Dave Tice-Buffalo Interview

Known to many as Australia’s ‘godfather of stoner rock’, Tice has contributed to the heaviness of rock n’ roll for decades with a number of outfits such as Head, Buffalo, The Count Bishops and The Dave Tice Band. Born and raised in London, Tice moved to Australia soon after to start his journey as one of the pioneers of a genre in music that till this day is not only recognizable all over the world, but has also left an impression on the human condition that will continue to influence and inspire. I am honored to share this interview as Dave has been a driving force in all things heavy and in the midst of putting this together, he taught me a great lesson as a writer that I will continue to work on as this journey unfolds. Enjoy!

Born on Christmas Day in 1950. Are you originally from Lewisham, London? When did you first begin to fall in love with music? Who were some of your influences earlier on? What was growing up like for you?

Yes 1950, Lewisham, London, Apparently I was a home delivery who interrupted the Doctor’s Xmas lunch; a bit quicker than expected! I guess I first appreciated music when I was a baby, my parents had a radio and a small record collection and we’d listen to BBC radio and later Radio Luxembourg which were the only one’s that played some pop music and comedy shows. I suppose around 11/12 years of age I started to hear stuff by the Shadows and Cliff Richard, Tommy Steel but it didn’t really grab my attention. The first thing I noticed and woke me up was the Rolling Stones, I visited a school friend’s house one day when I was 12 and just entered Grammar School; his family had a black and white TV and while I was there the Stones appeared on a new Pop show. They played “Not Fade Away” that was a revelation for me.

While I was a baby my parents lived in one room of my mother’s father’s house, cooking and eating, with me in that one room, but soon after my second birthday and with my first brother just born, my father took a job as a farm laborer in Lincolnshire. Jobs were hard to find in London post WW11 and the job came with a house. For the next 11 years and in two different locations my father worked for the same farmer and became head stockman. I attended two different primary schools and won a scholarship to Spalding Grammar School, which I attended until we migrated to Australia in 1964, I was 13. I did 2 final years of school in Brisbane before leaving with a school certificate and starting a job at a local supermarket.

Why did you move from the UK to Australia in '64? Were you involved in the local scene back in the home? Did you see any groups at that time that made an impact on you? What made you want to be a singer? When did you pick up the guitar?

Moving to Australia was my father’s plan, at the time there was a scheme in place to attract migrants and if accepted, after a number of tests, the cost of travel would only be 40 pounds for our family of (by now) 5; my father recognized that Australia offered more than the UK for a working man with a growing family and he wanted the best for us. It was a great adventure as well. Arriving in Brisbane we were initially housed in a migrant hostel where I met other guys near my own age who’d also migrated and many of them had grown up in big cities, they knew a lot of the new music coming out of England and had records of bands I’d never heard of. Bands like the Yardbirds, Them, The Animals etc.

We’d sit around and listen to this stuff, noticing that they weren’t much older than we were, playing guitars and making the girls crazy. Looking at the song titles on their records we noticed names we didn’t recognize and started searching them out discovering the great American Blues artists who inspired the music we loved. Those 18 months in the migrant hostel started my education and desire to emulate what I heard and launched me on a long journey.

How did you initially meet your future bandmate Peter Wells? Can you tell me about the outfits, The Odd Colors and Strange Brew that you were in prior to Buffalo? What part of Australia were you in when deciding to put these groups together? Can you tell me about relocating to Sydney to start Head? What were the shows, and experiences like with these groups? What was the process of writing and recording the single Hobo for Phillips? How did that deal with them come about?

Guys who’d been in the migrant hostel naturally moved away with their families into the general population found jobs and settled so we lost contact for the most part. I met the son of a Dutch migrant already settled in a nearly suburb and myself and a drummer friend, Steve Jones, started jamming with him, Eddy Staarink was an aspiring guitarist, his house had a garage and he had an amp with two inputs, I was trying to learn guitar. After a while we thought we’d better get a Bass player so we advertised and Pete turned up. Pete was well ahead of the rest of us, had been jamming with a few local bands, even some paid gigs, he was into the Blues and knew the importance of the 12 bar progression, things began to move after that. Eddy dropped out and I became lead singer, over the next few years Pete and I worked with a number of players and bands. The Odd Colors and Strange Brew were short lived things we did between stints with a couple of quite well known Brisbane bands, we did casual jobs, learned the ways of agents, managers and venue owners.

We weren’t seriously considering a career in music at this point, just having a lot of fun and learning. For Pete and I it was about wanting to play Blues, not a practical idea in Brisbane, pop cover bands predominated. Still we set about assembling a Blues band and did a few gigs but we knew we had to get out of Brisbane, it was too small. So we all saved up and headed off to Sydney, the band was Head. We weren’t greeted with any enthusiasm in Sydney, the scene was run by a number of agents who didn’t really need a band from Brisbane no-one had heard of and most objected to the name Head, (mmh sexual/drug connotations). The two guys we’d come down with soon decided to go home to Brissie but Pete and I stayed, recruited Peter Leighton on drums and John Baxter on guitar. We walked into the offices of Phonogram records and asked to see their A & R man, told him we’d written some songs and he needed us, humble chaps hey? We had a couple of things written and a few covers. Amazingly he offered to put us in a small studio, record 2 songs for a single and see how it went.

We walked into the offices of Phonogram records and asked to see their A & R man, told him we’d written some songs and he needed us, humble chaps hey?

With Head seeing some line-up changes as well as musical direction, Buffalo is formed from its ashes. Is it true that you guys got the inspiration to use Buffalo because you chose it randomly off an Australian map? How did you meet the other members, Alan Milano, John Baxter, and Paul Balbi? What were the early days of the band like leading up to the release of the first record, 'Dead Forever'? Can you tell me about riding the circuit with legends Blackfeather? What was the scene as well as those early shows like leading up to the first LP? You guys are considered the 'pioneers of Australia's heavy metal/stoner rock sound.' What inspired you to reach for that heavier sound?

Hobo was released and over a period of time sold enough to justify Phonogram offering a record deal, by that time the line-up had changed to a 5 piece, John Baxter, Pete Wells, Paul Balbi, Alan Milano and myself. The name was changed to Buffalo, as you say chosen at random from an Australian map. We’d met Paul while Pete and I were working in a luggage factory, Alan was an old friend of John’s. We learned very few “cover” songs and jammed based on John’s guitar riffs, made the lyrics up as we went along. Some songs would last 10-12 minutes, all pretty trippy, but it was the days of psychedelia man. We did do shows with Blackfeather, in those days all the bands crossed paths from gig to gig. We played youth clubs, town halls, school dances; did a month residency at a Kings Cross clip joint, 12 - 3pm then 6 -12 am 7 nights a week, you know just working the traps.

It’s nice to be called pioneers, I think though that it’s hard to place these things in isolation, influences swirl around and intertwine. Full on Rock has always been a part of Australian music since the early 60s, Aussies like a bit of grunt. Dead Forever was a learning experience for us, it worked because it suited the time but we weren’t really where we wanted to go. Alan moved on soon after it was recorded and Paul left for London. We recruited Jimmy Economou on drums and decided to drop the hippy stuff and go full on Heavy Rock, we were still jamming at our gigs but moving more toward the heavy riffs John was coming up with, with only one singer it became easier to lock down lyrics and song forms.

How did the deal with Vertigo come about? You guys were not only the very first Australian band to be signed with them but also the first non European/British group. That must have been an incredible feeling for you guys to be alongside some absolute legends! Can you tell me about recording that album? Where in Sydney did you guys record this at? 'Dead Forever' was released in June of '72, but prior to that you guys had released a single called, 'Suzie Sunshine' on the label Philips once again. Were you guys pretty tight with some of the folks that worked there at the time? Can you tell me about recording that single?

The deal with Vertigo came about just before Volcanic Rock was released, Dead Forever was on a Phillips label, but changed during a second pressing. The test pressing of Volcanic Rock was sent to head office in London and they decided it was a good fit among their other acts. I have to say we weren’t really aware of those acts, knew of Black Sabbath but I wouldn’t say they influenced our direction. I know that our record company saw us as an Australian Black Sabbath but we didn’t. At the time we knew Vertigo aimed at a Heavy Rock audience and the idea that a UK label would accept us was pretty cool.

Can you tell me what the process for recording 'Dead Forever' was like? How long did it take? Who is that on the cover? Can you tell me a little about the songs that are featured on the LP? There are a few covers including songs from Free, and Blues Image, that are on the record. Were these guys pretty influential on the band at the time? In the gatefold you guys are pictured playing in a graveyard. Where was this located?

Honestly I can’t remember how long it took to record Dead Forever, probably around a week and a half. It was our first time in a multitrack studio but we had an able producer in Spencer Lee. Most Aussie sound recordists in those days were old farts who would never understand what we were doing. Spencer was a wild man and knew exactly what it was, most of the tracks are first or second takes and much of it was written in the studio “on the fly”. But all based on things we’d jam at gigs. The covers we did were songs we liked that suited our direction. The Graveyard pics were taken at Rookwood Cemetery around 5am one day. The cover photo is a guy who assisted the photographer, a bit of gruesome makeup to complete the look.

When going on tour to support the LP, what were some of the gigs that stood out to you the most? What was that experience like because you guys quickly returned to the studio to work on your sophomore album? How did Spencer Lee, who produced the album as well as the next two, come into the picture?

You know going on tour to support an album, especially the first one, is not something that can be recalled and dissected one gig at a time, it’s all a blur. Going from a few scattered gigs to suddenly performing almost every night for weeks at a time is a pretty surreal experience, there’s no time to do anything apart from travel, perform, party and sleep (if you can). We also had to find time to come up with album #2, our contract required an album a year; so we’d fit in studio time and map out new ideas in between touring/gigging. Some initial riffs came out of post gig jams in hotel rooms, when it came time to record we’d make a song out of the jam ideas. We were determined with the second album to go all out Heavy Rock. Spencer Lee was put together with us under the direction of Dermot Hoy, the man who signed us up and executive producer of the records. He saw two mavericks and probably thought they belonged together.

We also had to find time to come up with album #2, our contract required an album a year; so we’d fit in studio time and map out new ideas in between touring/gigging

That following year in August of '73, 'Volcanic Rock' was released. With very little overdubs, the album was essentially recorded live, correct? What approaches did you guys want to make that separates your first album from this one? Can you tell me about recording this record and the process of that? At this point, the band has moved on to a more flat out heavy, and raw sound! Can you tell me about the songs that are featured on this record? What did you, personally, want to bring to this album?

It was always our intention to record the band as close to live as possible, we weren’t interested in making stuff one track at a time or dissecting everything, By the time we began recording Volcanic Rock we’d done hundreds of gigs, we understood that we sounded different, had our sound and approach that was proven to work in venues scattered all over Australia. We also had an album’s worth of studio experience from our first L.P. Spencer Lee was always open and trying new ideas, Dead Forever was made during the first times of multitrack recording gear in Australia and still in a learning stage, United Sounds studio in Sydney was one of the first in the country and Spencer was one of the pioneers in Sydney. By our second album much progress had been made using multitrack recorders, engineers were more confident and less likely to go overboard with so many possibilities. We wanted to tighten things up be more assertive. Personally I wanted to express my feelings about the world and what was going on. The arrogance of youth, I should have been writing about love.

Personally I wanted to express my feelings about the world and what was going on. The arrogance of youth, I should have been writing about love

We can't mention 'Volcanic Rock' without speaking about the cover! How did you guys initially meet J. Phillip Thomas, the artist, and then decide to work with him? With record stores refusing to carry it due to the explicit content, how was this album received when it came out towards the end of the Summer? Did this affect the sales, general interest, and potential success of the record? What were the shows like in support of this release? Was there any sort of backlash with the accusations towards the album covers for 'Volcanic Rock' and 'Only Want You For Your Body' potentially having misogynistic elements?

I don’t think we ever met J Phillip Thomas, artwork was commissioned by the record company after discussions with the band. We’d say it’s called, say Volcanic Rock, a week later we’d be presented with a couple of options and choose our preference. Usually it’d be the one the record company wouldn’t have chosen, but really we wanted the covers to be noticed in the record shop, and there’s no better publicity for a Rock band than outraging the conservatives, in actuality we weren’t banned but some shops wouldn’t display them which of course meant all the kids wanted one. There’s always a back lash when you do something “uncouth” but I think society was actually more open back then than it is now; once we used to be able to laugh at ourselves, no real laughter any more. Hey Man, it’s all a joke get it?

In June of '74 the band releases their fourth studio album, 'Only Want You For Your Body.' Can you tell me what recording this album was like? What was the direction of the band at this time, because the following year in '75 we saw a line- up change, correct? You guys were pretty loyal to Vertigo having released another two LP's, 'Mother's Choice, and 'Average Rock 'n' Roller' the following years. What made you guys remain with them for over half a decade? Why did Spencer Lee leave his position of producer after this album? How did the band feel about having to step and take his place? What caused this exchange of hands at this period?

First let me say “OWYFYB” was our 3rd album. Only Want You For Your Body was just a extension of Volcanic Rock, except we’d settled on a formula, and really this is the start of the end of the band. I think we all felt it, the songs were more settled, the playing tighter the arrangements more organized. technically I think it’s a better album but artistically it’s not as interesting. We’d started to get into a rut and, although not immediately noticeable, some of the fire has dwindled. By this time we’d been on the road, gigging anything up to 12 shows a week, there were times when I didn’t see home for months at a time and when we were home we’d be in the studio. It gets a bit tiring after awhile.

We stayed with Phonogram/Vertigo because it was the devil we knew; but were coming under more pressure to deliver something radio friendly and the record company were adamant we had little chance of achieving that with John as a member. Management had persuaded us that we had to take that path and we went along with it despite our reservations. Pete was looking for something else to do, he was inspired by Norm Roue to try slide guitar and set up a Hard Rock band. After 3 albums and 3 years our contract was up for renewal and I was called to the office and offered a deal to sign singly which I refused and insisted the whole band or nothing, I felt it was wrong and disrespectful. The following two albums saw us changing members regularly and the core ideas of the band diluted with no likelihood of a hit single. Spencer Lee was replaced because we were often laying down tracks in different studios around the country and because the record company wanted to try other producers, once again attempting to get a radio friendly single.

Can you tell me what led to the eventual split up of Buffalo in March of '77?

The ever changing line-ups and pressure for a single led to a loss of direction and disgust with the whole silly circus. I had lost my interest in it and the offer to go to England and join The Count Bishops presented the perfect opportunity for a new start and a new challenge. When the offer firmed up and a plane ticket arrived I had 2 days to pack and go, I took it and away I went. I think the band made an attempt to carry on but it didn’t last long.

As we draw closer to the end of the first incarnation of Buffalo, in reference to the later Buffalo Revisited, where were you in your life outside of the band? Were you pursuing anything else, or working towards anything outside of music? It seems you've never let off the gas when it comes to playing, and recording! You wear many hats in the music world with the different outfits you've played in. What keeps you going?

The move to England was a breath of fresh air, I arrived and two days later was tracking vocals on the first CB’s album which I completed in two sessions, there was no time to stop and reflect. After the vocal sessions we began to rehearse the band and readied ourselves for gigging. I did a few casual driving jobs to help finance my living until we started gigging. I was always focused on my musical career and not interested in anything else. it’s always been like that for me. I’ve always loved live performance and when I returned to Oz in 1984 I made up my mind to work on my guitar playing; it was obvious to me that I had to expand my abilities if I wanted a long career and I also wanted to have greater input and control over the music. It was another challenge, another skill to add, something to learn. Over time I’ve become proficient at guitar, slide guitar and harmonica; I can do a solo show if required, all survival techniques and fun.

Tell me a little about joining The Count Bishops. Forming in the Spring of '75, you joined just two years later in '77, correct? Had this anything to do with you moving back to England that year? How did you meet your bandmates? What was touring with John Cale and Motorhead like? What did you want to accomplish, or simply experience with The Bishops that differs from the vision you had with Buffalo?

As you say, The Count Bishops formed in 1975 and for a while had an American singer, Mike Spencer, who they fired when it was decided he was a loose canon. For a year or so they worked as a 4 piece with the two guitarists taking turns singing, the first album’s instrumental tracks were laid down before I arrived and two days after arrival I was in the studio with sheets of lyrics, learning the songs and laying them down. Met the rest of the band when they picked me up from Heathrow, Paul Balbi (drummer) had been the drummer of Buffalo’s first album and had been in England for a couple of years playing with the band. He visited Australia just after they’d laid down the backing tracks and told me they were looking for a frontman/singer to complete the album, when I said I’d be interested he took some of my records to the UK when he returned and the rest of the band decided I’d be right for the job.

Touring with Motorhead was a lot of fun, we got to know Lemmy quite well, Motorhead were at the time on the same record label as The CBs. Touring with John Cale was less fun, we were really booked on the tour because we had a P.A. system and Cale was looking to save money. We didn’t last long on that tour, Cale decided our system wasn’t big enough and he wasn’t pulling enough people either. He blamed us for the small crowds but the reality was that it was his own fault. We were actually quite relieved, it wasn’t a happy crew and he alienated his band one night by biting the head off a chicken, they all quit, they were vegetarians.

We were actually quite relieved, it wasn’t a happy crew and he alienated his band one night by biting the head off a chicken, they all quit, they were vegetarians

When you reflect on your past with being in Buffalo, what do you take from it the most?

I look back and wonder how it all happened, we had a lot of fun, created some lasting music and travelled all over Australia with our friends. We learned a lot about surviving on little or no sleep and often no money. But up ’til the time when outside pressure took over we had a real sense of camaraderie, us against the world. I learned that it’s not a good idea to split up a good line-up, no-one is more important than anyone else in a band. I also learned that not everyone has your best interests in mind so you have to rely on your own judgement and stick to your guns.

Another lesson is that bands aren’t forever, players come and go and you have to be flexible. So I had to make sure I could continue to do what I love regardless of the foibles of others, the less I had to rely on others the more likely I could keep doing it. I’ve never been interested in the whole celebrity thing, I have no time for egotists, I just want to do what I want and to be left alone by the bullshitters and hangers-on. I tend to plow on regardless, it’s all a fascinating journey and I’ve loved every minute of it, even when it’s a struggle. Luckily I’ve arrived at a time in my life when I can call on many great musicians who are happy to work with me if/when I need them; I feel that I’ve earned respect among my peers, that’s more satisfying than anything else.

What have you been up to during these strange pandemic days? I'm sure this has been an incredibly difficult time for you with live music being nearly extinct for the time being. Can we expect anything new from the mind of Dave Tice?

The pandemic has had the same affect on me as everyone else, opportunities for gigs have nose-dived of course but I’ve managed to keep myself reasonably active through most of it. Currently I have a trio gigging, once a month we have a residency in an intimate Sydney venue which has been very successful considering the issues we all face. For the first time I’m the only guitarist, which is a challenge but also very satisfying. These days I’m thought of as more than just a singer/frontman and I consider that an achievement.

Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?

Well, for what it’s worth, let me say that it never ceases to amaze me that our music still has relevance. It’s quite humbling and I have to thank all those people who have supported me/us over all these years. If a little advice is acceptable let me say this; make music because you love it, not because you aim for fame and fortune. The work is reward enough. Stick to your guns, the world is full of naysayers and people who think they know better, don’t be swayed. Most of the time the people trying to influence you have their own agendas. The experts are just as much in the dark as everyone else, remember the Beatles were told they’d never make it by all the experts. It’s all bullshit, the work is what it’s all about, nothing beats the joy of pulling people together to hear you play and no sound is sweeter than the sound of many hands applauding. And remember you aren’t owed anything, nothing comes if you aren’t prepared to work for it.

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Dakota Brown