Local Band to Know: String Buzz

A few weeks ago, I heard Tim Rakel play a plaintive folk song on his radio show. Turns out the tune was by a band called String Buzz, a local duo featuring Ann Hirschfeld on guitar and Ron Leible on drums. Music lifers might know the pair from the '90s band Plaid Cattle, although Hirschfeld writes that String Buzz plays "primarily acoustic stuff but I have plans to slowly work in some electric guitar. We are an original band but play covers as the need arises." (A list of cover tunes on its MySpace page includes stuff from the Replacements, Big Star, Jenny Lewis, Bettie Serveert, American Music Club and Fleetwood Mac.)

If that's not enough to sell you: The duo sent me an EP, Gone, and it's a nice introduction to the band, containing four breezy tunes that sound like Sam Phillips (mainly her quirky vocals) meshed with '80s-era 10,000 Maniacs. Check out a song below. The band is playing on the patio at Iron Barley on Saturday, May 23, from 6 to 9 p.m.