“FRESH FACES: NEW ARTIST PROFILE 

BUCHANAN! 

by Tom Lounges

Vocally falling somewhere between Dave Matthews and Darius Rucker (Hootie to you!) is South Cali singer/songwriter, Jay Buchanan, the namesake and leader of the new national recording act, Buchanan.     

More than a mere frontman when it comes to the delivery of the music, Buchanan also plays a variety of instruments on the band’s forthcoming disc, All Understood, and plays them well.  He has also created some damn tasty arrangements that will be found ear-appealing to everyone from folkies, to jazzers, to progressive/jam rock fans.   

This album is delightfully paradoxical in that it is eclectic, yet consistent, thus keeping it a refreshing listen from start to finish.  Kudos to Jay Buchanan for the stylistic irreverence with which he paints this multi-hued palate of sounds and sonic moods. 

Before you run out and try to buy this warm and exciting set of tunes, be warned that – you can’t!    

All Understood will not be released to stores (via indie label Ultimatum Music), until the first week of January.  The only way you can wrap your ears around a copy right now is right here  through this month’s “Fresh Face” write-in raffle.

  “We’re going bare bones right now, trying our best to build a fan base,” said Buchanan in an interview from the road.   

 “We’ve opened for Hootie & The Blowfish, played a side stage at a John Mayer/Counting Crows concert, but mostly we are just going from one club to another playing our music and hoping to find some open ears.” 

 “Soulful,” “dark” and “melancholy” are all adjectives that could accurately be affixed on Buchanan’s music.  Likewise are “upbeat,” “dynamic” and “groovin’.”    

Like the best of music, Buchanan’s songs vary considerably from track to track on what amounts to an impressive 11-track disc. that has been in the can since early Spring.  That is when they wrapped up sessions with noted producer Don Gehman, who has twisted knobs on past  records by John Mellencamp, REM, and Tracy Chapman. 

The sashaying cha-cha rhythm of “Three Times Coleen,” was initially my favorite cut on the album the very first time it spun.  This is a clever and catchy confessional piece that affords the listener the chance to eavesdrop on the naughty doings of ill-fated hearthobs. 

The very next listen, it was the biting “American Son” that slapped me senseless. From the frantic drumming that heralds the song’s start, through the jazzy syncopations and the disturbing, yet thought-provoking refrain –– “you teach your son how to hold a gun, you think your god is the only one.”  

The point here being, that Buchanan is masterful at coloring his songs with verbal and rhythmic emotional triggers that easily swing with a listener’s mood and temperament.   

Feeling introspective?  Listen to Buchanan.   Feeling angry?  Listen to Buchanan.   Feeling like the whole world just collectively kicked your dog?   Listen to Buchanan. 

Unlike most artists who tap into a specific genre or style and lock in (i.e. dance, pop, blues, head-banging), Buchanan’s music works for the listener at all emotional levels – from low to high.   

Okay, so maybe they missed the boat in the head-banging department entirely, but hey, I can forgive that, because Jay Buchanan plays the freakin’ Xylophone on cuts here.  When was the last time you heard one of those on a rock ‘n’ roll record?  Lionel Hampton would smile I’m bettin’. 

While the writing of Jay Buchanan may be the foundation of this remarkable young group, and his lilting, quirky vocals the ceiling, one man does not truly make a band.       

Rounding out the quartet and breathing life into the music through invigorating playing are drummer/percussionist Chris Powell, guitarist Ty Stewart and bassist Todd Sanders.  Their tight performances on this album are tremendous and hopefully Buchanan will retain this fine trio to accompany him, because as an ensemble they work like a fine precision tool. 

“We did an album on our own in 2000 called, Violence, that was basically me trying to get some of my songs recorded.  I was recording and doing everything myself and I had just pulled these guys together and would say, ‘Can you play this part kinda like this or kinda like that...’,” recalled Buchanan on how he and his band members first hooked up. 

 “When we made this new album, we’d all had time to really gel as a band. Things have really progressed and purveyed into it’s own thing. Everyone’s got their stylistic thumbprint on this record.   It really is a band project.” 

                                  For more info: log on the band’s site: www.buchananmusic.com/

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