From Gin Blossoms to NSYNC to Blackstreet to No Doubt, Buzz Bin tries to keep it as diverse as possible.
Members of the Cincinnati, Ohio-based ’90s cover band grew up on music of that decade and enjoy playing it for the audience to take them back to that era.
On Thursday night, the band will make its first trek to Seymour to perform as part of the Seymour CityJam summer concert series at Crossroads Community Park in downtown Seymour.
The show is free and will go from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the JCB Pavilion, and food and drinks will be available for purchase starting at 6 p.m.
“We’re all in our 30s, and we grew up with this music,” drummer Nick Frisch said of himself, lead vocalist and guitarist Derek Foster, backing vocalist and bass guitarist Jamie Mandel and lead guitarist and backing vocalist Andy McKeown.
“It’s a diverse decade where bands kind of got back to real drums and guitars,” Frisch said. “Alternative rock became popular, but so did the boy bands and The Spice Girls, and hip-hop and rap became more mainstream altogether. A top-10 chart could be all over the place. It was a great decade for music. I think people that come to see us appreciate that we play music from the entire decade.”
The group started in 2015.
“Jamie and I played in bands together and talked about doing a ’90s band for a number of years but never had the right lineup for it,” Frisch said. “In the spring of 2015, Jamie met Derek, and we decided it was time to give it a shot. We had a couple different lead guitar players early on. Eventually, Andy came into the band in early 2017, and it has been that lineup since.”
Frisch said they chose to be a ’90s cover band because they felt that decade of music is the best.
As far as the group’s name, he said Buzz Bin was an MTV designation throughout the 1990s, where the music channel would highlight up-and-coming artists or cutting-edge videos as buzzworthy.
Frisch said many of the songs the group plays are from those featured artists. On Buzz Bin’s website, there are nearly 90 songs listed.
“Early on, we looked at what songs from the ’90s were still popular today, looking at Spotify plays to YouTube views,” Frisch said. “Now, we each bring songs to the table as suggestions. We’ve even put out polls on our page to let people vote on the new songs we consider learning. It makes it more interactive but also opens our eyes to some songs we may not have considered before.”
He said the playlist changes from time to time.
“We like to keep it fresh, but if we’ve played it before, it’s always on the table,” he said.
Coming to Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Mellencamp’s hometown Thursday, Frisch said those attending can expect to hear “Wild Night.” Mellencamp and Meshell Ndegeocello covered Van Morrison’s song in 1994, and it went high on the Billboard music charts.
“You’re going to hear all the hits from the ’90s,” Frisch said in previewing Thursday’s show. “We just want people to have a good time when we’re playing. If you’re into dancing, we keep the set uptempo and fun. If you like to sing along at a show, we’ll play plenty of songs you already know the words to.”
He said the band is ready to play in Seymour for the first time.
“We love playing out, especially out-of-town shows. We get to travel a little, see some new sights and reach a new audience,” he said. “If we have the time, between load-in and soundcheck and eventually playing, we enjoy exploring the area around the venue. It looks like Seymour has a lot of great shops and restaurants to check out. I’m personally looking forward to the record store.”
Frisch encourages everyone to come to the show.
“Playing with talented musicians who have become family is always a special experience,” he said. “On top of that, we’re playing music that is fun, that we love, and we hope anyone that comes to see us gets to experience that, too.”
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What: Seymour CityJam featuring ’90s cover band Buzz Bin
When: Thursday; The Pines and Chillicen food stands open at 6 p.m., and the concert begins at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Crossroads Community Park in downtown Seymour
Cost: Free
Note: Bring chairs or a blanket for seating
Hear the band: youtube.com/watch?v=ezSMpBGPFns
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