John Buffalo (aka John Dufilho)
Photo: June Dufilho
As John Lennon once said, “Art is only a way of expressing pain.”
Given all he’s endured in the last year, Dallas-based musician, songwriter, engineer, and producer John Dufilho probably agrees with such a sentiment.
Having endured substantial cardiac bypass surgery not once but twice — and, only avoiding financial ruin due to the generosity of author Stephen King’s nonprofit Haven Foundation — Dufilho is turning his personal anguish and subsequent recovery into art.
He’s recording under John Buffalo, a new musical moniker. But Dufilho is best known for his active participation in the North Texas music scene over the last 20-plus years in beloved acts like the Deathray Davies, CLIFFFS, I Love Math and John Singer Sergeant. His nenw album, John Buffalo, drops Nov. 10 on State Fair Records.
KXT is pleased to exclusively premiere “Accidents” the latest single from that album, and the video below, directed by John and June Dufilho.
“I’ve been in and (thankfully) out of a lot of hospitals,” Dufilho wrote in a conversation over email. “I thought it would be funny to document a few of my trips, and then equate it all to being a working musician.”
Dufilho then enumerated his many, many injuries — broken collarbone; a twice-broken nose; “most all of my ribs”; toes.”
“At first, I wrote this song [“Accidents”] as a slow piano ballad, but it was really almost too comical that way,” Dufilho wrote. “So, I changed the direction and ended up here.”
“Accidents” features Dufilho’s 13-year-old daughter June on backing vocals. She also oversaw the creation of the song’s charmingly lo-fi video.
“She offered to make the video, and I think she knocked it out of the park,” Dufilho wrote. “She really captured the humor in all of it (both being a musician and being in hospitals).”
John Buffalo marks a departure for Dufilho. He couldn’t lift anything over five pounds during his recovery. So, instead of writing and recording with guitar and drums, he relied on synthesizers and drum machines, creating his first wholly electronic album in the process.
Dufilho will host a listening party for John Buffalo on Oct. 24 at Ladylove Lounge and Sound in Oak Cliff, followed by an album release concert on Nov. 10 at the Kessler Theater.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
