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Lord Grunge of Grand Buffet

Not F*ckin' Nerdcore

by Matt Crawford on Nov 02, 2007
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Grand Buffet has been rocking tributes to Satan, songs about candy bars and finding furry little animals for more than 10 years, but don’t call them nerdcore -- the new buzz term for geeks that rap. Lord Grunge is not feeling the label him and his partner Grape-a-Don were suddenly boxed into. Grand Buffet returns to San Francisco for a three-night stand opening for Of Montreal at the Great American Music Hall that starts on November 12th. Their latest album King Vision is due out later this year. Lord Grunge spoke with SF Station from Pittsburgh during a break from the tour.

SF Station (SFS): How did you hookup with Of Montreal?

Lord Grunge (LG): We have the same agent that has booked us both for a long time. He had a vision that our bands would go well together. I guess they threw him a bone and they let us open for them for a couple of shows in 2005 and we hit it off real well. This is our third time touring with them, which is really fuckin’ cool.

SFS: That seems like a pretty big deal for you, in terms of exposure.

LG: Definitely, but if there is one thing we have learned over the years -- it’s that opening for a really successful band doesn’t necessarily do shit for you. You have a good time and hopefully get some pussy. But seriously, it’s a great opportunity and they are really cool to hang out with. But I’m not expecting Johnny Bigshot to see us open for Of Montreal and then I get to fuck Paris Hilton or something.

SFS: It seems like King Vision has more rock influences on it than your previous albums.

LG: Yeah, I have my solo track, which is kind of a pop-punk anthem. It’s more “Mean Streets” Van Halen then some Blink 182 shit. The prog influences and pop influences are coming out more. I think there are only three or four songs that have rap, which I’m psyched about.

SFS: Are you getting tired of rap?

LG: It’s honestly just a natural revolution. It just happened; we didn’t have a powwow or anything.

SFS: Someone once wrote that you are part of the nerdcore genre.

LG: I hate that label. If people like us because we are a fuckin’ nerd rap group, that is fine, but I don’t like that label. I resent it twofold because as far as I’m concerned we invented that genre 10 years ago with our first record. We didn’t mean to, it’s basically just pop culture references -- shit that nerds and geeks like. Now, with the whole nerd thing you are a tactless self-conscious asshole.

If people dig us, they can call us whatever they want, but that is not something that we take pride in. And don’t think I’m off the mark when I say we kind of invented it. I know for a fact that we influenced some of the people that went on to make some of the worst music in the fucking world. I’m not proud of it, but fuck it, there are way worse things out there than shitty nerd rap. I’m not psyched about it. Call us the biggest poser, limp-dick half-assed rappers, but don’t call us nerdcore.

SFS: Do you and Grape-a-Don always get along?

LG: We are really tight -- I know we love and respect each other -- but I definitely wouldn’t say that we get along.

SFS: How do you survive as a duo that is on the road a lot?

LG: This is not a slight, but he is almost a sociopath and can tolerate almost an insane amount of isolation and boredom. I drink pretty heavily and I’m getting more and more into uppers, so that is how I’m dealing with it. We each have our different kind of method of dealing with the fucking insane monotony of being in a car with a dude you’ve know for 20 years for eight to 10 hours everyday.

Grand Buffet performs with Of Montreal and MGMT at Great American Music Hall on November 12-14. Tickets are $18. Doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 8pm.



by Matt Crawford on Nov 02, 2007
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