Call Him 'Buffalo'

Call Him 'Buffalo'

Johnny Buffalo of Backtrack is finishing up his first EP.

Jul 18, 2017 by Evan Feist
Call Him 'Buffalo'
Johnny "Buffalo" Sansone started beatboxing in February 2012 during his senior year of college. He was attending SUNY Fredonia for classical guitar and sound recording. Johnny's getting ready to release his first EP and just released a video for "You Can Call Me Buffalo".

While at school, he moved in with his friend Chris Celiz, who ended up teaching him how to beatbox. Celiz was getting ready to compete in the American Championships in the summer of 2012 (ultimately won by Rizumik) as one of the top 16 beatboxers in America.

Chris Celiz on Beatbox TV


"The Toronto Beatbox Battle that February was my first beatboxing event I attended," Johnny told FloVoice. "It was my first time seeing modern day beatbox. I immediately became obsessed, and Chris was a great teacher whom I was very fortunate to have show me the ways. We started a band and I pretty spontaneously moved to NYC after graduating.

"Since then, a collective of beatboxers have kind of gathered in NYC, and I'm fortunate to have had them all around while I was learning. I was extremely lucky to learn beatboxing from friends who are now some of the best in the world."

Johnny Buffalo & Chris Celiz Vs Napom & Kenny Urban - 2014 American Beatbox Championships


"The name 'Johnny Buffalo' is really complicated. Just kidding, I'm from Buffalo and my name is Johnny, that's it. I'm very proud to be from Buffalo and wanted to represent that with my artist name."

You Can Call Me Buffalo by Johnny Buffalo


"I'm currently the beatboxer for Backtrack which has been an absolute blessing, and has given me the chance to be a full time musician for the first time in my life.

"I've also been working on a new type of electronic music performance for about a year and a half, and it's very close to complete. It combines trap and hip hop with rock n roll, and is 100 percent performance based."

I'm currently putting the final touches on my first EP.

ACA DIY Episode 3 with Backtrack Vocals


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