'I just want to make people feel'
Musician has a natural approach for classics
By BRIAN KUHTA
bkuhta@potomacnews.com
Thursday, November 2, 2006
A Woodbridge native is emerging on the local music scene. In 2005, Matthew Buchanan released his first compact disc, "Spaceship Ride," which he produced in his own in his bedroom.
Buchanan will perform at Borders in Woodbridge on Friday night.
"This is kind of like my training ground," said Buchanan, 37, of his third gig at Borders.
Buchanan learned quickly that in order to make progress in the industry it is important to play other musicians' tunes.
"I'll play songs people know, but I put my own feel into it," explained Buchanan.
He has found a way to put his fresh slant on classic songs. For example, when performing live, he will cover such songs as "Mother" by Pink Floyd. The original version is full of effects and many instruments, but Buchanan uses a natural approach for his take on the classic with just his voice and acoustic guitar.
Buchanan discovered his first love of music when he began singing at a young age. It was not until he turned 20 did he decide to experiment with the guitar and purchased an electric guitar and amplifier.
Quickly, he began to be inspired by folk music and the natural acoustic sound. This revelation led him to sell his electric rig and dive into the acoustic realm, and he hasn't looked back since. Along with playing guitar and singing, Matt is a big percussion fan.
"I love drum circles," said Buchanan. "Spaceship Ride" is layered with djembes, dumbeks and some psychedelic nuances that help create and maintain the earthy groove he strives for.
While most of his live performances contain covers of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, U2, Moody Blues, The Grateful Dead and many more, Buchanan's album is his own baby.
He wrote the lyrics, sang the vocals, tapped out the rhythm and strummed the chords.
Buchanan went to Woodbridge High School and still lives off U.S. 1. Listen closely to his third track on "Spaceship Ride." "Small town city" touches pretty close to home. This slow melodic song exhibits Dylan's influence on Buchanan.
"I grew up in a rough neighborhood and this song is just about one of those sleepless nights," Buchanan explained.
"As I lay hear in thought before I drift asleep, the sound of sirens flood in from the street / Minutes before, shots fired from a gun / Just a normal night here on Route 1 ... what if this city were like a small town / Everyone would know everybody's name, we'd all share in each other's pain / Picnic right down there on the main drag and the passersby would laugh," he sings on the track.
Buchanan has entered this song into the International Song Writing Competition for amateur and professional songwriters.
When asked where he finds his inspiration, he quickly replied, "The belief that a song can still change the world. There was a time when songs would define a whole generation, for example, Dylan was the voice of the civil rights movement."
The first track on the album is called "When the lights go out," which highlights the everyday battle people face with epilepsy. After Buchanan put this song on his MySpace page, the song found its way into a chat room that focuses on epilepsy.
Buchanan soon received feedback from patients and their loved ones, giving praise to his song.
"I can really tell by that look in your eyes / know you're not feeling quite right ... I think I'll hold your hand until that morning breathes, the sunshine come with a smile / I guess till then there ain't much more to say so close your eyes and rest for a while... When the lights go out and you can't find your way / I'll be shining my light and loving you more," he sings on "When the lights go out."
"I just want to make people feel," he said. This urge may have come from his church experiences. "I would finish a song in church and realize, people are crying."
Buchanan is no stranger to large audiences. When he was only 15 years old, Buchanan performed onstage at the "Rock for Light" festival on the Mall in Washington, D.C. He also sang in church for many years, where he found a love for folk, Celtic and bluegrass gospel music. But it was his love of everything natural that inevitably brought him to the sounds of natural wood.
The future is wide open for Buchanan. His album is beginning to circulate and venues are beginning to be booked. When he isn't playing guitar, he wakes up at 4 a.m. and drives a trash truck to make ends meet.
"I don't have stars in my eyes, I just want to break into the song writing market. It would be great to make money from a hammock," Buchanan said with a grin.
Staff writer Brian Kuhta can be reached at (703) 369-6751.
WHEN YOU GO
* Matthew Buchanan
* Borders, 2904 Prince William Parkway, Woodbridge (703) 897-8100
* 7:30 to 11 p.m. Friday
* Free
* matthewbuchanan.com or cdbaby.com

          "Spaceship Ride": by Brian Campbell

Matthew Buchanan is just a normal guy who enjoys life, and loves to write good songs and music even more. He proves that with his most recent release, Spaceship Ride.

Clocking in at over an hour, Spaceship Ride is exactly that. It is a long and winding journey, filled with both acoustic tracks and songs recorded with a full band. This record is a folkies dream, as Buchanan also employs the use of ambient noises, djembes, dumbeks, shakers and an array of various sound effects and synthesizers. I know that sounds like a lot and without great song composition and poise, it would be overwhelming. Luckily for Matthew Buchanan he knows how to write a good song. Spaceship Ride has plenty of good vibes and smooth grooves to go around.

From the deep-in-thought sound of opening track When the Lights Go Out, Buchanan then flies into the albums title track with the explosiveness of a full band. From there on in, Buchanan mixes it up nicely from track to track, and stops on track Babylon’s Burning to make use of a pretty nice sounding electric sound effect. The jazz element of the record is prevalent on Interdimensional Traveler with soothing, laid back drum work, jazzy vocalizing and subtle guitar strumming and picking. Buchanan goes right back to his solo acoustic work on track This Plane, which takes heavy influence from Pink Floyd. Buchanan hit the home stretch of Spaceship Ride through the use of some down-to-earth, grassroots folk mixed with a strong world music feel with the track Calling Out, which is full of bongos and shakers, along side a lot of guitar plucking. He closes the record with the aptly named track, Never Stop Dreaming. To me this track really sounds like something that the Eagles or Creedence Clearwater Revival would have penned many years ago, as it is just Buchanan ending his journey armed only with a guitar. Never Stop Dreaming is a fitting end to Buchanan’s Spaceship Ride and is the most heartfelt track of the record.

All in all, Spaceship Ride was a good work and could easily touch a lot of fans from many different genres of music. Whether you are into world, folk, blues, jazz, rock or indie, you should take some time and take Matthew Buchanan’s Spaceship Ride.