Pugsley Buzzard sings like Louis Armstrong and plays the ivory dentures like Thelonious. On stage, he's magnetic - ripping through tunes with a throaty charisma, playing the blues like they were meant to be heard. Also, he has the best name ever. Pugsley is headed to Adelaide for the Cabaret Festival at the Festival Centre, where you can catch his show Noir - an up-close evening with the 'Buzz that's thematically dashed with detectives, dames, and the seedy underworld.

Merge: Have you been to Adelaide before?

Pugsley Buzzard: Not for a while. I’ve been to the Fringe Festival a while ago – 96 I think – and subsequently a few times with different bands. But not about 10 years or so.

Merge: Why the piano for you?
Pugsley Buzzard: Well I’ve always played piano. I’ve played other instruments as well – guitars, and bass and saxophone and trumpets and stuff. But always piano, because I think that’s the logical instrument – with how it’s laid out, and to accompany yourself while you’re singing along. 

Merge: How would you describe your sound? I’ve read different descriptions – as New Orleans, or Bluesy…

Pugsley Buzzard: Well, I think it’s sort of blues with changes. There’re lots of elements in there as well – but the essence of it is blues. 

Merge: Who do you admire? Who inspires you musically?

Pugsley Buzzard: I think Thelonious Monk’s story I find pretty inspiring, because he never gave up. He stubbornly persisted with what he wanted to do, and I liked that. 

Merge: And how about non-musically? Where do you find inspiration?

Pugsley Buzzard: Well I suppose conversation, and writing, literature – like Hunter S Thompson, and Charles Bukowski. Also in the sounds of the city, and nature as well. 

Merge: When did you discover that you could sing in this Louis Armstrong-type voice? How did you go about developing it?

Pugsley Buzzard: Well it was always there in some form, and it sort of came together about 10 years ago – it came a lot more prominent. That’s when I decided to sing as well – I didn’t used to sing a lot. I did a little bit. But I didn’t really know what to do with [my voice]. I think it’s kind of a mature voice – something I had to mature. 

Merge: Is it a lot of work to maintain your voice? Does it hurt to sing!?

Pugsley Buzzard: No, it’s always been quite natural – I think there’s a ratio of nature and nurture. 80% nature, 20% nurture, maybe. I’m not really like a lot of singers, who really do a lot of training. 

Merge: What can people expect from your Cabaret gig?

Pugsley Buzzard: The theme of the show is film noir, and gangster noir, I guess. The last record I made is called Chicago Typewriter. 

Merge: And have those noir films been an inspiration for you too?

Pugsley Buzzard: Yeah well I certainly like the tension in the music, and thematically, too, I’m picking songs that are looking at crime and the underworld, and private investigators. 

Merge: What do you enjoy about cabaret style performance?

Pugsley Buzzard: I like the theatrical elements – I like vaudeville, people like Spike Jones and stuff that came out of that tradition – the Marx Brothers and so on. I like the other dimensions that you can add to the performance – the other dimensions which you don’t often get to do. On this occasion, you get to play with it a bit. 

Merge: A bit of banter with the crowd?

Pugsley Buzzard: Yeah well I often tell stories, anecdotes, and this time I’ll be adding a few more dimensions to it I suppose. I’ll be involving the audience in a different way this time. 

Merge: You mentioned that a lot of your influences come from the States – have you ever performed over there?

Pugsley Buzzard: Not recently. I grew up over in Canada, and we went into the States on holidays and stuff. I went to New Orleans when we were 12 – but I’ve never really performed there. I have been to Europe a lot and have played there. Next year, I’m planning to go to the States and play – you really need a festival to go to there otherwise you just get lost. 

Merge: And do they appreciate your sound in Europe?

Pugsley Buzzard: Yep. They’re really expressive there. I remember playing in Portugal – and people were getting up on the tables and crying and stuff. I like how they respond over there. 

Merge: Let’s hope you can get that sort of reaction when you come to Adelaide.
Pugsley Buzzard: (laughs) Yeah, well – let’s see. 

Merge: And what’s next for you in 2009 after Cabaret?

Pugsley Buzzard: I’m headed back over to Europe later in the year, playing in Berlin, Denmark, Germany and Portugal again. And I’m recording a new CD in July – and very shortly recording a video clip for one of the last recordings – ‘Chicago Typewriter’ – which we’ll be featuring at the show. So there’ll be some projections at the show in Adelaide. 

Merge: Tell me a bit about the album Chicago Typewriter.
Pugsley Buzzard: Well it’s songs from the 20s and 30s. Songs inspired in that style plus some I wrote myself. It’s stride piano – predominantly solo piano and voice, though there are some drums on some tracks. 

Merge: When’s the film clip out?
Pugsley Buzzard: It’s out on YouTube at the moment.

 

Pugsley Buzzard: It was fun. The tune is ‘I’m going to write you a letter with my Chicago typewriter’ – so it’s sort of a gangster type track. And we shot it up in Katoomba on the hottest day on record. It was very hot, and we were in suits and lots of makeup and stuff – but we had fun.