Scaling the Plateaux
There is life after Buffalo for John Healy
By Brett Leigh Dicks 10/16/2008
Anyone who ever thumbed through the racks of CDs and classic vinyl at the original Buffalo Records and talked music with owner John Healy knows it’s always been his guiding light. From its start in Santa Barbara to its relocation to Ventura, when Healy was behind the counter, a visit to Buffalo Records was always more of a social event than a commercial one.
“While it might sound a little too noble,” says Healy, “I guess I did always love music more than money.” Healy remembers those days when the record store was a gathering place as much as it was a retail establishment. “A lot of people made connections and formed friendships at Buffalo, and a lot of good things came out of the place,” Healy said.
While Buffalo Records is still firmly entrenched in Ventura’s music scene, Healy has since moved on. Two years ago, he sold the store. With digital media consuming the market that sustained the boutique establishments like his, he realized it was time to call it quits. If the store was to survive, it needed a fresh start and new outlook, so in 2006 he sold the business to Eric Kayser.
While stepping away from the store also afforded Healy a fresh start, the friendships he forged among those dusty bins of records have stayed true. Healy recently took time out for a beer at a neighborhood bar just around the corner from the studio where he is currently recording a new album, From the Desert to the Sea. Joining him on his latest recording foray are Franklin For Short’s Seth Pettersen and Trevor Beld, alliances he formed through the record store.
When Beld dropped by Healy’s house a while back to share some of his new compositions, Healy returned the favor with a taste of what he’d been working on. Upon hearing the material, Beld made it his mission to light a fire under Healy and get him back into music. A series of live performances at places such as Zoey’s quickly ensued and a block of recording time was booked.
Healy is by no means a stranger to the creative side of music. In conducting his musical musing under the moniker of Plateaux, Healy has been a fixture in the local music scene for some time now. The early part of the decade saw him record and release a self-titled album, while 2006 heralded a follow-up EP, Canyons and Caves, which found a home on the local Beehouse label. With the shift in technology that he’s already encountered, how does he plan to release the material?
“I will probably be forced to get a MySpace page because that’s how people pick up on things now,” he says. “And I’ll try to get it up on iTunes, although I have mixed feelings about that since the iPod is single-handedly killing record stores. The old ways are now just remnants of the 20th century.”
But Healy isn’t concerning himself too greatly with the mechanics of technology and music distribution. His focus is purely on the songs. “I have always been interested in making music myself and nothing will ever change that,” he says. “So what we have here are a bunch of guys getting together and making some songs and making them as good as possible. It’s that simple. I’m very proud of what is coming together. I think they’re great songs. The rest is all peripheral as far as I’m concerned.
It’s the music that matters the most right now.”
There is both a sense of freedom and adventure in Healy’s voice when he speaks about his music. And it is something that is echoed by his collaborators. While Plateaux allows Healy to explore any musical tangent he desires, there is one thing that he is musically certain of. “I don’t want to be just another solo guy with an acoustic guitar,” he says. “I’m interested in so many different kinds of music that it is difficult for me to settle upon just one thing. Plateaux offers me something more majestic. It’s bigger than me. I have hopes for it all the time. And I plan to keep making music and putting it out under the moniker of Plateaux. It’s me and whoever wants to come for the ride.”
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