Avi Buffalo have released one of the debuts of the year without doubt, and having witnessed their show at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival we can also confirm they cut it live too. We had a quick chat with lead man Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg (AVI) to see how the band’s new found fame has affected him and what comes next.

Bowlegs: You’ve said before that you never expected the band to become your jobs. Are you glad it has, or are you still not so sure?

Avi: I’m glad we’ve been given this opportunity to make more music. I’m looking forward to some new projects and getting them out there, and playing and exploring, and getting excited!

Bowlegs: Were you excited to sign with Sub Pop?

Avi: Very much so. They’re very nice people.
 
Bowlegs: Where is the inspiration behind the lyrics?

Avi: It’s in whatever.
 
Bowlegs: You’ve just started on your first big tour? How’s it going?

Avi: It’s good, getting used to a lot; breaks are really nice; but it’s wonderful to see new places. London is beautiful and new and different.
 
Bowlegs: You’ll be playing European dates for the first time. Anything you’re itching to do during your time off?

Avi: Play with my friends Elise, Luis, Nial.

Bowlegs: What guitar(s) do you use to create your sound?

Avi: On the album I played a Jazzmaster a lot, and on a couple of tunes used Elise’s 1963 Gibson ES-330 and Arin’s Strat. Now I have my own Strat again (my first guitar before I was robbed in the street was a Strat, then I got the Jazzmaster) so I’m getting used to that kind of guitar again. It’s weird; sort of a, “back to normal,” feeling, but Jazzmaster has been the norm for a while.
 
Bowlegs: Tell us an interesting fact about the album cover.

Avi: Devin O’Brien drew it. He’s an amazing artist, musician, person. He also helped me record the song, “Where’s your Dirty Mind.”
 
Bowlegs: Any favourite bands at the moment?

Avi: David Bowie, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Fela Kuti, Forest of Tongue.
 
Bowlegs: Who are your all time classic rock icons?

Avi: Jimi Hendrix, Nels Cline, Jimmy Page, Micah Lewis.
 
Bowlegs: Had any particularly wild nights out lately?

Avi: I hung out with my friend Kris the other night all night. We walked really far, and another night we downloaded a bunch of music and watched Avatar.

Bowlegs: What’s in your Rider?

Avi: Water, vegetables, pita and humus.  

Bowlegs: What books are you reading?

Avi: I just started Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I don’t read much, and I should. my favourite book from the past year was the only one I read, called Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse. Really healthful stuff.
 
Bowlegs: What’s on your iPod right now?

Avi: Forest of Tongue. By the way, I just got my first mp3 player ever the other day, which is a big deal.
 
Bowlegs: Have you started writing any new material yet?

Avi: Little bits and pieces, but I haven’t finished any, so I wanna do that; or maybe meld them together in a sequence of sounds.
 
Bowlegs: How would you describe your debut album?

Avi: I wouldn’t! Best just to listen to it if you want to draw your own conclusions!

Read the Bowlegs review of Avi Buffalo’s debut, just click here: Avi Buffalo album review

Read the Bowlegs live review of Avi Buffalo at The Great Escape 2010, just click here: Avi Live