Nashville is known for its music, so it’s fitting that the Supernatural con featured some of the talented musicians that the fandom has embraced as its own. Brian Buckley took the main stage on Saturday night to cap off a wonderful day, playing to a large and enthusiastic crowd. We’d had the pleasure of hearing Brian with the band several times, but this was our first chance to hear him play solo – and he definitely didn’t disappoint. Most of the audience was discovering Brian’s vocal talent and his amazing guitar work for the first time, and even in the giant ballroom it was clear that the gathered fans were rapt. We still don’t have the right comparisons to describe what Brian can do with his voice and how much we love it – you’ll have to all go hear for yourself!
We caught up with Brian after the show and sat down to find out the latest on the band and their standing in the House of Blues contest announced a week ago.
Lynn: So tell us about the House of Blues contest.
Brian: It’s actually a really cool thing. They’re doing a pledge drive, so to speak – for what they call “New Music Nights”. What they do is – it’s not really new music, we’ve played there before – but they do a nationwide thing. And we got selected. Ten bands got selected.
Lynn: That’s a really big deal – of all the bands they could have picked, to be one of only ten.
Brian: Exactly! And all the bands are great. They selected ten great bands. And we went from last place to second place in no time at all.
(We’re happy to say that we helped get the word out about voting and the fans rose to the occasion – as we always do!)
Brian: Yeah! And if we win, at first we play Orange County, Anaheim , Vegas and San Diego House of Blues with two other bands who’ve won and then we have a chance to play nationwide at ALL the House of Blues – and there’s like thirty-something. So that would be amazing. We’ve had help from Creation and our management and our former label – everyone’s come out to help.
Lynn: That’s really, really cool. So where are you now? Last time I checked you were still at second place.
Brian: I think so. Yes, we’re in second place.
Kathy: When does the voting stop?
Brian: Voting ends on June 8th. And every single vote helps. Every little bit helps so much.
Brian’s close friend Jared has been a huge help too, as Brian told us.
Brian: And Jared helps so much.
Lynn: How?
Brian (laughing) So we were teasing Jared….
Apparently the conversation went something like this:
Brian: “You gotta get a Twitter”
Jared: “Do you have a Twitter?”
Brian: “Yeah, we have one for the band.”
Jared: “No, do you have a Twitter?”
Brian: “Umm….No.”
Jared: “So why do I need a Twitter?”
Brian: “To help us out!”
Brian went on to talk more about Jared’s support and friendship.
Brian: And he’s been amazing, obviously. He did it this morning.
(As most of you who read this blog know, we ended up a bit in the middle of the twitter will-he-or-won’t-he by breaking the news, which Brian alluded to next).
Brian: Which by the way, Dan (from the band) felt horrible about that.
Lynn: (laughing) I texted him back and said “Dude, we are in such trouble!”
Brain: What happened was Jared was going to go to Europe for the conventions and he was going to tweet from there, so Dan said, “Should I tell Lynn that he’s going to get one?” and I said “I’m pretty sure he’s going to get one.” And you put it perfectly – you said “Stay tuned.” And then instantly we were getting all these texts and stuff asking us what was happening. It was crazy! I told Jared about it last night over a beer. It was like a game of telephone – put it out there and see if it’s the same when it gets back.
Kathy: And of course it never is.
Brian: The best part is my manager or someone told me about what Clif said and so I went online and I don’t know anything about Twitter or how to do any of that retweet stuff – the band does it – So I saw Clif’s thing and I thought “Now we have to explain this to everybody!”
Lynn: No worries, we got in touch with Clif right away and explained. It’s all good. (Though for a while there it was pretty crazy….)
Kathy: So what other cons are you doing?
Brian: We’re doing Chicago, and New Jersey. In New Jersey it’s just going to be me and Mike because taking the full band there is just too hard for one night. We’re doing some other shows outside the cons in Chicago and New York.
Lynn: That will be a great opportunity for fans to see you in some other venues too. So was it supposed to be just you here?
Brian: It was actually just going to be a fun weekend away sort of thing and then Jared was like ‘You should play.’ And I was like ‘Ok, as long as it’s cool with Creation’. So I contacted them and they were amazing and totally welcoming.
To the benefit of all of us. Thank you, Creation – and Jared!
So what else is going on with Brian Buckley Band?
Brain: We have the new record coming out – Hysterical Blindness. We’re doing it independently with no label. We’re testing the waters to see how that goes. It’s less promotion, less distribution, less money, but creatively it’s amazing. It comes out on June 21st. And we’re doing a House of Blues show on July 12 for the competition. Save the dates, fandom!
Jared joined us for some of our chat with Brian, and also got onstage after the concert to ask the Supernatural fandom for our support with the band’s House of Blues votes. We’re sure most of you know what a great guy Mr. Padalecki is, but we thought we’d add a little tidbit from Fangasm the book to illustrate how we found out firsthand how supportive he can be.
The first time we visited the Supernatural set to interview Jared and Jensen, filming ran very late, as it often does on Fridays. It was close to midnight and Jared had a plane to catch, so we’d resigned ourselves to the fact that no interview was going to happen. Alas. However, we had seriously underestimated what a great guy Jared is. Instead of blowing off the interview, he wrapped and then came to find us.
PA: It’s too late, we can’t do the interview.
Lynn and Kathy: (sobbing on the inside) No problem, we totally understand.
Jared: Yes we can — Just follow me, we can do the interview on the run.
So off we went. On the run. Literally. Across the soundstage, leaping over cables and wires and assorted other stuff in the near-darkness. Jared, whose legs are twice the size of all of us, bounded along ahead, holding our recorder in one hand and answering the questions we yelled over to him as we trailed along behind. Across the lot we went, Jared still talking. Into the makeup trailer we went, Jared answering questions with amazing thoughtfulness and clarity as Jeannie scrubbed off Sam and brought back Jared. Then it was out of the makeup trailer, oops forgot the recorder, oh wait, Jared helpfully scooped it up for us! He was so efficient that we ended up with plenty of time once we finally got to his trailer, settling in for a fascinating conversation about everything from being an actor to having fans to keeping your real self sane in the midst of everything else. Sadie and Harley fell asleep on our feet and Jared made sure he answered every single one of our questions.
Pretty incredible guy. And his friends seem to be made of the same stuff, judging by guys like Jensen and Brian. So come on fandom, join Jared in supporting the amazingly talented Brian Buckley Band and send them across the country on the House of Blues tour so you can all get to hear them for yourself!
Vote here: http://www.newmusicnights.sonicbids.com Voting ends on June 8th!
Good luck, guys! We’ll keep you all posted!
More from Nashville soon with Matt, Richard and Chad….