Interview by Scott Preston
Richard Buerger of long time jamband Deepwater Junction, will be headlining a benefit concert for the Polly Klaas Foundation this Saturday January 5th at the Madison Theater in Covington, KY. Richard will be joined on stage by a few of his Deepwater bandmates: Christine Buerger~Vocals, Mike Sullivan~Acoustic Guitar, Steve Farris~Mandolin,Vocals, for an acoustic set. This will be the first time since 2001 that these members have performed together on stage. I myself am excited , I have had the pleasure of seeing Deepwater Junction perform back in the day starting in 1993 and even still have an old show poster for Deepwater from the Barrel House in 1997.
Joining Deepwater Junction on the bill are The Rumpke Mountain Boys, Kentucky Fried Pickin, The Slang, and Ohio Blues.
I also had the chance to sit down with Richard and ask him a few questions:
Cincy Groove:Are there plans for Deep Water to start playing out again?
Richard Buerger:As far as the future of Deepwater Junction goes, we’ll be taking it one day at a time, hopefully building it up to full electric outfit again. We just need to find the right musicians to fill those spots. As for now we plan on just getting out there in this acoustic format and see where it goes.
Cincy Groove:Have there been any thoughts on a new Deepwater Junction album?
Richard Buerger:I have a wealth of material that I’d love to get recorded. A couple of recently written pieces and my back-log of tunes had me wanting to get in the studio and record a disc, which i’m hoping to do sooner than later. Whether it becomes a solo disc, or a full-on Deepwater Junction album is yet to be seen. My wish would be for the later.
Cincy Groove:Where did you and Christine first play in 1991?
Richard Buerger:I was hosting open-mic on Wednesday nights @ Kilgore’s (I think it’s Buzz coffee shop now) in Clifton. She and I had always sang together around the campfire and such, but one night I and the rest of the audience essentinally begged her to get up on stage and sing with me and it built from there, playing Ekoostik Hookah’s set breaks @ Kilgore’s and so on.
Cincy Groove:Who came up with the name “Deepwater Junction“?, whats the meaning behind it?
Richard Buerger:I think it was me who came up with the name. I do remember quite a bit of deliberation on what to call ourselves.
The meaning of it really was that we were young and thought, hey you come see us with your 3rd eye open, we’ll blow you away, you’re in deep shit. Welcome to Deepwater Junction. It turned out to have a double meaning in the early days too, you join this band you’re in for a ride. We all were quite opinionated back then.
Cincy Groove:Is your cd, “Miscellaneous Prattle” still available?
Richard Buerger:You still might be able to pick it up @ a couple of the local independent stores. It will most likely be available on myspace and itunes in the near future. Also as we get back out there playing, I’ll make sure we get it out there. We’ll probably be selling them at any upcoming shows, even though it is an acoustic thing right now.
Cincy Groove:Is there somebody that Deepwater Junction or yourself would like to collaborate with?
Richard Buerger:We were fortunate enough to have Dave Katz of Ekoostik Hookah play keys on our first disc. I’d like to have him or any other member of Hookah help out on the next disc. Maybe even get to write a bit. There’s also Chuck Garvey of MOE., he lives just a couple of blocks from me and it would be great to get him in on something.
Cincy Groove:What do you do when your not playing music?
Richard Buerger:Full time at-home dad! Which is pretty much why we’ve been away from the scene for a while. Christine has been singing for Dave Katz’ band, Katz-n-Jammers for 3 1/2 years.
Cincy Groove:How did you end up playing at the Polly Klaas Benefit show at the Madison Theater?
Richard Buerger:I answered a myspace bulletin, taking it as a solo gig, and now it’s turned into this reunion of sorts.
Cincy Groove:Whats has been your most favorite venue you have played in?
Richard Buerger:The Taft Theatre
Cincy Groove:Is there somewhere Deep Water Junction would like to play that they haven’t played before?
Richard Buerger:The list could go on and on, MSG, Radio City, Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks.
Cincy Groove:Do you have any pets?
Richard Buerger:2 cats and a fish
Deepwater Junction Acoustic will be appearing:
1.5.2008, Madison Theater, Covington, KY
2.2.08, Keystone Bar and Grill, Covington, KY
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The Polly Klaas Foundation helps find missing children and also helps parents learn how to keep their kids from going missing. Go to pollyklaas.org for more information.
1.5.2008 Saturday
Polly Klaas Foundation Benefit
Madison Theater
730 Madison Ave
Covington, KY 41011
18+, $10, 6:30pm doors, 7pm show
there will also be raffles and door prizes
Featuring: Richard Buerger & members of Deepwater Junction, Rumpke Mountain Boys, The Slang, Ohio Blues, Kentucky Fried Pickin
