Don’t Look Down

Its been a crazy rock n roll journey, Jeremy Buck says with a good-natured laugh. I grew up on a farm in a small town in Indiana, and came to LA 20 years ago. It was culture shock, but I survived and I’ve been able to do the things I’ve dreamed of doing. Now, its a new era for me. Its less about being discovered, and more about discovering what I can do, and sharing my music with people who enjoy what I do.

The LA-based artist celebrates this new era of artistic emancipation with a series of singles, including the imaginatively arranged, infectiously catchy sing-along, Don’t Look Down. Previously, Jeremy has released 6 albums 3 as a solo artist 1 EP, and 9 singles. Select career highlights along the way include working with a legendary rhythm section, consisting of drummer Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Duran Duran etc.) and bassist Rhonda Smith, (Prince, Jeff Beck) for his recently-released single, “All for You”; playing well over a 1,000 shows, including touring Japan; working with producers/engineers Kevin The Caveman Shirley (Joe Bonamassa , Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith) and Grammy-winner Sadaharu Yagi (Shania Twain, John Mayall, and Marc Anthony); and one of his videos accruing 17 million views on Facebook and earning a feature on the TV show Good Morning LA. Jeremy’s songs have been licensed to major network TV shows, indie films and international commercials. In addition, he has performed on live TV as a sideman alongside Morris Day and Snoop Dogg on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE, playing keyboards and singing backup vocals.

Jeremy is a consummate creator with an intrepid DIY spirit that informs all of his artistic endeavors. He earned a BA in Visual Communication Design from Purdue University, and he produces and directs his videos. He also came up rolling up his sleeves with 4-track recorders, and, despite having recorded at iconic studios, he very often produces, engineers, and mixes his own tracks at his garage studio, affectionately dubbed The Chateau Motel. I’m realizing I’m self-contained; I have everything I need. My only competition is myself, and I just have to give myself time and space to create. That is what fulfilment is for me these days making music happen, he says.

Don’t Look Down is a Chateau Motel production. Its a melding of organic and synthetic pop-rock production sensibilities that vibes big studio in terms of big, dynamic sonics. The songs arrangement is cleverly simple, and it begins with a majestic hook that’s instantly memorable. This chorus is open and airy and features gang-vocal style vocals that impactfully contrast with the introspective and stripped-down verses. Don’t Look Down was inspired by the pandemic, the ramp-up to the election, and being in lockdown with his pregnant wife and his 4-year-old daughter. The situation became more intense when Jeremys wife gave birth to their son 9 weeks prematurely, and the newborn had to spend 34 days in the NICU. The song boasts unflinchingly optimistic lyrics like: Another Day is a new fight/You can win somehow/It will end somehow. You get the sense that Jeremy wrote these anthemic words to buoy his spirits.

With all of the negative energy, and the constant threat of eminent doom that is being spoon-fed to use through the media, I felt a huge creative urge to share my concerns and frustrations but in a way that will hopefully spread positivity, Jeremy shares. I pictured myself walking on a tight rope over a frantic and chaotic city on fire full of distractions, and genetically-engineered ads to provoke my emotions and break me down. I suddenly remember all of those classic scenes in the movies where there is a person who is afraid of heights stranded and unable to move paralyzed by fear until they hear someone shout out the classic and timeless advice, don’t look down.