Episode 41: Buffalo Rose with Tom Paxton
For this particularly special episode, we are joined by Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, folk music legend and prolific songwriter Tom Paxton; along with Shane McLaughlin and Lucy Clabby, principal songwriters for the band Buffalo Rose. Tom tells us how he discovered the music of Buffalo Rose and was so taken by it that he reached out to Lucy and Shane to suggest they work together writing songs. The fabulous EP Rabbit, released earlier in 2022, was the result of this collaboration. We talk with Tom about his creative process, and how at age 84 he continues to write songs almost every day. Lucy and Shane share the insights they have gleaned from working with Tom. And we get one bonus Bob Dylan anecdote from Tom as he relives a bit of the early 60’s NYC folk scene in which he was a central figure. Also, I get to talk about my Dad-the original music nerd.
“How can a band be loose and tight at the same time? Listen to Buffalo Rose for the answer. I flat love them.”
— Tom Paxton, folk music legend and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient
Buffalo Rose is a wildly charismatic six-piece modern folk/Americana band from Pittsburgh that will change your entire perspective on acoustic music. They take the singer-songwriter tradition to a new level by crafting original songs which are emotive, meticulously arranged, and inspired by a world of idiosyncratic influences that never let a dull or predictable moment creep in.
Tom Paxton has become a voice of his generation, addressing issues of injustice and inhumanity, laying bare the absurdities of modern culture and celebrating the tenderest bonds of family, friends, and community. In describing Tom Paxton’s influence on his fellow musicians, Pete Seeger has said: “Tom’s songs have a way of sneaking up on you. You find yourself humming them, whistling them, and singing a verse to a friend. Like the songs of Woody Guthrie, they’re becoming part of America.” Pete goes on: “In a small village near Calcutta, in 1998, a villager who could not speak English sang me What Did You Learn In School Today? in Bengali! Tom Paxton’s songs are reaching around the world more than he is, or any of us could have realized. Keep on, Tom!”
Guy Clark: “Thirty years ago Tom Paxton taught a generation of traditional folksingers that it was noble to write your own songs, and, like a good guitar, he just gets better with age.” Paxton has been an integral part of the songwriting and folk music community since the early 60’s Greenwich Village scene, and continues to be a primary influence on today’s “New Folk” performers.
