\u201cWe have fun,\u201d singer\/drummer Steven Oira said. \u201cWe are best friends; we still dick around.\u201d<\/p>\n For those not yet part of the Buddy system, the group (which includes Dylan O’Bosky on bass and Kevin Glenn on guitar, in addition to Oira) has been around since mid-2012, even if it was in name only. According to their frontman, it all took flight with simply a guitar and a bass drum.<\/p>\n \u201cI wrote about a recent heartbreak,\u201d Oira said. \u201cAnd my friends liked it, so I asked them to help me with the music live. Now, shit, everyone is down to tour and have a blast.\u201d<\/p>\n Well that escalated quickly. Truth be told, all three lads in the band have been at the whole music game for a minute now, with Oira most notably helming the drum kit (which he plays standing up, curiously enough) for local surf\/pop band Mrs. Magician for a while, in addition to playing in an emo band called American Heart (which found some label success between 2003 and 2008). Buddy Banter, though, sounds like neither.<\/p>\n On their upcoming EP, \u201cI Am Nothing,\u201d Oira and company stretch out from their previous two efforts, the most excellent \u201cParadise Thrillz\u201d and \u201cBummer Summer\u201d EPs, with some of their heaviest \u2014 and softest \u2014 material to date. The band\u2019s sound has always been centered on extreme melody, the kind that eats its way into your brain and finds its way out in early mornings and late night drives. Their songs are sticky, swirling collages of hearty pop gusto and rollicking tempos, with Oira\u2019s wandering vocals belting out lyrics that consistently betray a genuine sense of regret, longing, and at the bottom of it all, hope.<\/p>\n If Buddy Banter started out as way for Oira to exorcise failed relationship demons, it sounds like he\u2019s still at it. However, he insists there\u2019s a certain sense of comfort and calm at the root of the EP\u2019s title (and title track).<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my favorite song on the album because it\u2019s moody,” the singer\/drummer explained. “\u2018I am nothing\u2019 is something I tell myself every day to help find nirvana and peace.”<\/p>\n Indeed, the track is the perfect embodiment of that introspective element, an instrumental dirge of synthy waves and hypnotizing guitar and a spoken word recording of Charles Bukowski reading his poem, \u201cThe Laughing Heart,\u201d that partially reads:<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a light somewhere.<\/em> It\u2019s a fitting selection for the band to use. Whatever chances Buddy Banter have, they\u2019re certainly making the most of them. They\u2019ve been up and down the West Coast on several self-booked tours, recorded and released their own albums, and self-funded their music videos, with more on the way. \u201cI Am Nothing\u201d and its upcoming record release show at Soda Bar on May 22 with Ditches and Witness 9 is just the latest step in their journey.<\/p>\n![\"Buddy](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Buddy-Banter-Press-Photo-2web.jpg\")
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\nIt may not be much light but<\/em>
\nIt beats the darkness.<\/em>
\nBe on the watch.<\/em>
\nThe gods will offer you chances.<\/em>
\nKnow them.<\/em>
\nTake them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n