Buffalo Killers

Buffalo Killers — Concert Photography by Wayne Dennon

About Buffalo Killers

Buffalo Killers formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in early 2006, rising from the ashes of the Gabbard brothers' previous band, Thee Shams. Zach formed the garage rock band Thee Shams in 1999; the five-piece band included the other two future members of Buffalo Killers, and Thee Shams released four albums on four record labels before the Gabbard brothers broke up the band in late 2005. In early 2006, the Gabbard brothers recruited Sebaali and the trio settled into a heavier, more psychedelic direction. Buffalo Killers became known for their fusion of rock, blues rock, punk blues, stoner rock, and neo-psychedelic genres, formed by brothers Andrew Gabbard on guitar and vocals and Zachary Gabbard on bass and vocals, joined by drummer Joseph Sebaali. Growing up, Andrew and Zachary Gabbard grew up in a musical household with a guitar-playing father, who taught them to play the instrument at an early age, and Zach has described "listening to Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, CSNY and New Riders of the Purple Sage from as long back as I can remember." The band's breakthrough came quickly. Buffalo Killers were quickly signed by Alive Records and their self-titled debut album was released in October 2006; Buffalo Killers drew the attention of Chris Robinson, who invited the band to open a string of dates for The Black Crowes in 2007. That debut, recorded at Ultrasuede Studios in Cincinnati, won enthusiastic notices from the independent rock press, and Buffalo Killers set out to support the release with lots of road work. The momentum carried into their sophomore effort: Buffalo Killers' second album, Let It Ride, was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and released in July 2008. The pairing with Auerbach, along with the Black Crowes tour dates, cemented the trio's reputation within the blues rock and psychedelic revival scene as a band worth watching.

Over the following decade, Buffalo Killers built a steady and prolific career defined by relentless recording and touring. After tour dates opening for the Black Crowes and the Black Keys, they returned to the studio to work on 3, which was released in August of 2011, and Dig. Sow. Love. Grow., the band's fourth studio album, followed in 2012. A six-song EP, Ohio Grass, appeared on vinyl in the spring of 2013, and was then expanded with a bonus studio track and three live tracks for release on CD at the end of the summer that same year. The lineup expanded not long after, as the band added a fourth member, guitarist and lap steel player Sven Kahns, and released the Jim Wirt-produced Heavy Reverie in May 2014. True to their work ethic, after touring in support of the album, Buffalo Killers quickly returned to the studio, and they released a six-song EP, Fireball of Sulk, before the year was out. The band continued to release music into the later 2010s, further building their catalog under the Alive Naturalsound Records banner.

Buffalo Killers remain active, still rooted in the same fusion of vintage rock textures and psychedelic songwriting that defined their earliest records. Across nearly two decades, the band has earned a lasting reputation as one of Cincinnati's most respected purveyors of guitar driven, retro leaning rock and roll, admired for both its recorded output and its reliably high energy live shows. Their willingness to keep evolving, from the raw blues rock of their debut to the expanded, lap steel colored sound of their later work, has helped them retain a loyal following among fans of classic rock revivalists.

That devoted following extended to the world of concert photography, where Buffalo Killers found their way into the lens of the late Wayne Dennon, who documented the band during one live performance in 2009. The resulting images, now numbering 24 photographs in the archive, remain part of the enduring visual record preserved at waynedennon.com, and have been viewed by archive visitors 19,194 times, a testament to the band's continued resonance among fans revisiting the raw energy of that era's rock revival scene.

Show more ↓

Photos From 1 Show

Click any show to browse Wayne Dennon's concert photography

November 6, 2009 📷 Photos

Newport, KY Southgate House

Official Website Buffalo Killers on YouTube Facebook X / Twitter Instagram View All Artists