Robbie Roth

            Most students do a double take as they walk past the Viking-like, pajama pants-ed senior in the halls. Buly Buly ’10 is not the stereotypical MHS student. Despite what the long blonde hair and bushy beard would suggest, Buly is a dedicated musician, a collector and a cook, just to name a few. He is the class scrub who is actually not that scrubby.

At five years old, Buly began taking piano. He picked up more instruments as he grew older, such guitar at 11 and drums at 13, drawing inspiration from his older brother. Today, Buly dabbles in musical engineering, manipulating children’s toys and turning them into screaming synthesizers. By opening toys that emit sounds, testing the connections, hooking up a potentiometer and using electrical switches and buttons, he creates original, weird and crazy noises.

In terms of taste in music, two of Buly’ favorite bands are Ween and The Flaming Lips. If you have ever seen Buly, you probably have noticed him rocking a Flaming Lips shirt.

 He is no poser. Buly began collecting Flaming Lips memorabilia from concertgoers at 15. He would offer to convert VHS tapes and cassettes that fans had recorded from different shows. In exchange, many fans would send posters, pictures, and shirts as gifts. Buly believes his Flaming Lips collection of recordings and souvenirs is worth an estimated $1,000. Buly even got to meet the band upon reaching out to Flaming Lips percussionist, Steven Drozd, about his vast assortment of memorabilia. Today, he is friendly with all of them and has their phone numbers as well.

While Buly is a musical connoisseur, he is also a cook. Freshman year, Buly started working at Plates. Over the past four years, he has gone from dishwasher-boy to busboy to finally barbecue-boy, which he still works as today. He has greatly enjoyed his time there, though not so much as a busboy. “Imagine me bringing your food,” he said with a smile.

In school, Buly has been able to escape Mamaroneck’s cut-throat AP environment and do things he is truly interested in: Choir, Contemporary Literature, Anatomy, Advanced Music, Art and History vs. Hollywood.

Next year, Buly plans to take a gap year from college to continue cooking for Plates and practicing his instruments. He also sees the music industry in his future, whether as an underground artist or an audio or electrical engineer, with cooking on the side.

So next time you see Buly strolling through the halls with his laid-back swagger, keep in mind what he told me: “Don’t judge a dude by his hair…facial hair too.”