Published: March 13, 2009 10:19 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight March 2009 Edition
Pastora
Pastora
Derek Buckner is an amazing artist who is not afraid to take on risk when it comes to making music. Guided by his love and passion for music and sparked by his heavy influences of iconic musicians David Bowie and Talking Heads, Derek has created something that will truly entice music lovers all around the world. In this recent interview with Derek, Pastora, the talented artist gives our Webzine the 411 on what's happening with him. Enjoy!
Isaac: Hi Derek, please take a moment to elaborate on who you are and your upbringing.
Derek: I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and played in bands basically from the age of 13 on. Now I am the ripe old age of 38 and of course still living out the rock 'n roll fantasy which is basically still just a fantasy. During my 20s I lived in Chicago and played in a touring band called Wiseacre that was rooted in more eclectic punk/country. After that, I put out a few solo albums which I recorded my first album, Derek Buckner "Symptoms" with Jim Becker, a producer in Chicago. And my second solo record "The world still turns without you" I recorded under the name Aquaboy with Bradford Reed of King missile fame here in Brooklyn. I then became more familiar with recording and producing myself and spend the past 2 1/2 years working on songs for this release Pastora "music minus film".
Isaac: Was there any one musician that spoke to your heart so profoundly, you were
inspired to do your own thing?
Derek: It is hard to say because over the years I have been inspired by so many different musicians. Early on I was very influenced by the early recordings of the Talking Heads
and the work they did with Brian Eno but now I would have to say that I am more inspired
by bands like the Flaming lips Feist, but all along David Bowie has been the most
influential artist for me.
Isaac: Which singer/group would you say you would most like to do a duet with?
Derek: Right now I think I would love to do a duet with Feist if I had the chance.
Isaac: What singer/songwriter do you most connect with?
Derek: That's hard to say as well but for some reason Elvis Costello comes to mind.
Isaac: Out of your entire song collection that you've written thus far, which song(s)
would you say is/are the most personal/meaningful to you?
Derek: The song from this collection that stands out to me the most is El Cantador. To me, it is the most complete of all the songs and I like the fact that it has a narrative to it. Not many of my songs tell a story, so I was happy with the way it turned out.
Isaac: Which singers/groups do you enjoy/like from some of today's music genres?
Derek: I really like the music of the Flaming lips and Ben Kweller as well as Bright Eyes.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about the concept of Pastora?
Derek: After having done two solo records, I didn't feel that this current group of songs fit into the same category as the previous two records and I wanted it to be as separate as possible. In fact, many of the songs were ideas that I have developed for a friend of mine who was working on a film project and ultimately never took off, and so I was left with some sketches and grooves that I ultimately turned in to songs. The process was so different from my previous recordings so I decided to release them under the name Pastora.
Isaac: What charities are you involved with or support and why should people get
involved?
Derek: I give money every year to the ACLU which I think is a very important group and I encourage people to get involved as well. Right now because of the current economic
climate we are in I suppose I am more interested in supporting charities such as doctors
without Borders and Oxfam.
Isaac: Have you (or would you ever consider) writing a song about any of today's
particular world issues/problems? If so, what world issue would speak to you the most to
write about?
Derek: I tend to stay away from political issues in my music because I find it I'm always skeptical of my own opinions and realized that there is probably much more that I don't
know then that I do. And I am always afraid of sounding naive.
Isaac: What is the main reason why should people listen to your music?
Derek: The main reason is that it is good music and that it is both complex and interesting yet the songs have real value in terms of melody and groove.
Isaac: What type of feedback have you received from your previous releases?
Derek: So far, I've had some really good feedback and have had the songs played on many podcasts as well as reviewed on a bunch of blogs particularly in the UK. It has been selling well
also but I am happy to just have people listening to it on my MySpace page as long as
the songs are getting listened to.
Isaac: How far into the creation of a song do you share any of it with anyone? Who would
you play it for? Would it be a chorus, a verse and chorus, or a complete song?
Derek: I often end up playing songs and I'm working on to my wife as they develop and though she isn't as familiar with the recording and production process it's always good to get her feedback because she has a good sense of whether a song is working or not.
Isaac: How much do you let others "mess around with" one of your new songs?
Derek: When I'm working in a band situation, I am very comfortable letting the other members of the band mess around with my songs or suggest changes. When I'm working on my own part, the idea is to see what I can come up with on my own. Also, I am very interested in developing a sound in the studio in terms of production and I was very clear with this project as to what qualities I wanted from each recording.
Isaac: Do you have to be a tortured soul to be a singer-songwriter?
Derek: I think if you accept that you are not going to please everybody and in fact will probably have a lot less people listening to your music than you would like, you can then go ahead and just enjoy creating music and appreciating the connections you do make with those people who have taken an interest. So, I don't think you need to be tortured but you also have to work on not torturing yourself.
Isaac: Are your songs strictly autobiographical or are they embroidered autobiography?
Derek: I would say my songs are definitely not autobiographical in general. I treat the lyrics and a lot of the ways that I treat the music. I am interested in the sonic and rhythmic qualities of the words most of all and try not to force too much of a preconceived narrative onto a song unless it really works with the song.
Isaac: How long does it take you to process your emotions and turn them into songs?
Derek: For me, songwriting isn't necessarily always an emotional process. Some songs are more emotionally loaded than others and when that happens I try to channel those emotions as
much as I can, but often the music is really the most important aspect and I approached
the lyrics as being complementary to the music.
Isaac: The best piece of advice you actually followed?
Derek: I would say the best piece of advice I have followed this from an old friend of mine who said not to rush things and not to put out your music to quickly. Often I get so excited about something new I'm working on and I tend to just want to play it for everybody right away. I find it is better to let things sit for a while and give it another listen and often I find that there's a lot more I want to do with whatever it is I am working on.
Isaac: Give Shutouts to your family and friends.
Derek: Sure, I'll give a shout out to my wife Joanna and my two boys Wyatt and Noah!
Isaac: Last but certainly not least, what are you working on, now?
Derek: Right now, I have a few new songs in the works and I'm also trying to put together a band that would be mostly instrumental music.
