Who is Hank the Buffalo? This duo has been playing in the area for a little over a year now and we decided it was time to find out more about who they are. We were lucky enough to find them playing at the local Moose in Millerstown on a Friday night. When we got there Hank the Buffalo, consisting of Stephen Robert and Chris Auxt, were already “On Stage” and The Moose and The Buffalo were starting to come alive. The crowd was soon dancing and singing along as they performed songs by Zach Bryan, Tom Petty, The Cranberries, Bob Marley, Bryan Adams, Chris Stapleton and even The Violent Femmes. They have a diverse set list with a little bit for everyone including some great original material. They both did a great job at switching off lead on songs and kept the audience engaged in the music the entire night. So let’s dig in and find out more about this dynamic duo.
1. The question everyone wants to know is who is Hank? and Where did he come from? Tell me about this great buffalo.
Stephen: Well, first and foremost, thank you for coming out and enjoying the show. It was awesome to see you and your family in the audience enjoying the music.
About Hank…legend has it that Chris was on this psychedelic adventure one day. He was far away from home and didn’t know how he was going to get back. With a stroke of luck, this buffalo just happened to walk by at that exact moment and said “Hey bro, I can get you home! Hop on.” So Chris climbed up onto the back of this Buffalo and rode him up and over the mountain, through the forest, and the buffalo dropped him off right at his front door. As the Buffalo walked away, Chris yelled out “Hey man, what’s your name?” The buffalo slowly turned and said “Hank, Hank the Buffalo” then walked off into the distance. Never to be seen again.
Chris: Who is anyone really….
2. Tell me about each of your musical backgrounds, how long have you been playing? What/who got you into music and what other projects have you been involved with?
Chris: When Guns ‘N’ Roses Hit in the summer of 1988, my brother and I, along with our friends knew we had to start a band.
Stephen: Music was always a part of my life from a young age. My dad would sing in church and got me into singing with the choir at a young age. We would also just sing everywhere. We even had a rule in our family growing up that if you felt the need to sing at the dinner table, no one was allowed to tell you to stop. It was a fun rule to have growing up and USUALLY wound up with lots of laughs and smiles.
My parents bought me my first guitar when I was in 2nd grade from Randy at RRR guitar back in the glory days of Lemoyne’s Music Row. My brother and I call it “the best Christmas ever” because we walked downstairs that morning and there was his new drum kit and my guitar and a little Peavey amp. Randy had helped my parents pick out a used Squire Bullet Series Strat in white that had some upgrades to it. (Sold that guitar like an idiot when I was in high school but I still have the amp, and I rebuilt the strat to be a pretty darn close copy of what I grew up with).
I taught myself a number of songs over the years but would have really only considered myself a “camp fire” guitarist. Knew a couple of chords but not much more than that. My parents had eventually bought me an acoustic that I definitely played more than that electric, but guitar was never really my focus until later in life.
I did, however, study trumpet extensively from 4th grade through high school. I fell in love with jazz and wound up having some amazing experiences throughout my middle school and high school careers. I got to play lead in the District Jazz band and was the featured soloist. I even received the Louis Armstrong Award when I graduated. I was also heavily involved in choir and chamber singers in high school. I was extremely fortunate to have some amazing choral directors that truly taught me how to sing with good technique. Shout out to Mr. Gallup who unfortunately passed away this past year.
I finally caught the guitar bug again during covid. I was living in northern Virginia and had a lot of time in the apartment to kill. I started picking it up and got a few songs under my belt. I had always wanted to try my hand at busking, there was just something about sharing music on the street that intrigued me. So I went out to Old Town Alexandria along the water and played my handful of songs, probably really didn’t have any business being out there yet, but the people seemed to enjoy it and it definitely gave me the motivation to keep going.
I wound up moving back to PA at the end of Covid and was looking for something to keep getting me out there. I had met Wally Dewall through a friend years before and reached out to him asking if he was still hosting any open mics. He was hosting at Devil’s Eye Brewing in Dillsburg and I started going every time. He was super encouraging and really mentored me as I built up my song list and really learned how to sing in front of people solo. Wally, you’re the man! I can still remember how much I was shaking with nerves that first open mic.
3. Who are your biggest musical influences?
Chris: Other musicians mostly, Girls, Drugs and alcohol, the usual.
Stephen: Well let me start by giving a shout out to my family on this one. My dad really got me into singing and performing. Many drives home in the car growing up where we would just bust out singing random things. Awesome memories and to this day we can still be caught singing the national anthem together occasionally.
My mom, gosh she always had Cool 99.3 on the radio in the family van while driving us around to practice, lessons, school…She’s a huge classic rock lover and from what she told us she had quite the collection of vinyl but a lot of what she had got sold at yard sales.
Pro musicians: I was a true product of the early 2000’s and a little bit of the 90’s so groups like Something Corporate, Blink 182, Greenday, Fall Out Boy etc. were always playing in my car. I always liked country/Folk, but I would have to say as I got older I fell in love with it more and would shout out people like Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers, Noah Kahan, Zach Bryan etc. as well as the old country like Johnny Cash and Randy Travis.
4. How did you two meet up and start playing together?
Stephen: I met Chris a couple years ago. I had lost my job in Digital Marketing and was looking for something more “essential”. I took a job with a handyman company out of Harrisburg that Chris was working at. He and I worked well together and he really became my mentor there.
While working together, he and I bonded over talking music. He of course has been part of the local scene for a while and was filling in for Nate Myers on a Tuesday night at the Grotto Pub. Chris talked me into coming out and I sang Simple Man with him. That was actually the first time that we ever played together. Really got the bug into me that I needed to make music a bigger part of my life again.
After almost a year of doing open mics with Wally, I finally had the guts to give Matt Flinchbaugh of Flinchy’s my info and told him to give me a call if he ever had a cancellation. Well, a couple weeks later I found myself playing at his spot in Mechanicsburg High Road Taproom on the 4th of July weekend with 2 hrs notice. Had a blast and people seemed to be really into it!
Matt puts together a chili cookoff every labor day at Flinchy’s that supports local first responders. He called me up a few days before because the band that was supposed to play had broken up. I was definitely in, but asked if it was okay if I had a buddy play with me (Chris) since it was a bigger gig and I was so green to the scene. He agreed and Chris and I played together for the first time ever at that show. It was awesome and I had booked another gig that was that evening and had him play it with me too. We both had fun and decided that Hank the Buffalo was born!
5. Your originals fit right into your set list and were both great songs, I wish I could have heard more original material. Do you have more original songs? Can we expect more originals at shows in the future?
Chris: Thank you! We do have more and would love to make them a longer part of our show.
Stephen: Thank you! We have a lot of fun playing our originals too. We do. Chris and I both have several songs and have plans to write together in the future. Stay tuned!
6. Tell us about the song “City Wide” and how it got its name and became a drinking song.
Stephen: I wrote Citywide while sitting at the bar after work one day. I would occasionally stop in on my way home and found myself typically ordering a shot and a beer. My sister Laura who used to bartend in Central PA moved to Philly to bartend at XFinity Live (go say hi next time you catch a game in the city). I visit as much as I can and she introduced me to Philly’s “Citywide Special”. As I say in the song, it started at a place called Bob and Barbara’s and was just called “The Special” which was and still is a PBR and a 3/4 shot of Jim Beam. I think it was only like $4 or $5 (still is most places). This caught on throughout the city and most dive bars have adopted it, some have changed it to be a little bit there own but Its always some combination of a shot and a beer. “The Special” thus became known as “the citywide special” or just “Citywide”.
7. Do you both write songs? Do you collaborate with each other on them?
Stephen: We do! Chris has a number of great songs. More than I even know about and I am excited to learn more of his catalog. Myself, I have a handful of songs and look forward to writing more. My most popular is definitely Citywide. Chris shreds some solos when we play it together and boy is it fun when the crowd gets into it. Other than that, we haven’t collaborated…yet, but definitely something that we have talked about and look forward to doing here soon!
8. What’s the hardest thing about playing shows with Hank the Buffalo?
Chris: Steve’s dancing
Stephen: Another oh gosh question for me. lol. I would have to say just keeping up with the expectations we have for ourselves for the quality of our shows. We are always looking for ways to improve and stay fresh.
Balancing learning new songs, finding new venues, marketing. It can be a lot, especially because I still have a full time job. Not to mention that I have only been doing this for just over a year. Learning everything that goes into being a gigging musician has been a lot, but I definitely LOVE it.
9. What is the most rewarding part about playing shows with Hank the Buffalo?
Chris: Steve’s dancing.
Stephen: We both love playing music, and to be able to do it at the level that we are is extremely rewarding. However, the feeling you get when you have someone in the crowd who is singing along, dancing or even crying because of the music you are playing. There’s no feeling that compares to that.
Also, Chris and his wife Jenn have quickly become like family to me. To get to go play music for people with one of my best friends. Awesome is the only way to describe it.
10. What is Hank’s worst injury during a performance?
Stephen: If you have been to one of our shows, you will see a little toy buffalo floating around the room. That’s Hank! I got Hank when I was only 8 years old at scout camp. We love it and invite you to come grab him off the stage (as long as you bring him back). We just ask ya’ll to take pictures and share them with us.
Hanks got some battle wounds and is starting to show his age a little bit. Which of course is just part of the fun. But, somewhere along the way Hank lost his nose! One of these days we will get around to giving him a nose job. Our friend Michelle heard about the injury and ordered a whole kit of replacement noses for Hank (thanks Michelle)…just need some darn super glue lol.
11. Any big upcoming news or shows you would like to talk about? What does the future hold for Hank the Buffalo?
Chris: I asked the magic 8 ball what our future held, it said “it is Certain”.
Stephen: Chris and I just celebrated one year of playing together at the end of August. This has been an exciting year and I can’t believe how far we have come in just a short time. We have big ambitions going forward and promise you we are just getting started. Keep an eye out for more original music, expanding our geographic reach and I am really excited to announce that we will have a standing gig every first Friday next year at the Horn Pub.
12. Who would you like to thank that helped you along the way?
Chris: My mom for buying me guitar lessons.
Stephen: There are so many people that have just been incredibly supportive. The entire scene here feels like one big family. It’s awesome how we all support each other. My parents and siblings who put up with all the bad music over the years.
13. Where can people find all the latest Hank info and updates?
We have a website, HankTheBuffalo.com that takes you to a link tree with all of our socials and our schedule.
