlaff. "My daughter wanted to learn so I gave her this bass to practice on. She's the one who put stickers all over it."
WATERWAY CARWASH
MANAGEMENT CAREERS AND INTERNSHIPS
ALL JUNIORS AND SENIORS
ON CAMPUS INTERVIEWS FOR MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Come meet Waterway Representatives at the KU Spring Career Fair-February 12th and 13th
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM MANAGEMENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Waterway of Kansas City will be conducting on campus interviews Thursday, March 4th in the Business Career Services Center