I had the pleasure of meeting musician, composer, photographer and videographer Sandy Buller and his wife Janet, in 2004, when given an email invitation to attend a musical concert at the Chocolate Buddha in Pattison, about 40 miles west of Houston.
With little additional information to go by, and armed only with a Google map, I navigated the back roads through Brookshire and into Pattison to arrive at the appointed hour at Sandy and Janet’s house in the country. After brief introductions, paying a small donation, and sampling a chocolate chip cookie, I was escorted through the house, out the back door, and into their backyard, actually a cow pasture. At the far back corner of the yard was a wooden platform stage, already surrounded by a growing crowd of music fans.
Art people and music lovers from all over Texas had come to enjoy their evening nestled in lawn chairs beneath the starlit sky, and to listen to talented musicians who had traveled from as far away as California and Scotland to play at the Chocolate Buddha, named for an oversized brown Buddha statue which at one time helped decorate the Buller’s family room. Those Chocolate Buddha house concerts and late night music jams rank as some of the most eclectic and artistic experiences I have had since moving to Katy myself, from Houston, in 1993.
Sandy Buller was born and raised in Pattison, where the Buller family has lived since the mid 1800’s. Sandy left the small town life behind in 1980 to go to college. Then he began his career in music and photography and lived the next twenty years in the Houston Heights and in the Bear Creek area. He was called back to Pattison to be with his parents when their health began to decline, and having re-discovered Pattison, he decided to stay.
Sandy Buller and his wife Janet and daughter Zoe
In 2003 he married Janet and in 2004 his daughter Zoe was born. His artistic career and business life have also blossomed. Together, Janet and Sandy are the founders of Sweet Spirit Productions and Buller Productions, which are special event and corporate video production and web marketing services.
Sandy has produced hundreds of short films and documentaries, from weddings, personal celebrations and community events to interesting expressions of abstract ideas. His vision is to capture the moments in life that will remind us we are living history. We are living a moment, and we are living not just for ourselves, but also for others.
Sandy is president of the Houston Videographer Association, and received the 2009 WEVA Community Film Service Award for his video “Relay for Life.” He was honored this past year by ARTreach, a Katy area art outreach non-profit organization, as a 2009 “Hero Among Us.” His work can be seen on the web, at www.sweetspiritproductions.com [1] and www.bullerproductions.com [2]. Several of his animated slideshows and non-profit documentaries are featured on-line at www.artreachonline.org [3]. His hobbies include composing and playing music on guitar, mandolin, mandocello, double bass guitar, tuba, baritone and hand drums. He also plays guitar in the popular Moe Hansum Band.
Buller has an easy-going philosophy of life, but people who know him will comment on his unique ability to intentionally “speak into existence” things that began just as a thought or mere possibility. In a recent conversation, Buller shared with me his three key strategies for successful living: (1) write your dreams and aspirations down on paper; (2) talk and be in communication with people about your dreams and aspirations; and (3) honor your word. One of his favorite quotes is attributed to Dr. Seuss: “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
The Bullers make their living by dreaming and creating, but strive also to make a difference in the communities where they work and play. In addition to being a musician, composer, photographer and film maker, Sandy Buller is also an advocate for the arts, quality public education, and the learning and preservation of history. Buller started becoming more active in the community by attending city council and school board meetings when he first moved back to Pattison, and is now serving his community as Alderman, position #3 on the Pattison City Council.
Those unique house concerts have not been the center stage of Sandy and Janet’s attention since the birth of baby Zoe five years ago. Since then friends, family and followers have watched Sandy Buller turn his focus to, as he puts it, creating and inventing a future for his daughter. I am still on the Chocolate Buddha mailing list, however, and will jump at any chance to go to a Buddha Revival to listen to Dana Cooper, Jim Photoglo, Freebo, Berkley Hart, Sophie Raymond, The Rowan Brothers, or Moe Hansum Band!
Sandy is Living Arts, and following his adventures is easy! You can join him on Facebook Vimeo, Linkdin, Twitter, Vox or U-Tube.