Buffalo Tom's Chris Colbourn Shares Story About Mom's Phone Call With R.E.M.'s Peter Buck

Chris Colbourn, bassist/vocalist for veteran indie trio Buffalo Tom, shared a sweet story on the band's social media accounts about the time his mother had an hour-long conversation with then-R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.

In the memory posted on Monday, Colbourn recalled the band's early days when he used his parents' home address and telephone number as a contact on the band's first album.

He explained that when Buffalo Tom set up their first tour, it included a stop at the legendary 40 Watt Club in Athens, Ga. At the time, Buck's then-wife Barrie Buck owned the club and Peter often offered bands the opportunity to stay at his house after their gigs there.

"One day my mom, who had lived for a time in Athens, answered the phone and recognized a GA accent and said, 'Oh you sound like you're from the South,' and she and Peter Buck had this very long mom-conversation about her son touring in a rock band and the family having lived in Athens," Colbourn recalls in the post.

"When I got home my mom told me one of my 'music friends' had called from Athens, and he lives right down the street from where we had lived. His name is Peter and he's in a rock band too...I can't remember the exact name.. it's all letters,' I'm like - MOM - WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?" he added.

"Peter later told me they talked for over an hour.," Colbourn continued. "That's what the scene was like back then -- college radio brought a lot of bands together without pretensions, and the veterans helped out the younger kids."

Buffalo Tom released the single, "New Girl Singing," earlier this month. The band's next album, Jump Rope, is due on May 31.

Buck, meanwhile, can be heard on a rare lead vocal on the blues standard "It Hurts Me Too" on No Jigsaw, the latest effort from acclaimed Portland indie rockers Eyelids.

Tags
R.E.M., Peter Buck
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