“IT’S just a bummer about Bieber fever,” says The Phoenix Foundation singer Luke Buda.
Justin Bieber, the teen star who sends teenage girls into hysterics, beat the Kiwi band on the Radioscope Album Chart.
But Buda’s not complaining. The Phoenix Foundation’s fourth album Buffalo debuted at number four on the chart, making it the highest charting debut of any of their albums, and the highest selling Kiwi album to kick off New Zealand Music Month.
“We’ve sold more than Meat Loaf, and the albums above us were from people like Justin Bieber. We had no chance against him,” laughs Buda.
The album has been 18 months in the making, and took so long because Buda and fellow Phoenix Foundationer Sam Flynn-Scott were also doing the sound track to Kiwi movie Separation City.
“When we first started working on Buffalo, we had 25 demos that we’d made up on the spot,” says Buda. “All our other albums have been slow burners, but because this is our fourth I was expecting it to do alright. Plus, our record company did a good job on hyping it up.”
The band is currently touring New Zealand to promote Buffalo, and Buda is impressed crowds already know the song lyrics.
The tour kicked off in Christchurch, and when Capital Times spoke to Buda, they’d just left Golden Bay.
He’s gutted that although it’s the third time they’ve played there, they still haven’t actually seen the bay because they arrive late, play, and leave again for the next show.
“Next time I’m going a couple of days before, or make it the last gig rather than the first, so we can have a party after,” he laughs.
Buda adds they did manage to have an interesting meal at a Japanese restaurant in Christchurch, and the experience made for an interesting crowd anthem.
“When Conrad [Wedde, guitar and keys] opened the menu, he said, ‘I’m gonna get some crazy shit’, and ordered things like deep fried prawns heads,” he says. “We talked about what we’d had for dinner at the show, and someone yelled out ‘soft shelled crab!’ Then the whole crowd started chanting ‘soft shelled crab, soft shelled crab’. Those are the moments you always remember.”
As yet, Buda says there have been no crazy road stories. “Although, there was that time a model overdosed after snorting cocaine off Sam’s butt cheeks in a spa we’d filled with strawberry champagne – but that was last tour.” Yeah right.
The Phoenix Foundation Buffalo New Zealand release tour, 8.30pm, San Francisco Bathhouse, May 27 and 28.