Brian Buckley Band

Grimy Goods on the Brian Buckley Band:

"One of the most evocative aspects of the Brian Buckley Band is the unique, distinct voice of Brian Buckley. His voice has an endearing falsetto that can croon with such sweet soulfulness as he transcends from tender ballads to up tempo guitar jams. The four-piece ensemble boasts lush arrangements that are smooth and cohesive, but have the ability to quickly transition into a choppier sound that is both melodic and complex. The Brian Buckley Band aren't quite folk, they're not quite rock and they're not quite soul—they're a rad fusion of a variety of genres, experimental in their nature, but exuding a powerful sound and stage presence unique to their own. Not to mention, their live act is insanely good—full of improvisation and wailing guitar jams that show your their experimental, psyche side." - Grimy Goods

Music, Supernatural, and A Bunch of Laughs (My Chat With Musician Brian Buckley)
Written by Sharky on 20 July 2011

(Contributor’s Note: A couple of weeks ago, I was given the privilege to speak to the singer (Brian Buckley) of a band out of Los Angeles, California called The Brian Buckley Band. This interview was so much fun; I literally felt I was talking to an old time friend. We talked about music, and TV, and shared many laughs, and I felt like I could have talked with him for much longer. So after some confusion with what Time Zone we needed to be talking in, and actually calling him back on his home phone, we were good to go. Please read and enjoy my chat with Brian Buckley)

Brian: Hello

Sharky: Hey, how’s it going, man?

Brian: There we go. Now I can hear you perfect, man. Thank you.

Sharky: Awesome, no problem.

Brian: How you been man?

Sharky: Really good. How about yourself?

Brian: Good. Good. I appreciate you being interested in the band.

Sharky: It’s no problem. I love giving new music a chance. I’m all about trying to get people out there.

Brian: I tell you what, man; it means a hell of a lot to us.

Sharky: Oh it’s mutual having you taking this interview for our website.

Brian: Of course. Of course. Please, ask away.

Sharky: All right. Well we’ll just start off nice and simple then. If you just want to tell people who you are and what role you play in the band.

Brian: My name is Brian Buckley, and I am the lead singer and acoustic guitar player, and I also write the majority of the songs.

Sharky: Who writes the other parts then?

Brian: The other guys. There’s Mike McGraw who plays electric guitar, Dan Bodeman who plays bass and keys, and Albert Estiamba Jr. who plays drums and Mike and Al also do harmonies as well.

Sharky: Where do you guys get your inspirations for your songs and what are some of your influences?

Brian: Inspiration, I think, is a difficult one to answer. Speaking rhetorically, it’s everything. That’s the beautiful thing about music; it’s so therapeutic and spiritual it almost becomes like a sort of prayer. What ends up happening is when you allow yourself to be the vessel to whatever muse decides to visit you that day. You’re kind of open to whatever comes. It could be anything as small as sunlight through a window to anything as large as losing a family member. As far as musical influences, we’re kind of across the board, all four of us. We have Dan who is a huge block-party fan; he loves Radiohead. Albert loves Peter Gabriel and Genesis and Frank Zappa. Mike’s a Bon Iver fan and a big Phish fan. I’m a huge Elliott Smith, Glen Hansard, Death Cab, and Dave Matthews Band. That’s the beautiful thing about what we do, I think, is we all come together in a communal, listening way and all bring something different to the table. Most bands come at it with the same musical taste. We’re kind of the exact opposite of that.

Sharky: So is it kind of like alternative, jam-band type music, or how would you classify it?

Brian: We’ve been trying to step away from the jam-band idea only because you kind of get pigeon-holed into a certain category. We like to refer to us as experimental rock, try to keep a wider brand of category. Sometimes we’ll play a 45 minute set and play 10 songs, and other times we’ll play an hour set and play 6 songs. It just depends on that present moment. It’s hard, especially with categories. Trying to categorize music is like trying to paint walls. It becomes very monotonous.

Sharky: That’s very true. I’ve been getting into a lot of different music and trying to tell my friends what it is, and I’m like ‘Well…it’s a little of this and a little of that and a little of this…”

Brian: *laughs* Yea! We always like to joke that we’re kind of a pretzel twist of everything. It’s hard when people are like “What kind of music do you play?” And I’m like “Well, I don’t know.” It’s a hard question to pin down. And then they’re like “Well what kind of bands do you sound like?” Our answer is always something like “Geez, I hope none!” We’re influenced by them all, obviously, to some degree or another, but we want to pave our own path.

Sharky: I would definitely agree with that.

Brian: Thanks, man.

Sharky: On your blog, you guys are offering the With Grace EP, and you guys have an upcoming CD called Boom Goes the Dynamite. Tell us a little bit about the writing process for that.

Brian: Absolutely. Well, actually we changed that all up. We stopped writing on the blog site, because we’re starting a brand new website called BrianBuckleyBand.com. So we took down the With Grace EP, because we’re releasing this new record which we just recently released on iTunes on June 21st. We actually changed the title from Boom Goes the Dynamite to Hysterical Blindness. The writing on it is strange. It’s hard to explain the writing process, because it changes practically daily. Normally, I’ll write the song and bring it in t - Bohemian Monk

Interview with the BRIAN BUCKLEY BAND June 29, 2011
July 16, 2011 by: Shauna O'Donnell

June 29, 2011

BRIAN BUCKLEY BAND

Brian Buckley

Brian Buckley (Vocals/Acoustic guitar)
Mike McGraw (Lead Guitar)
Albert Estiamba, Jr. (Drums)
Daniel Bodeman (Bass/Keys)

Los Angeles, CA

www.brianbuckleyband.com

By: Shauna O’Donnell


On June 23rd I had the honor and privilege of attending the CD release show for the Brian Buckley Band’s latest album titled Hysterical Blindness at the Viper Room in Hollywood. It was the first time I had seen a line wrapped around the corner for a show there. I quickly realized there was something special about this band. I had already fallen in love with their music and now it was time to experience the live show. The band has an incredible following including fans of the show Supernatural. On this particular night, one of the stars of the show Jared Padalecki attended the show as well. There was an incredible energy in the room that night and the performance was extraordinary. It was one of those experiences that you just don’t want to end. The guys invited me out to one of their rehearsals a couple days later where we all sat down and talked. I found all of them to be wonderful people as well as incredibly talented songwriters and musicians. We spent most of the night not only talking, but laughing, as they have a great sense of humor. It was one of the most enjoyable times I have spent with a band. This girl is a fan for life!

THANKS FOR TALKING WITH ME. WE ARE HERE IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD AT A PLACE CALLED THUD. TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT WHERE WE ARE. I KNOW IT IS A REHEARSAL STUDIO, BUT DO THEY DO ANYTHING ELSE LIKE PRODUCING?

They do quite a lot of producing here at THUD. They have various rooms. Jeff who is the bassist of Fuel owns the building. He also owns another space called THUD I, we are actually in THUD II. All of the different rooms have different producers. One guy does mastering here, another guy does electronica. There are bands that actually rehearse up in the front. We have the space with the producer of our record Hysterical Blindness. We tracked the record here and are also using it as a rehearsal space as well, so we are very lucky. We are actually moving to another space, but it was really nice while we had it for the past year. We are going to go to another space and see how that works. At THUD I there was a more sound proof space that was available, but we are going to see how this new space works out.

TECHNICALLY YOU HAVE THREE ALBUMS UNDER YOUR BELT CORRECT? OR AM I MISSING SOMETHING?

(Laughing) Yes, that’s right, technically.

YOU HAVE AN ALBUM TITLED WITHOUT INJURING ETERNITY THAT IS UNRELEASED. WHY HAS IT NOT BEEN RELEASED?

That’s a really great question Shauna. We had some issues with our old label as most artists do. That is kind of a general statement across the board I assume or at least that is what I’ve read. When you hear about Pearl Jam having difficulty with their record label, it kind of makes you feel okay about having problems with your own. We didn’t see eye to eye on certain things so they are holding the record right now. Hopefully sooner rather than later we can get it out to people because we are very proud of it. We did it with Mark Howard who engineered U2 and produced Tom Waite as well as a lot of other amazing people. We had an amazing time recording that album and we really want people to hear it.

WHEN WAS IT RECORDED?

It was after For Her and before this album that we released last week. Eventually it will be For Her, Hysterical Blindness and then Without Injuring Eternity. We are hoping to get it out soon.

I HEARD SOME OF THE TRACKS AND IT’S AWESOME.

Thank you very much! I think it shows another side of what the band can do. There is definitely a different vibe from For Her to Without Injuring Eternity. There is a certain sound that you’ll hear that sort of changed a bit.

SORT OF A MATURING OF THE BAND’S SOUND?

Yes and definitely more atmospheric. It’s more of a meditation I think. For Her was more of an opening of a diary. Hysterical Blindness is more in your face.

WHEN I SAW THE TITLE OF YOUR ALBUM HYSTERICAL BLINDNESS, THE FIRST THING I THOUGHT OF WAS THAT MADE FOR HBO MOVIE WITH THE SAME TITLE. IT HAD UMA THURMAN IN IT.

Daniel: I don’t know if I ever saw the movie, but I was just Googling it one time to see what would come up. The movie came up and I was like “Uma Thurman, I’ve got to watch this!”

Brian: Great movie! They used “Love is a Battlefield” like it was a John Williams Orchestra. They used that song so brilliantly in the movie. I had completely forgot about it until I was speaking with my lady and she was like “Hey! You better make sure there are no other albums titled Hysterical Blindness.” I was like “You’re right!” I looked it up and I was like “Oh God! There’s that movie. I think that’s all there is.” She said “Well you better be careful.” I said “Who would - MUEN Magazine

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ALBUM:
For Her
www.brianbuckley1.com
TAYLOR USED:
310ce
SONG CLIPS:
Score
In Another World (She is Gone)

I’ll confess that the instant I matched Brian Buckley’s voice and surname, I wondered if the late Jeff Buckley had a younger brother, or half-brother, or some genetic link to this kid. (No relation, it turns out.) While Jeff’s spectacular voice has left a stylistic imprint on a whole generation of singer-songwriters, Brian’s voice often bears a hauntingly uncanny resemblance not only to Jeff’s timbre and range, but to the natural, sweeping grandeur with which JB could inflate a melody. As flattering as this Buckley might find the comparison, it would seem to paint him in a derivative light, and he’s anything but, as he proves on his powerful and moving debut record, For Her.
Seeing Buckley perform might be the truest way to experience the free-flow of his artistry, yet this studio effort manages to project the in-the-moment vibe of a live performance. One senses that Buckley is eager to transcend the captivity of the studio, and throughout For Her, he brings his songs to life with a pure, instinctive musical spirit, in a fluid dynamic of tenderness and power. Conventional song structures don’t confine Buckley, either. Most of his tunes shift both shape and tempo to create a dramatic complexity of mood.
Some choice hands help articulate the musical moments, including Zappa alumni Vinnie Colaiuta on drums and five-tour Zappa vet and producer Arthur Barrow (bass, piano, organ), who also produced and engineered the record. Listening to them work the grooves never gets old. Buckley’s lead guitarist, Mike McGraw, shines as well, matching Buckley’s vocals (and acoustic playing) in tone, expressive range, and emotional impact.
Intimate moments abound, among them the achingly beautiful ode to a lost friend, “Cyanide”; the soulful ballad, “Ready for This Love”; the delicate acoustic introspection of “This Life of a Dreamer”; and the naked vocal power of “In Another World (She is Gone)”. Elsewhere, Latin hand percussion and Colaiuta’s intricate hi-hat work set up a little Santana jam-out bliss on “Little Pieces” and “Spanish Tragedy”, while “Ugly Head” slips into a good kind of a funk. From soft confessions to soaring vocal vamps, For Her leaves no doubt that Buckley is blossoming into an artist who’s making a name for himself.
— Jim Kirlin


- Taylor Guitar Magazine

Daily posts from Bee writers on movies, theater, media, fashion, music and pop culture.

September 14, 2008
Sacramento Single: Brian Buckley's "My World"


It's homecoming week for Brian Buckley. The Bella Vista High School graduate is back in town for his 10-year reunion and, to celebrate, brought his band with him.
It'll be Buckley's first time in front of a Sacramento audience.
"I've been playing music all my life but just started playing in front of others a few years ago," he says.
The Brian Buckley Band, featuring Mike McGraw (guitar), Albert Estiamba (drums) and Dan BodemanQ (bass) is finishing up work on a new CD.
"We're done recording and we were very blessed to work with Mark Howard who produced Bob Dylan, the Red Hot Chili Peppers - everyone," Buckley says.
"We recorded at the Mack Sennett Stage - the oldest sound stage in LA; it has 100 foot ceilings and is the size of a football field - the whole thing was pretty unreal."
The album won't be in stores until February, until then you can preview the sound with "My World," a cut off Buckley's self-titled 2007 debut.

Brian Buckley

Song: "My World"
Style: Epic, orchestral rock

Behind the song: "I'm a real fan of using separate time signatures - speeding things up and then slowing them down," Buckley says.
"I had the idea of starting the song in a particular way and it just ended up having all these parts - (there's a) an acoustic bit and then the chorus and a B-section bridge followed by a hard rock piece and then a quiet, almost ballad-like ending."
For Buckley, much of the song's success is owed to an appearance from noted session drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell).
"Vinnie really made all those parts stand out," Buckley says. "He makes all those motions with tempo and time changes feel seamless - that's a tough thing to do and he just makes it all seem like a wheel that's just rolling along."
See them: Wednesday at Marilyn's (908 K St, Sacramento). The 21-and-over show starts at 8 p.m. and is $8 at the door.On the Web: www.myspace.com/brianbuckley
Listen to "My World" here:

Categories: Music, Rachel Leibrock, Sacramento Single, Sunday Single

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- 21Q...A Sacramento Bee Entertainment Blog

On Mother's Day (a track from Without Injuring Eternity)
...The first thing that really strikes you about this song is Buckley's interesting voice. Buckley's singing style is for those drawn to cinematic songs chock full of emotion.
Jenn Patton O'Donnell/Adequacy.net
- Adequacy.net

On Without Injuring Eternity
...this is a remarkably strong collection that holds its own against the classics.
Tom Kidd/Music Connection
- Music Connection