Quality Americana

As “The Last Stampede” opens you’re hit with a wave of anticipation from the banjo and kick drum. When the soulful vocals from Katelyn Eisenhooth and Seth Brewster appear, you’ve arrived somewhere you’ve certainly never been before. The underlying energy in this music is impossible to describe, like you’re a scout waiting for something on the horizon.

Fossil, Oregon

Buffalo Kin live in Fossil, Oregon, a remote town where they focus on traditional music that reaches from Appalachia to the open range. The duo released their second full-length album Vaquera this spring, an incredible “collection of cattle & work songs for high country banjo.”

“We were Kate and Seth much longer before that,” Eisenhooth said about their introduction in their college years.

Kate’s sister urged her to talk to Seth, who was in a band with her sister’s flame at Allegheny College in Northwest Pennsylvania.

On the Open Plains

“After college I went to work on a farm,” Brewster said. “We’d seed in the morning and then go out and do all this drilling work for like sixteen hours or so, come home and feed and rinse and repeat. It was really wearing me down. I really liked the farming aspect but I didn’t love the drilling aspect.”

Brewster said that Katelyn “probably got tired of seeing me all beat up,” after those long days out at the ranch. She was able to find Seth a new farming opportunity in remote Oregan through the Rural Outreach Project while she continued to work on her masters degree. Soon they both reunited in Oregon and have been embedded in the community through their work in higher education.

“I work with international students,” Eisenhooth said. “It’s a really incredible line of work. I’m really lucky the world kind of comes to me in many ways and I get to be a part of a life changing experience.” 

Their work with their students and helping others in their community is the most important aspect of their lives.

“I teach at the high school level,” Brewster said about his work in foreign languages. “I also work down at the grade school with the little kids, and in the summer when school is off I drive wheat trucks for people in the harvest, anything to be of service in the community.”

Their selective performance schedule lets them focus on their neighbors in Fossil, and support the other artists that shape the region.

“We enjoy finding community,” Eisenhooth said. “We’ve been so lucky we don’t need to perform all the time, we don’t have to make it our bread and butter, so we get to really focus on getting out into that music community.”

Their First Open Mic

While their educational work takes a main focus, they noticed something special while singing and picking in their spare time.

“We both knew that we were musicians, but we never performed or created music together until about eight years ago,” Eisenhooth said.

“We did an open mic,” Brewster said about their first time on stage together. “It’s even weird thinking about it as a band because we are a couple.” 

Prior to their focus on traditional folk music, the group would perform harmonized folk music inspired by Pharis and Jason Romero, a duo much like their own from Horsefly, British Columbia that won seven Canadian Folk Music Awards for their art.

“The reason we started singing at all is that we had heard their music,” Brewster said. “It’s two-part harmonies, guitar and banjo, and it just kind of floored us.”

As they formed their traditional sound, they were inspired by the beautiful landscapes and history of remote Oregon, and soon released their first demo that was recorded at home in Fossil. 

“We were still kind of finding our voice,” Eisenhooth said. “What we wanted to say, what inspired us, what tones or emotions we wanted to evoke. We were really happily surprised when people responded, that was a gift we didn’t expect to ever receive.”

Vaquera

While there are lot of traditional stylings presented in Vaquera, the banjo sounds distinct and unlike any you’ve encountered.

Brewster’s unique, open-back banjo was built by Brooks Masten in Portland. It was something He sought out after hearing about the historical construction and tones Masten creates.

“He’s a dear friend,” Brewster said. “His instruments really speak to me.”

You can’t stop dancing while listening, which is unlike any work with this depth you usually find. The cello dances along with the melody and sets a restless mood. The drums groove. The harmonies are truly unmatched. 

Brewster also performs with traditional banjos made by Robert Thornburg in Bishop, California.

“Their tones really resonate with me and Kaitlyn,” Brewster said. “They’re fretless instruments. Kind of like gut string, super old plunky banjos… truly the first iteration of the instrument made from old grain measures.”

Brewster also recorded the haunting cello that appears on Vaquera.

“There was a cello laying around in the house,” Brewster said casually about this centerpiece of the album. “The same way that Kaitlyn can imagine scenery to go along with the story, I added the cello to accompany the idea. We kind of decide to build up these stories and make them a little more cinematic. We wanted to do the stories justice and add just a little bit to really be at home with them.” 

They joked that Eisenhooth’s thy made an instrumental debut on Vaquera, and the album has a wonderful accompaniment of kick drums hand slaps that connect you to those field recordings found on 78s.

“We get to utilize community members to help,” Brewster said about their recording process with engineer Bart Budwig.

“It makes it feel more natural for the both of us,” Eisenhooth said. “Where we’re writing, where we’re creating, where we record, it keeps us all in that same space.”

Community

Buffalo Kin draws a lot of inspiration from the relationships they’ve formed in Fossil, and their high consumption of literature and history.

“It’s about as old west as you can get,” Brewster said about Fossil. “The county is the oldest median age in the country and it’s probably one of the least populated. It’s pretty out there. I don’t even have internet on the place. It’s easy to hear the sounds in your head and you’re alone with your thoughts and the landscapes. That’s ultimately what shaped our appreciation for the subject matter.”

The album was inspired by the idea of leaving home to become a rancher or cowboy. The Vaquera is one who “wanted to be remembered for her skill and her ability.”

“It’s very similar to writing a short story,” Eisenhooth said. “Seth will often come with music and I’ll come with words and we just edit, edit, edit. We’re creating a character first. We think deeply about what they want to say, what’s most important to them.”

On the Road

Buffalo Kin was accepted into The 40th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko in the center of Nevada’s Great Basin Desert.

“It was overwhelming,” Eisenhooth said. “We’re on a panel with like Pipp Gillette, Hal Cannon, Sourdough Slim…”

Many of the poets and musicians at the gathering hold a unique love for ranching, small-town life and the open landscapes that have shaped their art.

“It’s a really sweet thing,” Brewster said.

The duo plan to perform in Montana this summer alongside Melissa Carper and Brennen Leigh, though they typically only perform a handful of festival dates outside of their local community.

“We’re always writing,” Brewster said. “Kaitlyn reads so much and is always inspired and I’m always picking on the banjo.”

Their work is so unique and heartfelt, it’s easy to wonder why Buffalo Kin has not ventured into the music business.

“The reason why we’ve really enjoyed having it be just a part of our lives is the freedom it gives us,” Eisenhooth said. “Allowing us to play when we want, where we want, and getting to play the music that we want. I really think it’s been important for both our creativity and our continual interest in performing and creating.”

Support the Artists

Support Buffalo Kin by streaming and purchasing Vaquera on Bandcamp.

More information about Buffalo Kin can be found here.

Photos provided by Andrew Stanbridge for Stetson.

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