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….
Love the stories and pics! You guys are amazing, per usual.
Awwww I just wanna smish Jared! He’s such a sweetheart. Gotta love a man who is as successful as he is in the Hollywood industry and doesn’t let it go to his head. As far as I can tell, everyone involved in that show is the same way! I hope I get another chance to see him (and Jensen) one of these years.
After your first post about the Brian Buckley Band I went to YouTube to listen to their stuff as I’d never heard of them. Wow their stuff is awesome! I’ve got to find some extra money in the budget to buy some of their CDs one of these days.
You best believe I’ll be voting for them and doing my best to get the word out about it!
Thanks, ladies, for another fun entry…oh and when on earth is Fangasm: The Book coming out?! I must have it! *grin*
Thank you so much for posting this! Are you going to be posting up the interview on the run as well? lol That sounds like it was funny and interesting! And awww Sadie and Harley fell asleep on your feet. His dogs are so adorable.
Awwwwww! Yay Jared for being awesome and supportive and for getting a Twitter to help his friends out. And squee! for the excerpt. I cannot wait to read the book.
*hugs* you both for your awesome coverage, as always.
So I hope you guys went into training after your first Jared interview experience just in case there had to be a repeat performance on the run in the future! I have a really great image in my head now of a couple of short legged women gasping for breath trying to keep up with the Padalegs!
“Padalegs” Amber, that is hilarious and just brilliant!
Thanks for the great writeup, ladies! I first heard about this band when you did your blog about the SF con a while back. That prompted me to go out to YouTube and check out some of their music. I have to say I was impressed! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the new album coming out later this month. This is why I love being a fan of SN- it turns you on to so many things you never would have been exposed to otherwise. So thanks to you- and in turn to Jared- for bringing this band to our attention.
Oh- I’ve gone ahead and posted that House of Blues link on the SN sites I visit. I know voting/pledging ends tomorrow, but every single one counts.
Thanks, too, for the giggles I had reading about the saga of Jared getting a Twitter acct. Only in this crazy fandom would someone getting a Twitter cause such a stir! 🙂 Hope he has fun with it!
I hadn’t heard that story about you getting an interview with him, either. What a nice guy! I honestly don’t know that I would have gone above and beyond like that. How cool that he did!
Thank you so much for this article! After reading about the friendship and mutual support between Brian Buckley and Jared in the past, I would’ve been voting for the Brian Buckley Band even before hearing them play live…but luckily for me I got the treat of being at Brian’s solo show in Nashville this past weekend! I was very much impressed, especially because to me it seemed like such a quick setup…more impromptu than any concert, no matter how long or short, that I’ve seen. One would think that would add an extra level of difficulty to the performance, but not for Brian, it seemed to me…he did a great job and I really enjoyed the show. I even got to walk up and meet him afterwards and get my picture taken with him on my phone, to add the experience…truly a nice guy and obviously sincerely appreciative of compliments and support from the fans. So I have voted through Jared’s call to action on Twitter (I finally got a Twitter of my own the day after Jared did, LOL) and definitely plan to further check out the Brian Buckley Band’s music.
The other highlight of the concert was having Jared there with us, first on the stage introducing Brian with such genuine enthusiasm and admiration, and then after that there sitting toward the front of the audience listening right along with the fans…I was unfortunately in Row Q more on the other side of the theater, LOL, but I could still sometimes catch glimpses of the top of Jared’s head through the people surrounding him and me, and every time I did it was bobbing and swaying and nodding along to the music! I just adored seeing that, because it’s yet another instance of proof that Jared doesn’t do lip service…he is the real deal and so are his words. The Nashville convention was the fifth time I’ve met him and he never fails to leave me with a smile on my face and warmth in my heart, in appreciative awe of how down-to-earth, honest, generous, and friendly he is. Your story about the ‘on-the-run’ interview leaves me with those feelings all over again, but at the same time it doesn’t surprise me because that’s just the person I’ve come to see and experience – both for myself and through other people – that Jared is…big in height but even bigger in heart! And not at all big in his head, unlike so many other actors. It’s why I’m such a fan and keep coming back to see him at these conventions as often as I can! May he and the other SPN stars always stay that way…they are a breath of fresh air.
Thanks again for this article and the other articles coming out of this convention…I’m so glad I had the privelege to be there and glad y’all did too so that these awesome reports could be shared, both with the rest of us who could and those who couldn’t alike!
Thanks so much for writing about this!! I love to see the true dedication that the stars of Supernatural have for their family, friends and fans!! It’s one of the reasons I’m such a fan of the show.
Like Amy, I heard about the Brian Buckley Band awhile ago (through Jared’s introduction) and have been enjoying their music!! It’s wonderful to see they are gaining fans!
And it would seem as though Jared’s joining of Twitter as prompted many of us to join also!! Me included!!
I was lucky enough to meet him also and can say what a sweetheart he truly is!!! I do hope you follow up this article with your “on the run” interview with him. I’d love to hear what he had to say to your always excellent questions!
Thanks again!!
Thank you for this beautiful report.
Especially the part where you told the story of how great Jared is.
It is always a pleasure to read something like that.
And I love to read about what he had to say in this interview, too.
That’s such a great article.
Are you working on the Jared interview? I would love to see your questions and his answers 🙂
BBB and the House of Blues announced yesterday that BBB is the official winner of their New Music competition – and will thus be doing shows at HOB venues in San Diego (July 11th), Los Angeles (July 12th) and Las Vegas (July 13th).
Thanks for a great article about this most talented group of musicians – and congratulations to BBB!
Diane, thanks so much for letting us know that they won! I’m so excited for them. I wish I could get to Vegas for that show but it’s the middle of the week and that will make it hard for me to get away. Why on earth does work have to get in the way like that?