Saltine City

John Buterbaugh and Friends is an acoustic rock band that evolved from a band named Sugar Crash that formed on April 4, 2008. The band consists of John Buterbaugh on all instruments, except for drums, which are played by Ryan Sayko. The band is influenced by artists such as The Beatles, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Oasis, Coldplay, Radiohead, The Stone Roses, Simon and Garfunkel, Jack Johnson, and John Mayer and writes originals that feature on the band's demo albums Resolution and John Buterbaugh and Friends.

Background
This band started as a fusion between John Buterbaugh of Young Halogen, Colin Wentworth and Shiva Sharma of Knee Deep in Corpses, and Sean Cooper and Mitch Lucas of solo acts.

The band was formed on April 4, 2008. John saw Colin's band on My Band called Knee Deep in Corpses and John was interested because his band was on hiatus. As soon as Sean Cooper was mentioned as a member of the band, John officially dissolved Young Halogen and joined this new group. John lobbied to change the name of the group from Knee Deep in Corpses to its current name Sugar Crash. Mitch Lucas was recruited for his ability to play guitar, keyboards, and ukelele.

The band was not a stranger to realignment. Shiva Sharma quit the band so he could focus on his other band Framing Chris. Colin Wentworth was removed from the band because he did not sing when asked. At the same time as Colin's departure, Jake Simmons was added to the band for his multi-instrumental abilities in guitar, bass, drums, mandolin, and piano. Mitch left the band to become the manager; Nick Simmons took his place but left shortly thereafter. With the departure of Sean Cooper, a vetting process took effect regarding the positions of bass and drums. During this vetting process, however, the band lost contact with Jake Simmons. Mitch Lucas was asked to be bassist/keyboardist as well as be manager.

As the Skaneateles All-School Show approached, Dan Lemp, Kartik Sharma, and Shiva Sharma were removed. Scott Bruening, Mark Cannucciari, and Tanner Scarr took their place. As John realized that Scott and Mark wouldn't play at the talent show, he hired Mitch Lucas and Andrew Ebert to play bass and drums, respectively.

Kartik and Shiva left the band. The band went on a short hiatus with John recording a few originals. Eventually, John asked Kartik and Shiva to join the band again. However, Nick eventually suggested that Jake Simmons and Ryan Sayko should play guitar and drums, respectively. John, however, ended the group status of the band, making it a one-man operation instead. He later renamed the band John Buterbaugh and Friends on October 5, 2009. Nick Simmons, Jake Simmons, and Ryan Sayko would fill in as instrumentalists for the band afterward.

John has completed recording of the lead singles, "Resolution" and "Quicksand," with drummer Ryan Sayko for the album Type X, which is due sometime in mid-2011.

Flannel Fridays and Resolution (2008-9)
The band's freshman album, Resolution, exists mainly as a digital album available through their ReverbNation account, although twenty CDs of the album have been released. Many of the songs are attributed to Buterbaugh/Cooper although John wrote a great deal of the songs by himself.

The band has received critical acclaim and their music has been described as "refreshing," "original," "a different way of looking at things," and "living up to its word." Many have stated that with some practice and better recording quality, the band will go far. Those who criticized the album were mostly those who disliked the keyboard drums on many of the tracks; a few criticized the band for its lack of technical skill. Nevertheless, many have praised the album for its originality and concentration on making good songs.

Track listing
All songs are written by John Buterbaugh except where noted.


 * 1) "Resolution" - 3:00
 * 2) "Mystery River" – 4:00
 * 3) "Forget the Night" – 3:35
 * 4) "Dharma" – 6:30 (John Buterbaugh, Sean Cooper, Jake Simmons)
 * 5) "Lonely Clouds" – 2:20 (Sean Cooper)
 * 6) "Vocal Minority/Silent Majority" – 4:30
 * 7) "Red Rose Princess" - 1:14
 * 8) "Deethang" – 1:49 (John Buterbaugh, Mitch Lucas, Dan Lemp)
 * 9) "Huluna" – 3:37 (John Buterbaugh, Sean Cooper)
 * 10) "School" – 7:55 (John Buterbaugh, Sean Cooper)
 * 11) "In My Trace" – 3:39
 * 12) "Today's Today" – 4:45
 * 13) "Vox Demos" - 3:51 (John Buterbaugh, Sean Cooper)
 * 14) "Voxfree Demos" - 3:38

Flannel Fridays and John Buterbaugh and Friends (January 2009-January 2010)
John Buterbaugh released demo album John Buterbaugh and Friends on December 7, 2009 to a limited audience, after moving from the original release date of December 1. Factors such as quality and equipment came into play and delayed the release of the album. John Buterbaugh and then-Marcellus resident Phil Grimshaw of Wavemaster Studios produced and engineered. Two songs from Resolution appeared as well as ten new original tracks. The album features less electronic drums, more guitar, and a more cohesive album structure than the first album, Resolution.

Track listing
All songs are written by John Buterbaugh.


 * 1) Resolution
 * 2) Mystery River
 * 3) Something There
 * 4) Pickup Song
 * 5) She Burns In My Soul
 * 6) It's You I Can't Get Enough Of
 * 7) Want You
 * 8) Nothing Can Erase This Moment
 * 9) Red Rose Princess
 * 10) One of These Days
 * 11) It'll Hurt Someday
 * 12) This Is How It Ends

Type X (January 2010-)
John Buterbaugh will release studio album Type X in Summer 2011 to iTunes, AmazonMP3, and Zune. All songs were recorded with John Buterbaugh on vocals, guitar, and bass and with Ryan Sayko on drums/percussion. "Don't Worry About Me" features session guitarist Tom Droppa. "Tom's work really changed the song a lot," said lead vocalist John Buterbaugh. "He made it more accessible."

Track listing
All songs are written by John Buterbaugh.


 * 1) Resolution (3:13)
 * 2) Quicksand (2:49)
 * 3) She Burns In My Soul
 * 4) Something There
 * 5) One of These Days
 * 6) Mystery River
 * 7) Red Rose Princess
 * 8) Don't Worry About Me (4:10)
 * 9) Standing in the Rain
 * 10) Type X