“When the curtain comes down, you just want them to say that you never took more than you gave” echoes Jay Buchanan’s voice set over an almost carnivalesque waltz on his latest solo album, Weapons of Beauty.
A favorite lyric from a new favorite album of new favorite lyrics.
This is but one example from an incendiary collection of 10 songs crafted by a master songsmith and singer. Buchanan not only captures the ears but also the mind, transporting the listener to the same self-isolated Mojave Desert firelight under which the songs were written.
Much like the song to the writer, life has a funny way of bringing you music. Sometimes the music itself knows what you need to hear and when you need to hear it. For me, this happens to be one of those times and I’m thankful for the opportunity to share it.
San Bernardino-born Buchanan’s latest offering, released in February on the independent label Thirty Tigers, came to me via a glowing recommendation from a dear friend and collaborator of Buchanan’s, Caleb Johnson, a fellow American Idol alum. I’ve been playing it on constant repeat everywhere from my studio, to the yard, to the car.
As fate would have it, Buchanan is bringing his mountain of a voice to the Santa Cruz Mountains, performing solo at the Felton Music Hall, Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Many may know Buchanan as the frontman and vocalist of the two-time Grammy-nominated and Long Beach-born rock ‘n’ roll band Rival Sons, who have shared stages with the likes of Black Sabbath, Metallica and the Rolling Stones. The band’s No. 1 hit “Do Your Worst,” co-written by Buchanan with founding bandmate Scott Holiday and longtime collaborator, producer extraordinaire Dave Cobb, has amassed over 70 million streams to date.
Cobb, whose credits include Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell and Brandi Carlile, produced Buchanan’s solo outing. The album’s 10 songs were recorded in only five days, completing two full recordings each day at a studio in Savannah, Georgia, according to an online interview with guitar pickups manufacturer LR Baggs.
When you give yourself such a set window of opportunity, you have to have a lot of trust in the process. You can actually hear the trust that Buchanan and Cobb have in one another.
In the way each song’s vocal performance is delivered and captured, there’s no fear of vulnerability, which may be one of the album’s truest examples of a weapon of beauty.
Another strength would be its songwriting and the soft distinction between the album’s co-authored songs and Buchanan’s solo-penned works; in addition to his refreshing, gospel-tinted reimagining of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me To The End of Love,” Buchanan’s vocal approach changes with each song, like a guitar’s tone switch, moved to match the sonics of the song itself. This is a man who is tapped into his craft and must be seen and heard live.
“I’ll be running lean and mean, out to see my country and tell some stories,” Buchanan says of his US tour. He performs solo in Felton before a stop in his hometown of Fontana, CA.
Buchanan will be road-tripping across the states armed with a guitar and a tent, trading the humdrum of a hotel room for a memorable bed beneath the stars. That romance of the road, if you will, makes Felton and its Music Hall the perfect performance stop and a well-earned slice of California Americana for the touring troubadour.
“Just remember your role now. Let them borrow your soul now,” he sings.
Jay Buchanan bares and shares his soul Wednesday October 14 at the Felton Music Hall starting at 8 pm | 21+ | tickets $32.42 GA available at: feltonmusichall.com
