Doomed Confessionary: Calloway Jones (Üga Büga)
Photo by Alanna Mahon
Üga Büga is a stoner/progressive sludge band hailing from Charlottesville, Virginia.
The trio is about to release their debut album »Year Of The Hog« this Friday, July 19th, 2024.
Üga Büga are Calloway Jones (guitar, vocals), Niko Cvetanovich (bass, backing vocals) and Jimmy Czywczynski (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
We’re a three-piece metal band from Virginia. Jimmy plays drums, Niko plays bass, and I play guitar and sing. We enjoy smoked meats, friendly hijinks, and long walks on the beach.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
I’d say inertia. At the beginning it took so much work to get things rolling, but now that they are it feels like we don’t have enough time to keep up with everything we want to do! There’s always something that needs immediate attention we didn’t necessarily plan for. I feel like we order t-shirts every two weeks. Jimmy and Niko work really hard and are the ones who’ve made any of this possible, but there’s only so much time to write, rehearse, deal with logistics, and take care of our personal stuff, you’ll invariably have to make some concessions. Having three heavily opinionated guys making all the decisions together doesn’t exactly speed things up either.
What can you be most proud of so far?
I’m proud of how we’ve grown together musically. When the group formed I would write the songs alone and bring them in once I thought they were finished. We’d make some arrangement changes and Niko and Jimmy would dial in what was happening rhythmically. But over time they’ve both taken on a bigger role in writing to the point that we can start with a riff idea and argue with each other until we have a song that’s way better than anything I could do alone. It’s been awesome to see us create a sound that embeds all of our personalities and musicality into something cohesive.
What was your biggest regret?
I think my biggest regrets with this band all come from not taking the time to enjoy the moment I’m in when it’s happening. Life is crazy, it’s important not to let stress from work keep you from banging your head. Non-musically, it’s probably buying a school bus when I was 22.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
For me there have been two big stand out shows. The first was a show we did in January at our local club, the Southern. Metal hadn’t really existed in town for a few years, and headlining a packed, rowdy hometown show felt like a statement from Charlottesville’s metal community. We played with two of our favorite bands, Blazoner and Heemeyer, and the crowd was all in for the entire night. I’ve played a lot of shows in my life as background music, but that night was a conversation between three bands and 200 people.
The other show was last night! I don’t know if I’m quite as sentimental for this one, but it was a great time. We played with three other bands at a great venue in Waynesboro, Va. There were killer tunes, good vibes, a great crowd, and we all got to pretend to be rockstars for the night. You gotta appreciate those when they come, even if you lose the basketball game at load out.
Photo by Alanna Mahon
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Honestly, the metal community is filled with the coolest, kindest musicians and fans out there. I’ve played in a lot of rock bands, and in other scenes you see a lot of big egos and bad attitudes. The metal folks in Virginia truly care about the music and support the hell out of each other. I guess I’ve just been surprised at how nice everyone is.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Muddy Waters, Acid Bath, Sleep, Little Feat, Grant Green, Death, Opeth, and High On Fire. I don’t change it up as much as I should.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
“We’re just boys singing songs, it’s not that serious”
What are your guilty pleasures?
Serialized competition cooking shows and orange flavored beers.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Charlottesville / Virginia?
Virginia music is really tied into its roots in Appalachian folk and bluegrass and some people here play it as well as anyone in the world. I’ve heard people tear it up to an empty bar on a Tuesday night and been to parties where the circle of people jamming by the fire could be onstage at the Grand Ol Opry. There’s also a deep history for punk and metal in Richmond, home of Lamb of God and Gwar. There are incredible musicians everywhere, and we’re located in a place that makes traveling around the eastern US very convenient. However, Charlotteville itself doesn’t have a whole lot to offer. There’s a theater, a club, and a couple of bars that will do live music, but not the population, demand, or infrastructure available for a larger scene to exist. I grew up here and have seen a lot of cool venues get torn down and replaced with hotels and offices. I guess that’s what the people with money here want in lieu of culture. Why go see a live band when you could sit on a rooftop bar, drink a $12 beer, and listen to some bullshit top 40 radio?
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’re hitting central Virginia pretty hard right now leading up to our album release in Charlottesville on July, 19. After that we have a few more dates in the area, and will be hitting the road again in the fall. For now you’ll have to keep an eye on our schedule online to see what comes through!
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Plans? What are those!? We’re going to see how this record shakes out and try to book some shows, maybe put it on vinyl, maybe make another one… That kind of stuff. The only real plan we have is to keep up with ourselves. This record is the first chapter in a story that I’d like to be a trilogy if possible, but I want to appreciate where we are now. Things rarely go according to plan anyway.
How can people best support your band?
You can help us directly by buying merch or buying the record on band camp when it’s out, because money can be really helpful sometimes. You can also help us by praying to the algorithm gods, liking our posts and following us on social media, pre-saving our album on streaming services, and listening to us wherever you listen to music. Come to shows if you’re able, I promise they’re fun and you’ll hear a lot of good music from a lot of cool people. Oh, and keep up with pages like Doomed Nation. The more we can support each other and continue to have a community that truly cares about finding and growing new music, the better off all of us will be.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thanks for being our friends! Check out »Year Of The Hog« on July 19th.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well