The Dead Buddhas stopped by Fox Cities Core on Code Zero Radio (WCZR) to celebrate the release of their debut album Sludge Americana.The Dead Buddhas are a band from Oshkosh, Wisconsin — Connor (vocals/guitar), JT (bass/vocals/recording & mixing), and Kevin (vocals/guitar) — who have been playing together since their high school days at Oshkosh West. They describe their sound as "sludge shoegaze" — a genre-bending collision of heavy, abrasive noise, dreamy post-rock atmospherics, and rootsy Americana influences. Think Black Sabbath meets the Grateful Dead, with a healthy dose of Johnny Cash and Korn thrown in for good measure. There's no single frontman here — all three members share vocal duties, which means any given song can swing from delicate, melodic singing to full-on aggressive screaming. Listening on headphones is strongly recommended.Sludge Americana was recorded and engineered at TR's Recording Studio in Oshkosh, a space the guys have deep connections to through longtime Fox Valley music community figure Uri Weber. JT handled all the recording, mixing, and mastering himself — a testament to the band's fully DIY approach. The album was written mostly on acoustic guitars, which is actually how the album got its name: when Connor and JT first started playing those heavy riffs acoustically, they looked at each other and said, "that kind of sounds like sludge Americana." The name stuck.In this interview we get into the full story — from their early open mic nights at New Moon in Oshkosh (where they were influenced by artists like Sarah Vos Winkle of Dead Horses and Nick Raymond of Traveling Suitcase) to their previous projects (Trying Tribals, Everything Went Silent... don't look those up, they said), to the making of Sludge Americana and what's coming next. We talk about the richness of the Oshkosh music scene, the DIY ethics driving the Fox Valley underground, and why they believe this region could become a legitimate hotbed for alternative music.We also get into the deeper themes of the album — nature, loss, urbanization, the anxiety of watching the world change around you — as well as some lighter moments: dream instruments (saxophone, cello, and lap steel), JT's hiccup phobia, the story behind the song "The Stairwell," Connor's dad and his bagpipes, and the band's whiteboard that doesn't have any markers yet.Sludge Americana is available now on all major streaming platforms and on physical CD.Fox Cities Core airs on Code Zero Radio (WCZR) — broadcasting live from Appleton, Wisconsin.
