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Hi Buster, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
I’ve been good! Life is pretty crazy, lot of ups and downs, but I’m surviving and sometimes even thriving. How are you?
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Get Deeper”?
Sure! It’s basically a celebration of meditation and mental health, set during a breakup.
Did any event, in particular, inspire you to write this song?
Yes, a breakup. But also the year in general. I met with a lot of people who were burnt out from the political and social upheaval, and I just wanted to remind them and myself that the most important thing is our connection to ourselves. And I wanted to do that in a very Buster, wild, joy-riot kind of way.
Any plans to release a video for the track?
YES! Not sure when right now, but keep your eyes peeled. There WILL be one!
The single comes off your new album Mock Twang – what’s the story behind the title?
Yes, it’s an EP! It’s a play on Mark Twain. I had been saying that I wanted to grow a mustache like Mark Twain, and if you say Mark Twain in a mocking voice, you wind up saying Mock Twang, which felt like its own sort of statement.
How were the recording and writing process?
It was good! And hell. Lol, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It’s always hard, there’s a lot of pressure and frustration. I record all the instruments myself, and some of them come more naturally than others. For example, I do not play the violin, but I did for the EP! This song came pretty naturally, though. But, it’s also what I was born to do, and there rarely comes a deeper sense of purpose and connection to God and the Universe. So I am mostly grateful for that.
How have The Doors and Roy Orbison influenced your writing?
I love both of them! I think The Doors do a really interesting job of texture, firstly. But, I think both The Doors and Roy Orbison are Rock N’ Roll Crooners, which I think is playful and vulnerable, but also badass and brave. It took a lot of guts to play that music back then and then to do it with such a soft soulfulness? Delectable.
They also both have such a flair for drama in their songwriting. Big lilts and changes in the progressions and rhythms, epic moments of touching the sun and burning up. I like that sort of overwhelming wave of emotion that paralyzes all the overthinking in the mind, and I learned a lot about how to play with that from Jim Morrison and Roy Orbison’s vocal tenderness.
What is it about the 60s that you find so fascinating?
I find all decades fascinating, frankly. I guess I’m a big fan of time. I think trends and styles are so kitschy, and it shows such a “Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Good-Night” kind of existential rebellion to stylize something so transient. And I think the 60s are the most excitingly guilty of that. From every documentary and interview I’ve seen, it seems like the kids at that time really had a sense that, for the first time, they were going to break free into the promised land and that their clothing and the way they expressed themselves was the new way. And it sort of was! Or at least, it affected everything after it for a long, long time. And it was a beautiful compassionate dream, albeit flawed as humanity. I don’t know, I could talk about it for hours!
Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?
The song… hmmm… honestly, I have no idea where the music came from except a lot of jazz chords and a lot of pain. There’s like an F# Augmented 7th or something in there. I think I was really trying to play the next chord that “hurt me good” for the verse. Then by the chorus, I was like, “alright, it’s time to party.”
The lyrics were the same, just trying to stay focused and honest with myself about what I really felt about the relationship ending. What I learned and what I hope for the future, without judging myself. It’s always after you’re done writing it, you look back and realize the super-specific thing you said about your personal life is actually a pretty good metaphor for your feelings about the world at large.
What else is happening next in Buster Baer’s world?
Oh, you know, maxin’ out, groovin’. Trying to keep a steady flow of music coming, so I’m already up to some more recording. I finally caved to the music industry’s expectations and started really working TikTok, and I’m actually having a lot of fun, so you can catch me on there, goofin’ off. Try to save the world one song at a time etc. Lots of love!
