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It’s like Bro Country, but with Legos
"If you're not having fun, why do it," Crow Buntry
Last week, I was able to sit down with one of the founding members, Magpie Buntry, of Crow Buntry and talk about their careers in the music industry and what they’re doing. What's interesting about Crow Buntry is that you will never know their real names or their faces. They play behind bandanas or Legos. Most of the Crow Buntry band members met at Belmont University and are located all over the country. Magpie Buntry started with Audio Engineering Technology and moved over to the music business program, which was before they started the songwriting program.
While talking with Magpie Buntry, I learned that the music Crow Buntry plays is a mix of Americana, Country, and Collective. He mentioned that all the members of the band are just here to have a good time and I love that. The music industry can be stressful to navigate. Crow Buntry has a solid, fun group of band members that love what they do. With the music industry already being hard to work around, try recording music from different states. That's what Crow Buntry does. With technology today, you can record a song with people being in different states using universal DAWs like Pro Tools and Logic Pro. All the band members can record their tracks and send them to each other and their lead mixing engineer.
Magpie Buntry says, "Everyone in the band has a background in music. Most of us met at Belmont, connecting and networking. Nashville is over saturated with people, some of the networking opportunities you have to know where to go."
I have never met any songwriter or band that is so mysterious, they would rather use Legos to advertise and market. This is what sets them apart and what makes Crow Buntry different. The band started working with the Legos after they wrote a few songs, drinking whiskey, and hanging out. They came up with some hooks and song ideas and asked “what do we do with these?” A couple months after that, Magpie Buntry bought the legos online. The whole band spent under $50 to have the legos and pictures shot. As previously stated before, the music industry can become over-saturated. You hear the same songs on the radio over and over again. You see artists who like to imitate others and nothing sets them apart. Crow Buntry is here to have fun and wants others to have fun with their music as well.
"What has been your favorite song to write and record?"
"Jack Don't is a favorite. A friend and I wrote it. We sat down one afternoon two summers ago and wrote a classic country-sounding thing, a soppy sad drinking love song. Drink a Little Less, Smoke a Little More is the first one we got a hook for. Each one has been a different process."
Jack Don't Song Review:
"Jack don't need no ice it don't even need a glass on nights like tonight."
"Jill don't come home, she's done chasing Jack, he's fine on his own."
I had the best time listening to this song multiple times in a row. Each time you listen to it, you get a new experience and story. "Jack Don't," is also a short song, coming in at 1:54. Crow Buntry decided to make shorter music that people can listen to on repeat and not get bored. I feel that within Jack Don't. The lyrics are simple and puts a great spin on Jack and Jill, while also referencing the whiskey. It's a perfect, slow-drinking song.
It is not your typical ABABCB piece, which makes it an easy listening in my opinion. The strengths in Jack Don't are definitely the lyrics and melody. I would love to hear more music like this from Crow Buntry. You cannot even tell that people were sharing WAV files back and forth to record this song and put it together.
The first song I thought of while listening to Jack Don't was Carrying Your Love With Me by George Strait. It has great harmonies and effects laced within the recording. It is dynamic enough to be a radio single, or just to add to a summer country playlist. This song feels very intimate between the band and the listener. You will want to slow dance with someone in a honky-tonk to this.
I think where the song changes is at 1:14. The dynamics change and there is more creativity. The vocals are amazing and once again, the production is top notch. Only good things happen when you get a bunch of musicians and audio engineers together.
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