John Buffalo

Any true fan of the Dallas, TX indie music scene probably knows the name John Dufilho– or at least the names of some of his many bands (The Deathray Davies, CLIFFFS, Corner Suns, and John Singer Seargent, to name a few). A multi-instrumentalist and prolific songwriter, John usually has more projects going on then he, himself, can keep track of, whether directly in the spotlight as a drummer for Denver’s The Apples in Stereo, or as a collaborator and producer for talents like Rhett Miller of the Old 97s.

Last year the San Antonio native, received the terrible news that he urgently needed open heart surgery for a hereditary condition. It came as quite a shock, considering that up until that point he’d been one of the healthiest, uncannily youthful people you’d ever know. Perhaps, not-so-shocking, however, was the fact that John didn’t have health insurance.

After kicking around some fundraising ideas, one of his fans reached out with an intriguing suggestion. Novelist and master of horror Stephen King has a special fund called the Haven Foundation exclusively for freelance artists facing “career threatening situations” – the twist being (and with Stephen King, you knew that there had to be a twist), there’s no way to apply for the grant except to write a personal letter to Mr. King and send it to him by mail. John proceeded to do just that, and incredibly, King responded, offering him the highest grant amount given. Despite some complications with the surgery (it had to be repeated twice due to internal bleeding), John indeed survived and began his long road to recovery– part of which stipulated he couldn’t lift anything heavier than 5 pounds. That meant no guitar, no drums and certainly no live performances.

As a workaround, John started playing on a synth and drum machine. Although he didn’t know it at the time, he was creating his first all-electronic album. Using the moniker “John Buffalo,”  State Fair Records released his first collection of electronic songs, many of which are about his time in the hospital. This self-titled debut album consists of singles “Who Gotta Lighter,” “I Got This Now,” and “Accidents.”

John recently scored the documentary 35000 Watts: The Story of College Radio.  He is also interviewed in the film and will be performing at upcoming screenings.