When asked to characterize his music, Sean Kader will use the label "bummer jams"- steady, introspective, indie-folk tracks with a hint of 'tude mixed in. It's the type of complacent, ear-pleasing stuff you can imagine yourself putting on during one of those nights you just don't feel like going out. Though Kader has been playing with bands in the Buffalo music scene for a while (Johns, Mother Red, The F*cking Hotlights, Nick Gordon), only recently has he started to play his solo material out. He's released two personal EPS within the last two years, Whatever in 2011 and Et Cetera in 2012, but as far as live shows go, front-man territory is still relatively foreign to him. Still, his last performance (late December at the Vault) was met with highly positive feedback, leaving many of us eager to hear more from him in the future. 

buffaBLOG: How did you start playing music?
Sean Kader: When I was 16, I was listening to a lot of punk bands, and I had some friends that played guitar.  I taught myself how to play on a 3/4 size acoustic guitar, and I used tabs from the internet to teach myself some punk songs. I never took lessons or anything like that. I also learned how to play from playing with people better than me, that really pushed me along.

BB: And when did you start making your own?
SK: I always wrote songs I guess, but it never became anything more than bedroom recordings, before I started playing with Joe O and Joe Folmar. So then we started recording them, we recorded 2 EPs. It was always kind of a side project, because I was playing with Nick Gordon, so it was never anything I really planned on playing out. We had been sitting on them for a while, and we just wanted to make something out of it. We never honestly planned on playing out that much, until Kevin called about playing that Vault show. It's kind of hard for me to play that stuff out, because it's personal, and as far as confidence goes, it's weird being in the forefront.

BB: Who would you say your influences are?
SK: The Beatles. Jeff Mangum.  I heard In An Aeroplane Over the Sea my first year of college, and my friend turned me onto it. It sort of engulfed me, because as far as a listener of music goes, very lyrically driven. Even mewithoutyou, which is weird post-rock, that guy can write. His stuff is extremely personal but very removed. As far as newer stuff goes, I think The National is fantastic lyrically, and they're just an awesome band.

BB: So do you plan on continuing?
SK: Yeah actually, I texted the guys after the [Vault] show because there was a pretty good response. We all play in a couple bands, so it's a lot to do, a lot of practice, and a lot of shows we're trying to play.

BB: How does your solo material come about, what's the song writing process like?
SK: It's different for each song.  Lately, I've been writing down singular lines that I like. It's weird cause a lot of my other stuff is pretty wordy, and I've been trying to do some more poppish go, more accessible and less extremely personal. Still personable, but identifiable. It's always a personal experience that manifests itself in the song. For some of the stuff, I'll have a guitar part and write the lyrics afterwards. I personally could tell the difference because those tend to be less personal, because the lyrics have to follow the melody, as opposed to writing the guitar part and lyrics at the same time, where I can open up a little bit more. The lyrics always seem kind of vague to me, then I'll sit on them. Then I'll go back to them and pay attention what to I'm saying cause I don't at first and then I'll realize more and more what they're about.

Photo by Angela Berghoefer