Sergeant Buzfuz

Sergeant Buzfuz are Joe Murphy (voice/guitar), Ian Button (drums), Andy Crowe (bass), Kate Arnold (dulcimer/violin), Eilish McCracken (violin/whistle) and William Barr (mandolin). Based in South London, their mix of rock and folk instruments has been described as ‘modern folk’.

Joe Murphy is writing a series of songs chronicling the history of the Papacy. He’s reached the start of the 1400s. “Here Come The Popes Part 3” (Sep 08), a string-driven romp through the 11th and 12th centuries and Single of the Month at Playlouder was included by both Tom Robinson and Mark Lamarr in their best-of-2008 shows. The band have played three recent live sessions for Tom Robinson and Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music.

Joe runs the monthly Blang nights at London’s 12 Bar Club which started in 2002 with a series of appearances from many acts from the New York antifolk scene. This led to the Blang nights becoming the focal point for the nascent London antifolk movement and sparked the formation of the Blang label which he co-runs. Antifolk is modern urban folk music with an emphasis on story-telling.

Sergeant Buzfuz have toured with Chris T-T and Thomas Truax and played Truck Fest, the Moseley Folk Fest and the BBC Fresh On The Net Fest. Joe has played onstage with Jeffrey Lewis and Thomas Truax and played solo at New York’s Antifolk Fest, the Sheffield Tramlines Fest, Ireland’s Rascal Radio Fest and the Edinburgh Festival. Ian Button was the guitarist in Death In Vegas, playing on all their albums, Joe has played on recordings by Chris T-T and Johny Brown (Band Of Holy Joy).