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Conehead Buddha @ Slidin’ Dirty, 4/3/2026

Written by Staff on April 6, 2026

First off… it’s great to see that Conehead Buddha is active again. The time period when they weren’t created a void in my heart. I mean it, CB became such an important part of my life going back to the mid-nineties. Long story short, I was a Hip-Hop kid from the hood and I was the victim of gang violence, (it’s true I had to have reconstructive surgery on my face). I had to get the hell out of Dodge, so I transferred to Ravena Coeymans Selkirk (RCS). It was a safe haven for me but I was miserable because it wasn’t home. There was a student teacher there by the name of Jim McCuen, who just so happened to be the bassist for CB at the time. He asked me if I liked Ska and I had no idea what he meant by that. Jim then gave me the Conehead Buddha CD “I Wanna Be Like… You” and it changed something within me. I was so angry at my situation in being forced to move away from my friends and the gangsta rap I was listening to, wasn’t helping my mental state. But all of a sudden when I popped this CD in, how could I stay angry? This music was upbeat and fun. I started going to every CB show that I could.

Meanwhile, an acquaintance of mine Will Seyfferth, who also attending RCS was highly influenced by CB and Jim McCuen as well. According to stories I’ve heard from Will over the years, Jim is the one that convinced Will to play bass. At the same time Will was also becoming a father at the very young age of 14. Will thought his choices were limited so he planned on quitting school and going straight into the workforce to provide for his daughter. Well… Chris Fisher the front-man of CB told Will that if he graduates that he would in turn produce Will’s high school band. With this carrot dangling in front of Will, he got himself a diploma and a Chris Fisher recording.

Many years later, Will became the bassist to my band Smittix, see it all comes full circle. I shared our stories because without Conehead Buddha we never would’ve created the music that we have. Sometimes people say a band changed their lives but in this case Conehead Buddha really did! These we’re all the thoughts along with many memories that were running through my mind as the band tore the roof off of Slidin’ Dirty this past Friday night. Do you have dear memories of Conehead Buddha yourself?

Check Out Conehead Buddha on social media for upcoming gigs!

Photography by Stephanie J Bartik.