(EDITOR’S NOTES — We’re pretty psyched about bringing you this piece because there’s not many bands around Buffalo doing what Arrangements is doing. The band — comprised of Maxwell Johnson, guitar; Tristan Tims, bass, and Justin Von Strasburg, drums — will be playing Hickory Urban Sanctuary at 232 Pratt Street in Buffalo this Friday, Aug. 2. The performance is part of the Buffalo Infringement Festival. Doors are at 5 and music at 6 p.m. Arrangements will also be dropping a new EP that day. Hit up their Bandcamp page to listen to that release, which will also be on streaming platforms. Make sure also to visit their website — which is mentioned below — to learn about upcoming shows and other news. We caught up recently with Justin to learn more about Arrangements and all the band has going on. We’re grateful for his time. Please check out our piece below. — Photo provided.)
1120 PRESS: Thank you so much for speaking with us! Let’s get into it because we’re pretty eager to learn more about Arrangements. There’s very few, if any bands, occupying the space you guys do. First off, when people talk about Arrangements, the conversation about the band is often prefaced with “…the guys from Neon Fantastic…” referring, obviously, to you and Tristan. But this is nothing like Neon Fantastic. How would you describe Arrangements?
JUSTIN VON STRASBURG: On our website — https://arrangements.band — we describe ourselves as "an artsy avant-garde noise rock band from Buffalo NY that isn’t trying to be taken too seriously." That statement is pretty on point for the three of us. In regards to Tristan and I, in particular, and why this is so different from Neon Fantastic, we both have always had the tendency to have our musical projects be different from each other, which allows us to not get bored or pigeonholed into one thing or another. The other thing is that Neon Fantastic was built around songs that John Gusky (guitar and vocals) had already written. Tristan had the idea to be the rhythm section for John to play a few shows and it turned into a band. Arrangements has been around since December 2022. Most people haven't really heard of us because our life schedules don't allow the three of us to be in the same place at the same time all that often. So when we are together we make the most of it.
1120: In starting Arrangements, what was the aim? What was it that you wanted to explore, or what was the philosophy going into this?
JVS: The aim was simple: to jam with our fellow musician and musical friend Max. When Max and I were in ‘Tina Panic Noise’ together a few years ago, I thought he was a phenomenal guitar player and in the back of my head I had the idea of him jamming with Tristan and I one day. Well, that day finally happened back in December 2022. We got together with the idea of just jamming and hanging out. It was pure magic. I secretly recorded that jam session, edited the recordings and sent them that night, and the next thing we knew, the album ‘5943’ and Arrangements was born. The name 5943 comes from the time length of the album. We have a natural chemistry and it is showcased in our recordings. There are parts that sound like they were composed and they were not.
1120: You mentioned to us that people often have questions about the band, such as: “Why are your sets less than 10 minutes?” It’s an interesting question especially considering that on the ‘5943’ release, which has 11 tracks, there’s three songs each that are almost nine minutes on their own. On the release recorded live at Amy’s Place in Feb. 2024, you guys tell those in attendance: ‘We have one more (song) … it could be one minute, it could be 20.’ Given that everything you do is improvised, how do you approach your live sets and your recordings? How much actual planning is there in terms of what you are going to do or want to do?
JVS: We do not plan anything other than figuring out a day to jam or play a live show. Well, that is not completely true. Sometimes Tristan and Max debate going ‘effectless’/no pedals or not. We also have this inside joke, that Max thought up, about us playing a show and during our performance we slowly remove things until I am just hitting my bass drum, or something like that. This band is simply a venting mechanism for the three of us. In a live setting, in front of people, we are basically blowing off steam. In a practice space setting we are jamming and just trying to have a good time with each other. Because of this, the live stuff happens to be short and the practice space session happens to be long. We have deliberately tried to play long live sets, but it doesn't feel right. This band is all about feel. It's why we all love it so much. If this could be the only band the three of us had, we would be extremely happy, but life/work schedules at the moment doesn't allow for it. We can only have minor moments of band bliss.
1120: Were curious about the band’s name. Is there anything more to it than just a band name? It somehow seems to fit well into the context of the music and the sounds you are creating.
JVS: The name comes from the September 2022 album called ‘Arrangements’ by the band Preoccupations. I'm always on the hunt for band names and when I came across ‘Arrangements’ I liked it and thought to myself that Tristan would love it. He is very particular about band names and this one is right in that wheelhouse. I added it to my band name txt file and sent it to Tristan to get his thoughts. He loved it as I thought he would. When the first jam session with Max happened, the name just popped in my head and made sense. I suggested it as our name and happily Max was all about it. The name is funny because to us the thing we do, improvised music, is in no way arranged. Speaking of names, our track titles also come from a list I have been adding to for years of interesting song names ·(such as, 'There's Not Enough Mic Stands at the Punk Show' and 'Salt is Angry Sugar.') When we have a recording ready to go, I throw out some names and the others choose.
1120: So for people thinking about seeing you perform live for the first time, what would you tell them to expect?
JVS: Don't blink or you might miss our set. Don't expect traditional song structures. Expect three guys venting their stress out to you in real time.
1120: Looking past the Aug. 2 show, in moving forward, what lies ahead for Arrangements?
JVS: Hopefully more shows. This, of course, is dependent on schedules. We also have a second album in the works. If anyone out there wants to put us on a show, send us a message arrangementsband@gmail.com or hit us up on Instagram @arrangementsband.
1120: Thank you again for speaking with us. Is there anything you’d like to add we haven’t touched on?
JVS: Speaking of our show on Aug 2, we have a new EP coming out on that day that we will be promoting. It is called ‘20240719’ and it is the recording of our last show which happened on July 19. We do that, release the recording of our last show at our next show. It won't always be a thing, but for now it is.
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