Bunk Buddha’s Full Band Debuts at Moonrise Festival
August 9th, 2014
Baltimore, MD
written and photographed by Lora Ireland
It was a cool overcast August morning clouds were covering the sky giving way to a crisp cool breeze. I arrived at Pimlico Race Course around 10 am, where we were welcomed by friendly security who directed us where to park and check in.
My peaceful morning views of sprinklers and horses swiftly turned into sights of creative homemade outfits and brightly colored kandi bead cuffs, masks and necklaces. An overwhelming sense of friendship and love came over me as I waited to get through security even though the search was thorough it was quick and the staff was efficient considering the size of the crowd and restrictions on what you could bring in.
As you enter past the front gate, you were directed through an underground tunnel. This is where I first started to get a real feeling of how magical the Moonrise Festival was going to be. Everyone started to show the true energy and emotion they had held in while waiting in line. As they skipped, twirled, danced and walked their voices echoed off the wall, I felt my sense of excitement grow for what they day may bring. Before I knew it the tunnel had ended and I was instantly drawn to the Lunar Stage.
Bunk Buddha (Scott Donovan and Corey King) was just kicking off Moonrise with a milestone of their own. This was Bunk Buddha’s first time performing with a full band accompanying the two on stage. Comprised of other local Baltimore musicians from local bands such as Bobby Jones of Golden Guns (percussion), Austin Litz of Litz (clav, flute and saxophone), and Frederick native FX master Will S. who is better known as Plaeground and also a member of Litz . I’ve seen Bunk Buddha before because they’re prominent producers around Baltimore and also from the late night madness featured at The Mad Tea Party Jam’s Dance Tent.
I was not expecting the set to be so unique on its own, the way they intermingled each of their musical talents into something new and fresh with Tracks like “Everybody Love Everybody” which was already a funky psychedelic beat, adding fresh percussion and sexy sax was a full on eargasm. As they played I never could fully anticipate where their set was going to take me. Spacey-acid tracks like “Smoke Machine” that transformed into “Burple Flowers,” a very relaxed and mild sounding song to cleanse the soul on a more harmonic level. THEN, when you’re not expecting it Bunk Buddha turns up the mid-day energy with tracks like Keep it Moving and Mirror Aspect of you, with the use of their trademark synth patches blended perfectly with an organic touch. Among the tracks that seemed to draw attention to the Lunar Stage was their Dripping Wet(Corey King) interpretation of Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz that flowed right into a deep tribal house cover which truly took the entire crowd from the dance floor to the deepest parts of the galaxy. The first segment of the set came to a conclusion with the Plaeground original track Ratotosker which included a remarkable drum call back between Corey, Bobby and glitched out audio beats. They ended the set Plaeground track heavy that effortlessly and seamlessly glided into their last song, Glitch Crystal, a glitch hop track which will be feature on Bunk Buddha’s upcoming EP entitled Master Crystal.
I hope that Scott and Corey continue to grow and expand and form new relationships with fellow artists from all musical backgrounds. The magic that we witnessed on stage was a perfectly beautiful way to kick off both the first Moonrise Festival and the first of many endeavors of live electronic music from the electrifying duo, Bunk Buddha.
