By Kevin J. Hosey

(Above: Roger Bryan & the Orphans, L-R: Mike Sobieraj, Dave Calos, Roger Bryan, Matt Lavin)

Local label Harvest Sum Recordings will celebrate 20 years of music with a revue style show featuring current bands and reunions Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Cave on Military Road in Buffalo. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m., with admission $10.

The bands playing are Roger Bryan and the Orphans, the Old Sweethearts, Sleeping Kings of Iona, TVMTN, Johnny Nobody, Strange Acres, Bearhunter and Lower Pony. 

Roger Bryan will figure prominently, playing with his current band, the Orphans; his former band, the Old Sweethearts; and he is one of the founding forces behind Harvest Sum (along with Mark Nosowicz). He is also considered one of Buffalo’s best songwriters and live performers.

Bryan and the Orphans’ most recent Harvest Sum release is “Days or Night”/“That Is Life,” combining the former, a  2024 EP, with the latter, a 2023 EP, as one album.

Bryan described Harvest Sum’s origins.

“Harvest Sum started in 2004 as an imprint for the first album we made,  ‘In Regards to Your Affairs,’ which became the Old Sweethearts. From there, the gang of bands and friends that were recording with Mark Nosowicz led to utilizing Harvest Sum as the umbrella to capture all of that,” he said  “It certainly helped to elevate everyone as a group at the time. And 20 years later it still helps to keep us connected and build on everything that’s happened along the way. I’ve been impressed by everything the bands have done through the years and consider them all one big family. And I love ‘em all.”

The Orphans (Bryan on guitar, vocals and harmonica; Dave Calos on guitars and vocals; Matt Lavin on bass; and Mike Sobieraj on drums and percussion) date back more than 15 years, evolving from the Old Sweethearts.

“It was 2007. The Sweethearts had a third record essentially complete. Andy (Andrew Vaeth) was away on a long tour with Johnny Nobody while Mark was working on mixes. To stay busy, after connecting at a show with Matt Smith (producer, guitarist, singer in Matt Smith’s Nervous System, ex-Scott Carpenter and the Real McCoys), Jeff Pietrzak and I went to Matt’s to record a side album (‘The Engine Hum,’ 2007),” Bryan said.

“We put together a band consisting of myself, Jeff and Erik Roesser (both in the Sweethearts), Matt Smith and Ryan Besch to play shows to support it. The Sweethearts later disbanded near the end of 2007 and we moved forward with this lineup and quickly made another record, ‘Recovery,’ in 2008, officially as the Orphans.”

Bryan’s music has been described as raucous Americana, alt-country rock and roots rock; he has a more basic view.

“I suppose you would call us an American rock and roll band with the emphasis on songwriting. And that’s been represented by quiet ‘folk’ songs as well as noisy, punky, guitar music,” he said. “Songwriter influences? I’d say Paul Westerberg, Neil Young, Ron Sexsmith, Bob Dylan and Noel Gallagher. Bands? REM, Pearl Jam and the Clash are probably the three that we most look to as guides for how we present and conduct ourselves.” 

Does he feel any pressure having his name on his musical projects?

“I don’t feel any pressure differently due to any of those factors. I may be leading the charge but, everything we do is decided as a group,” Bryan said.

“We just keep working on writing and recording the best songs we can and judge and push them to meet our own high bar. I bring a song in and typically just play it to them in the room as they start hashing it out along with me. Once Mike zeroes in on the right pocket on the drums is when it really takes shape and then we all work out and tighten the details as a group over time.”

Some things have changed over the years, for both the band and the Buffalo music scene.

“As far as shows go, we do a lot more planning in advance. Map out what we want to do for the year in Buffalo or other regional cities. We try to be more thoughtful about doing things that might put us in front of a different mix of people each time,” Bryan said.

“The scene has had all kinds of ups and downs over the last 20 years. Venue changes, band changes. Attendance goes up and down, but there are always new waves of bands and people making cool new pockets within the scene. I think now there are more people contributing to building up Buffalo music than there has been in a long time, with a wider variety of DIY spaces and creative ways to get people together along with social media exposure.”

Bryan enjoys both out of town touring and local live shows.

“It’s always fun. We’ve been fortunate to have made friends out there through the years and connected with new people who care about what they’re booking,” he said. “Which has kept us from traveling to play in front of two people. A lot of good people out there that we’re grateful to know.

“It’s always fun when we play with people we’ve known a long time and there’s a different kind of comfort when we do those,” Bryan added about local shows. He and the Orphans released a double live vinyl single recorded on a bill with Matt Smith’s Nervous System, “The Hurt on Hertel Avenue,” at Revolution Gallery in 2023. “But it’s also great when we team up with bands we admire but maybe don’t know so well personally. Those are all part of the goal of building a scene that’s connected.”

“We have a fairly deep catalog of songs that we are always swapping in and out. It keeps the shows from getting tiresome for us or an audience,” Bryan replied when asked about the Orphans’ live shows. “We can string together an all rockers show or lean into the slower, moodier stuff if we want or craft it to what might fit that room the best that night. If you come to see us a couple times, you won’t just get the same songs again.”

You might say Bryan and his band are prolific.

“We have another big batch of 15 or so songs we’re working on now. We’ll be aiming to get another LP out possibly late next year,” he said. “Whenever we have to miss a week or two of practice, we all feel like there’s this big hole in our chest. It’s something we all need to do. And there’s nothing like people in a room making something new, and then see it through recording, creating the artwork and pressing it. It’s a creative cycle that I find easy to stay excited and motivated by.” 

Bryan was asked about his inspiration and what he enjoys most about being a musician.

“Getting to be in a band with these guys fuels itself; I’m always excited about what we’ll make next,” he said. “It has connected me with people that I never would have known without it. And I have had so many good times and awesome experiences because of that. I’ve been fortunate to have played in these different bands making records with these awesome people and having loads of laughs along the way.  It’s been a life changer in the best way. Can’t imagine what life would be like without all of it.”

While Bryan normally comes off as quiet and self-effacing, he occasionally flashes a sharp, acerbic wit. Any explanation?

“I probably hung around Mark Norris too much when I was impressionable,” he joked about the former girlpope and Doombuggy singer and guitarist and writer.

Roger Bryan and the Orphans can be found at rbato.bandcamp.com and @rbatorphans on Instagram, and Harvest Sum Recordings can be found at harvestsumrecordings.bandcamp.com. Both can also be found on Facebook.

Kevin Hosey is a longtime chronicler of the Buffalo original music scene.