Buck 65

Infobox musical artist
Name = Buck 65

---

Img_capt = Buck 65 in Sweden at Storsjöyran.
Img_size =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Richard Terfry
Alias = Stinkin' Rich, Johnny Rockwell, DJ Critical, Jesus Murphy, Hilario, Uncle Climax, Ricardo Terfry
Born = 1972"'| Died =
Origin = Mt. Uniacke, Nova Scotia, Canada
Instrument = Vocals, turntables
Genre = Alternative hip hop, Experimental music
Occupation = DJ, MC
Years_active = 1993 to Present
Label = No, Hand'Solo Records, anticon., Warner Music Canada, Strange Famous Records
Associated_acts = Sebutones, Haltown Projex, 1200 Hobos, Bike For Three!, Len
URL = http://www.buck65.com/
Notable_instruments =

Richard Terfry, better known as Buck 65, is a Canadian hip hop artist, MC and turntablist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde influences into a style commonly compared to Tom Waits and Beck.

Terfry is also a radio host, having hosted a weekday program on Canada's CBC Radio 3's web radio station. [ [http://radio3.cbc.ca/blogs/2007/09/CBC-Radio-3-Launches-Brand-New-Web-Radio-Station] ] In addition, he is the host of the weekday "Radio 2 Drive" [ [http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/program/radio_2_drive] ] show on CBC Radio 2 since September 2, 2008. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/blog/2008/06/] ]

Biography

Early career and influences

Terfry was born in 1972 and raised in Mount Uniacke, Nova Scotia, a rural community outside of Halifax. He was first exposed to rap music in the mid-1980s while listening to CBC Stereo's late night show "Brave New Waves", and then by listening to Halifax campus community radio station CKDU. CKDU then broadcast at only 33 watts, and he had to climb a tree in his yard to hear the station's hip hop show on his cheap transistor radio. Fascinated by hip hop, the young Terfry taught himself how to rap, DJ, and, later, to produce records. His musical influences include MC Shan, David Lynch, Gitche Manitou and Kool Keith.

Using the moniker DJ Critical, he later hosted a hip-hop show on CKDU called "The Bassment" (later renamed "The Treatment Program" when he assumed the stage name Jesus Murphy), which aired for several years. This period overlapped with many of his non-major-label releases.

tage names

Buck 65 has also used a number of other stage names including Johnny Rockwell, DJ Critical, Stinkin' Rich, Haslam, and Uncle Climax. These pseudonyms typically represent different characters in his raps (as in Uncle Climax, Johnny Rockwell and Stinkin' Rich) or different aspects of Buck's creativity (as noted above, DJ Critical was his DJ name on CKDU.) Rumours abound that Buck 65's alias comes from his childhood nickname of Buck and his weight of 165 pounds; possibly the pseudonym comes from the weight of the first buck he shot or the $1.65 standard bus fare for Halifax Regional Municipality riders. He has been known to say on stage, "They call me Buck 65... I don't know why." Buck 65's website mentioned previously that he was named after his uncle's 1965 Buick automobile ("'65 Buick" is a track on the Synesthesia album); he performed a show under that name but the promoter mistakenly wrote the name as it is now spelled.

Recently Buck 65 has recorded an EP under the name of Dirk Thornton alongside Irishman DJ Flip, it was scheduled for release early 2007 but the date was not set.

The first release under Dirk Thornton will be a 7" single with the tracks "Yesterday's News" and "Catwalk".

He is also involved in an online collaboration with "Greetings From Tuskan" auteur Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê, as Bike For Three!, though a release is yet unforthcoming. [cite web|url=http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bike-For-Three/6135649343|title=Bike For Three! - Facebook|accessdate=2008-09-16]

Early releases

In 1993, he released his first cassette of rap tunes while performing under the alias Stinkin' Rich on the Halifax label No Records. The five song cassette was titled "Chin Music", which was a reference to his past interest in baseball. The release brought Stinkin' Rich to the attention of members of Halifax alternative rock band Sloan. Sloan signed him to their independent record label Murderecords and released a 7" single and a full length cassette called "Game Tight", again featuring a reference to baseball. (Terfry has often stated in interviews that in his teens he had been scouted to play for the New York Yankees but that the death of the talent scout coupled with an injury had caused the deal to fall through. [http://www.maplemusic.com/artists/buc/bio.asp] .

After a brief break, Terfry returned reconstituted as Buck 65, releasing "Language Arts" on cassette and the 12" single "Wildlife Trilogy", followed by "Vertex", which included his popular song "The Centaur." He recorded "Sebutonedef" (released in 1996 by Funtrip Records) as a collaboration with fellow Halifax artist Sixtoo. Other releases by the duo, known as the Sebutones, are "Psoriasis" and "50/50 Where It Counts". While still far from mainstream success, he received several odd jobs in Canada's entertainment industry, including making soundtrack music and providing narration for a TV commercial for NBA apparel, and song lyrics for the popular children's program Sesame Street. During a live performance Buck 65 told a story in which he attributed why he was chosen for Sesame Street to three things; his upstanding lifestyle of not drinking, smoking, or doing drugs, his intelligence that wasn't too intelligent for the kids, and Sesame Street's assumption that he was a virgin.

"Man Overboard", originally released on the anticon. label, was a significant turning point in his career. The record, and the entire anticon. collective (of which Sixtoo was also a part), were considered hallmarks of a new avant-garde movement in underground hip hop. It was at this time that Buck met Cincinnati DJ Mr. Dibbs who inducted him into the 1200 Hobos, a loosely-knit hip-hop collective named for their proficiency in manipulating the Technics 1200 turntable. [cite news | url=http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/coverstory.aspx?csid1=58 | accessdate=2008-04-17 | publisher="Exclaim!" | date=May 2004 | title=Sixtoo And Change | first=Melissa | last=Wheeler]

Critical acclaim

Many of his early projects attracted attention after they were re-released, first on the independent Metaforensics label and subsequently by Warner Music Canada [http://www.warnermusic.ca/artist.jsp?artist=10306] . While Buck 65 has gained critical acclaim [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/6848067/this_right_here_is_buck_65] and worldwide exposure through his major label deal, commercial success has escaped him. Although Warner's worldwide affiliates distribute his records, Warner USA does not. After a deal was signed with V2 USA, "This Right Here Is Buck 65" was released in the States, a sort of "Best of" that was marketed as an introduction to his work [http://us.v2music.com/site/product.asp?ID=951] . However after V2 chose not to release his next effort, "Secret House Against the World", the deal was amicably dissolved. Since then Buck 65 was signed onto Sage Francis' Strange Famous Records, from which he has most recently released Situation.

Buck's most recent albums have gradually moved away from his original 'pure' hip-hop sound into territory influenced by folk, blues and electronica, with some even comparing elements of his sound to Tom Waits [http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:MqlZfzyV7pIJ:www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2003/091803/cover_music.html+Buck+65+Tom+Waits&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=3] . Some of Buck 65's music is used on the Canadian show "Trailer Park Boys", frequently in the character Julian's car. He gained additional recognition in 2006 when he appeared at the national Juno Awards with Pamela Anderson [http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:wLbPvb9ftcsJ:www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/print/CTVShows/20060308/ctv_release_20060308_junos/20060308%3Fhub%3DCorporate%26subhub%3DPrintStory+Buck+65+Pamela+Anderson+Juno&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=1] .

"Kerrang!" “Controversy”

In August 2004, he sparked controversy in the underground hip-hop world over comments he made to an interviewer in "Kerrang!" magazine. Buck was quoted as saying:cquote|I now hate hip hop, the more I’ve educated myself about music, the more I’ve grown to hate it. I don’t use that word lightly, either. In response, former anticon. label-mate Sage Francis (in a post on his website) stated that "Buck has had his head up his arse for many years now." [http://www.hiphopmusic.com/archives/000637.html] Buck later wrote in a letter to Exclaim!:

Dirty Work

Buck 65 released a 5 song digital EP called "Dirty Work". It was released over a month long campaign, adding one song per week for free download via his MySpace page. All five tracks are still available for download on his official website. The EP comes with artwork drawn by Buck himself, and the tracks are all b-sides from the full length record 'Situation'.

ituation to present

Buck 65 released the album "Situation" on October 30th, 2007, on Strange Famous Records in the US [http://pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/44702-buck-65-explains-new-1957-themed-album-isituationi] and Warner Music worldwide. The album is a concept album based around the year 1957, and is a return to a more 'pure' hip-hop sound than the previous blues, country and avant-garde influences in Secret House Against the World. It was produced by fellow Halifax DJ Skratch Bastid, aimed at making a "classic hip-hop record that pulses with joy and clarity of purpose". [cite web|url=http://music.aol.ca/article/buck-65-situation-interview/217/|title=Love and a Buck 65|accessdate=July 27|accessyear=2008]

Buck 65 is currently working on a new album which, judging from live material, will feature much more prominent electronic beats than before. Additionally, Buck 65's collaboration project with "Greetings From Tuskan" auteur Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê, Bike for Three!, has its debut album completed for release in early 2009. [cite web|url=http://www.buck65.com/newsite/journal.html|title=Buck 65: Love Letters|accessdate=July 27|accessyear=2008]

He has been a host of CBC Radio 3's web radio for the past year, and recently accepted daily hosting duties on CBC Radio 2's national radio beginning fall 2008. [cite web|url=http://www.buck65.com/newsite/journal.html|title=Buck 65: Love Letters|accessdate=September 15|accessyear=2008]

In late August 2008, Buck 65 released a one-track, hour-and-six-minutes long album for free download [http://www.zshare.net/audio/17691744a94f4663/] . "Dirtbike 1/3", part one of three in the forthcoming "Dirtbike" series, featured guest production and verses by, among others, Buddy Peace, Emily Wells, Tom Inhaler, D-Styles, Skratch Bastid, Andrew Glencross, Serafina Steer, Jorun, Moka Only, and Doseone. It signifies the return to Buck 65's pre-Talkin' Honky Blues hip-hop roots that was expected in Situation; in Buck's own words "it's a lot like the original versions of [1997's] Vertex and [1999's] Man Overboard". [cite web|url=http://www.buck65.com/newsite/journal.html|title=Buck 65: Love Letters|accessdate=September 15|accessyear=2008]

Partial discography

Albums

* "Game Tight" (1995), Murderecords
** Track listing: 1. Three Up Three Down (3:27); 2. Easy to Be Hard (3:35); 3. Kick Up a Stink (3:55); 4. Caught Lookin' (1:35); 5. You're Pissin' Me Off (3:29); 6. Jackie Robinson (0:36); 7. Work to Do (3:13); 8. Maintenance (2:04); 9. Pennies From 87 (0:48); 10. Fully Equipped (3:09); 11. I Just Laugh (0:57); 12. Get Lost (2:53); 13. Ten Miles (3:36); 14. Thought So (3:40); 15. Killy Nem See (3:58)

* "Shattered Dreams & Broken Crossfaders" (1995), bootleg
** Track listing: 1. Intro (1:10); 2. All About Me (4:00); 3. You Can't See Me (4:38); 4. Daisy (1:22); 5. Killy Nem See (3:55); 6. Who You Frontin' For (3:25); 7. Chin Music (3:44); 8. Success Without College (3:01); 9. Memories of the Passed (4:51); 10. Kick the Poop (3:41); 11. Son of 30,000 Feet (4:26); 12. Carefully by Hand (2:46); 13. The 1 Take Wonder (2:50); 14. We Are Men Who Eat Boiled Owls (2:53); 15. The Bum Rap (2:16); 16. Year Zero (3:16); 17. The Crossfader (3:08); 18. Connecting (1:54); 19. Siclimax (4:00); Featuring Sicsexed: 20. Keep Your Hand Off My Girl (3:32); 21. Taking Breaks (3:18); 22. Michelle (Live) (2:35); 23. Formal or Casual (2:20); 24. The Big Chief (2:46); 25. Yes Yes Y'all (2:19); 26. Fucking Chicks (2:41)

* "Year Zero" (1996)
** Track listing: 1. Here Is (1:08); 2. Style 386 (2:17); 3. In a Bad Way (Remix) (3:03); 4. Urine Trouble (2:22); 5. Hit the Breaks (2:00); 6. Porno Groove (0:58); 7. Keep Your Hand Off My Girl (3:39); 8. The Bassment Show (3:44); 9. Year Zero (1:58); 10. You Know the Science (3:39); 11. Who You Frontin' For (Remix) (4:02); 12. Speak of the Devil (0:36); 13. Chiliwack (3:19); 14. Cat Piss (2:53); 15. A Mic in a Fist (2:14); 16. State of the Art (1:28)

* "Weirdo Magnet" (1996), independent/Metaforensics
* "Language Arts" (1996), (Language Arts Part 1), independent/Metaforensics
* "Psoriasis" (1996), Metaforensics
* "Vertex" (1997), (Language Arts Part 2), independent/Four Ways to Rock/Metaforensics
* "Boy/Girl Fight" (1998), unreleased - elements became part of Man Overboard
* "Man Overboard" (1999), (Language Arts Part 3), anticon./Metaforensics
* "Synesthesia" (2001), (Language Arts Part 5), Endemik
* "Square" (2002), (Language Arts Part 4), Warner - recorded first but released after Lang Arts 5
* "Talkin' Honky Blues" (2003), Warner
* "This Right Here Is Buck 65" (2004), Warner
* "Secret House Against the World" (2005), Warner
* "Pole-axed" (2006), self-released rarities compilation
* "Strong Arm" (2006), (Language Arts Part 7), self-released digital "mixtape" [http://www.buck65.com/secrethouse/multimedia.html]
* "Situation" (2007), Warner/Strange Famous Records
* "Lettersongs (Different Kinds of Dirt)" (2008), (Dirtbike part 1/3), self-released free download

"Note:" All "Language Arts" records prior to his major label signing were remastered and re-released with new artwork in 2002 by Warner Music.

EPs and other recordings

* "Chin Music" (1992), 12" EP, No Records, performing as Stinkin' Rich
** Track listing: 1. Intro (1:12); 2. All About Me (4:03); 3. You Can't See Me (4:47); 4. Daisy (1:24); 5. Killy Nem See (4:03)

* "CBC Live Studio Session" (2002-03-11), radio broadcast
** Track listing: 1. The Anthem (3:39); 2. Trees (02:52); 3. Shoes (3:02); 4. The Light (3:41); 5. Dad (3:03)

* "Dirty Work" (2006), self-released digital EP [http://www.buck65.com/secrethouse/multimedia.html]

ingles

* "Stolen Bass" (1994), 7" single, Murderecords, performing as Stinkin' Rich
* "Sebutone Def" (1996) 12" single, Four Ways to Rock
* "The Wildlife" (1998) 12" single from "Weirdo Magnet", Hand'Solo Records
* "The Centaur" (1999) 12" single from "Vertex", anticon.
* "Wicked & Weird" (2003-10-06), CD/12" single from "Talkin' Honky Blues", Warner
* "463" (2004-04-05), CD/10" single from "Talkin' Honky Blues", Warner
* "Sore" (2004-10-04), 7" single from "Talkin' Honky Blues", Warner
* "Devil's Eyes" (Autumn 2005), 10" single from "Secret House Against the World", Warner
* "Way Back When" (Fall 2007), 7" single from "Situation", Warner
* "Dang" (Spring 2008), 7" single from "Situation", Warner

Videos

* "To Mock a Killingbird" (1998), from "Sebutone Def" 12"
* "Pants on Fire" (2001), from "Man Overboard"
* "Phil" (2003), from "Square"
* "Wicked & Weird" (2003-10-06), from "Talkin' Honky Blues"
* "463" (2004-04-05), from "Talkin' Honky Blues"
* "One Evening" (2004), from Leslie Feist's album "Let it Die"
* "Kennedy Killed The Hat" (Summer 2005), from "Secret House Against the World"
* "Devil's Eyes" (Autumn 2005), from "Secret House Against the World"
* "Dang" (Spring 2008), from "Situation"
* "Shutter Buggin'" (Autumn 2008), from "Situation"

Awards

2006

*"Devil's Eyes", Winner of the Juno Award for Video of the Year.

2005

*Nomination for the Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year.

2004

*"Talkin' Honky Blues", Winner of the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.

2003

*"Square", Nomination for the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.

Collaboration

*In 2005, he contributed to the UNICEF benefit song, "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" along with Feist.
*Appeared in the music video for Feist's "One Evening".
*Raps in the song, "The Unthinkable" by Boom Bip, on the album, "Seed to Sun".
*Raps in the song, "When the Angels Make Contact", by Matt Mays, on the album "When the Angels Make Contact".
*Appeared in the music video and produced "Got Up This Morning" by Sage Francis.
*Buck also appears on the album "" by Canadian artist k-os, rapping on the track "Ballad for Noah".
*A sample of the track "Jaws of Life" appeared in a 2007 NBA Commercial featuring Seattle Supersonics player Kevin Durant. http://youtube.com/watch?v=E5o3rdgCJK0
*In 2008, he appeared on the tracks "Gentle" and "Want", by Tanya Tagaq, on the album "Auk~Blood".
*DJs on Al Tuck's record The New High Road of Song

ee also

*List of musical artists from Canada

Notes

External links

* [http://www.buck65.com/ Official Buck 65 website]
*allmusic|11:09fpxqtkld6e~T1
* [http://www.strangefamousrecords.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=15 Buck 65 Artist page on Strange Famous Records]
* [http://www.notableinterviews.com/buck-65-interview Buck 65 Interview] Interview with NotableInterviews.com
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A1172846 BBC collective session]
* [http://www.handsolorecords.com Hand'Solo Records - early label with soundclips and interviews with Buck 65, plus message board]
* [http://www.therapcella.com/pages/artists/758.htm Buck 65 - Who he's worked with + discography]
* [http://www.stolenbass.com/ StolenBass.com - unofficial Buck 65 archive]
* [http://www.oc-tv.net/en/buck-65.htm Interview concert de Buck 65 ] Video Report 2006 on OC-TV.net
* [http://www.cbcradio3.com/issues/2005_01_28/index.cfm?page=13 Buck 65 in Concert] at CBC Radio 3, "Poet Overboard" article by James Graham
* [http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/BUCK-65/ Streaming music and videos by Buck 65] on CBC Radio 3's New Music Canada
* [http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/program/radio_2_drive Radio 2 Drive]
* [http://www.velvetpanda.com/user/details/13/ Buck 65 interview on Velvetpanda]
* [http://music.aol.ca/article/buck-65-situation-interview/217/# Love & Buck 65] Interview with AOL Music Canada
* [http://svt-psl.colo.netstar.se/default.aspx?entryID=259 Buck 65 performs his song Untitled] for Swedish television show PSL
* [http://contests.aol.ca/Buck65-Situation/ Buck 65 'Situation' Prize Pack Contest] autographed CD & CD Library...

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