Band Argument's analog-digital hybrid

“This project is an analog-digital hybrid,” says former Big Bad Buffalo drummer Jordan Krimston of his new group, Band Argument. “It’s a classic rock band setup — two guitars, bass, drums, vocals — but everything has a digital filter on it, like MIDI pickups on the guitars, sample pads and triggers on the drums, [and] harmonizers on the vocals.”

The group, which includes fellow former Buffalo bassist-singer Sil Damone, just released its debut EP and supported it with a short west coast tour. La Mesa-based Krimston (21) and North Park resident Damone (23), both graduates of San Diego’s School of Rock (where Krimston has also taught classes), are backed by Clairemont’s Jake Kelsoe (24) and Alex Simonian (24), a former local now living in L.A. “Jake used to play in one of my favorite San Diego bands, Meraki, and Alex used to play in a band called Steven on the First Floor with me and Sil.”

Despite sharing members from a previous band, Krimston points out notable differences. “Big Bad Buffalo was kind of an ode to a lot of 90s punk bands like No Knife, Drive Like Jehu, and Faraquet, so the approach and style was very raw. Drums, bass, guitar, vocals, and not much else. We set parameters for ourselves to work within in order to draw as much out of a traditional power-trio set up as we could. We didn’t use many effects or samples or anything in that realm. Band Argument, on the other hand, has a far more maximalist approach.”

Krimston says “analog-digital” means they record and perform with tube amps and acoustic drums. “Basically, everything we do is run through this kind of digital filter we’ve formed...Jake and Alex attached MIDI pickups to their guitars, so that they can essentially sample any sound for their guitar tone; trumpet, synth, didgeridoo, what have you. Sil uses a vocal processor that runs vocals through harmonizers and effect chains, and I have a hybrid drum kit that’s half acoustic drums and half sample pads and triggered sounds.”

As far as concerts go, “A lot of the gear is super tedious to maintain and use live. We live in a constant habitat of cable spaghetti, and we’re constantly going deeper, trying to find weirder gear to use. The analog-digital aspect helps us better recreate our songs live. I think currently in our live set, we have samples of banjos, steel drums, didgeridoos, flutes, and synths, among other things. It can be tricky sometimes, just because of how many variables there are.”

Other musical projects? “Miss New Buddha has an album that’s essentially finished right now, we're just scheming about how to wrap it up...also working on some exciting stuff with Weatherbox, Future Crooks, and the Obsessives. Oh, and I just went to Philadelphia last week to record my first solo EP.”

You can watch Band Argument getting tricky with their variables on March 9 at M Theory Records, along with Tokyo-based Loolowningen & the Far East Idiots and locals Shades McCool. Hopefully, things will go smoother than their recent tour-closing appearance in Provo, Utah.

“The band that played after us got into an argument onstage, so that was a little weird. But, in retrospect, it was kind of perfect, because the first Band Argument tour technically ended with a band argument.”