The Queen Mary may be old, but she still rocks. To prove it, the ship’s new management team hired Ashley Hectus, a seasoned concert promotion professional with a deep connection to the local music scene. That connection comes partly through her brother, Justin, and through their involvement with Fingerprints Music owner Rand Foster in producing the DLBA sponsored Summer And Music series. Ashley assembled an impressive group of artists to Rock The Queen this Saturday night.
Four areas of the ship are being used, each with a distinctive focus. In the Observation Bar, for example, intimate and acoustic artists (Chris Hanlin, Chris Karn, and Bella Novela) will do the singer/songwriter thing and, in the Royal Salon, tribute bands (No Duh, Debaser, and TNT) will play. Outside, on the bow, you can get your groove on to a DJ and, in the Queen’s Salon, main stage acts Goodfellas and Rival Sons will perform.
Rival Sons front man Jay Buchanan has a long history in Long Beach. His band Buchanan played all over Southern California, and he’s also performed as a solo artist as well. He, with Justin and Rand, was a central figure in the Schooled In Song fundraising concerts that took place a few years back, and is much admired amongst his peers, both for his voice, and also for his skill as a lyricist and song writer.
Of Jay, Rand Foster said, “Jay Buchanan is absolutely the real deal. In Rival Sons, he’s a front man in the classic rock and roll sense: Think of a time when rock photos papered bedroom walls and rock n roll was more a lifestyle than a fashion. As a solo artist, the gloves come off. His big screen swagger is traded in for close up sincerity and a charming intimacy – his voice is the constant.”
Jay joined Rival Sons in 2008. I asked him if it was challenging to let go of his solo thing.
“It wasn’t letting go so much as moving on,” Jay said. “I’d disbanded the band Buchanan mid-2006, after a successful 6 year run, and was recording my third solo record when the Sons formed. I see this band as one of many creative outlets.”
I asked if they had been open to him being a writer as well as a singer.
“Before I joined,” Jay said, “the bulk of the writing was done by Scott, the guitarist. When I came in I naturally assumed my role as a writer/collaborator because I’d never been in a group doing otherwise. If they weren’t open to it, they did the right thing by keeping it from me. I think the relationship has and continues to grow into something we couldn’t have foreseen or achieved individually.”
I asked Jay about that synergy.
“We compromise,” he said. “We do our best to inspire each other, and we aren’t afraid to fuck up because there are no mistakes. There is only movement.”
I asked him when he realized that the had group moved from a local band to something bigger.
“Our fourth show,” said Jay, “was selling out the House of Blues on Sunset. I’d taken the band on as a side project, and industry (management, booking agents, labels) came knocking almost immediately, so decisions needed to made swiftly. It surprised the hell out of me, and it still does but, evidently, there was a void in the populace that fits us well.”
I asked him what it is about the band that connects with audiences.
“I stopped trying to figure that one out a long time ago,” Jay explained. “If a beautiful woman comes to me in a dream and asks me to make love to her, I’m not going to ask her what she had for lunch.”
Rival Sons has opened for, and toured with, some big-name acts, including Alice Cooper, Kid Rock, Judas Priest, and Evanescence. I asked him what stood out from those experiences.
“Opening for AC/DC was one to tell the grandkids, some day,” Jay said. “All the other names we’ve shared a bill with may sound prestigious on their own but, when you put those names next to AC/DC, suddenly you’re trying to read the bottom line on a vision test chart at the DMV.”
I asked him what it felt like to play huge venues.
“Playing an arena is so incredibly different from playing a club, so it’s been a learning curve. The arena audience becomes a mob. A mob doesn’t want subtlety or detail. They want bold lettering and giant brush strokes. They want your head on a pike if you’re an opening act that stands between them and their favorite band. You’re guilty until proven innocent.”
I asked him what’s next for the group.
“We’ve got this big show Sweet Ashley Hectus put together this Saturday on the Queen Mary, so I’m excited to be back home and happy to play a hometown show for once. Beyond that, we hit Canada at the end of the month for a bit, then off to try to get all of Europe pregnant by the end of the Summer when the next record drops.
“It doesn’t matter what country we’re in,” Jay said. “I start every show by letting the crowd know we are a Long Beach band. I’ve been here for the last 12 years and watched a lot of things change in the arts and music scene, but it’s always been a place I’m proud to call home. Now, go to Fingerprints on 4th and buy a book from Write Bloody Publishing and, for Christsake, buy some vinyl.”
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Get tickets, a performance schedule, and parking info for Saturday’s Rock The Queen event.
Learn about Rival Sons at RivalSons.com