At the time of this writing, it's halfway through this weird and terrible year of our Lord, two thousand and nineteen. America is under the shadow of an ongoing cold civil war that pits dark forces of rural, xenophobic white supremacists against, well, everyone else. A low-watt authoritarian has seized control of the US executive branch on a wave of thinly veiled racism. And with the assistance of a hostile foreign power, has used our compulsive tribal confirmation biases against us in strategic ways. It has struck sparks into the pile of oily rags that are our original sins of racial animus and resentment. In the last 24 hours, there were 2 public mass shootings by homegrown white-nationalist terrorists ginned up by misogyny and/or the President of the United States. They think of brown people as some sort of invading army that must be exterminated.  All of this is exploding while each year keeps getting hotter than the last, as the polar ice caps recede.  

 

And yet, in the midst of all of this, there is still a great deal of beauty in the world. This tiny blue oasis floats alone in a vast black sea of space as a momentary blip of novel complexity in an otherwise unpopulated galaxy. Despite outward appearances, the level of global poverty and war are at near all-time lows, and technology and innovation have spread farther and farther out into the hinterlands. This is making human life on Earth just a little bit less solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

 

The same social media used to rip ourselves apart has also brought a great deal of us together. And, has allowed for the democratization of media in such a way that things like this album become possible. This album was completely financed through an online campaign. No label nor corporate interest wedged itself in the middle of the process of the creation and delivery of this art. Unlike so much music being streamed through digital platforms, the album you could be holding in your hands is incapable of spying on you. To me, you are worth so much more than your data.  

 

I am grateful to many people for their support along the way, in particular, Suzanne and Milo, who tolerate the often reclusive indulgence of time it takes to create this music. Additionally, and in particular, I want to thank you. Best of luck out there in the world today. You will be given a lot of opportunities to choose between Fear and Love. Whenever possible, choose Love. Go easy on each other out there. We're all mostly doing the best we can.

 

Mahalo nui loa: 

Buck

 

Released August 8, 2019 

 

Written, Arranged, Produced, Performed, and Mastered by

Buck AE Down at Lanai Soundworks Studios

Pasadena, California Spring / Summer 2019 

Package design by Buck AE Down 

Front cover image by Mike Garlington 

 

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

James E Petersen Jr, Mark Roemer, Gregor Myers, Tavi Stutz, Terry Jacobson, Judd Klement, Hunter Parrish, Stacie Reichmuth, Mark Robertshaw, and Katrina Miller 

 

This album was made possible by the generous donations of the following people:

 

Mark Roemer, Michael N Sane, Matt Shaw, James King, Eric Trueheart, James Siegel, James Bunkelman, Katherine Koralewski, Patrick Grover, Rodger Powell, Rand Fitzpatrick, Gold Dust, Mjpbills, Wee Heavy Walter-Stern, Dave Le, Gregor Myers, Tavi Stutz, Terry Jacobson, Judd Klement, Hunter Parrish, Stacie Reichmuth, Mark Robertshaw, Katrina Miller, and James E Petersen Jr.

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All songs ©&® 2019 All The Way Down Music (ASCAP) except "The Pilgrim (Chapter 33)") by Kris Kristoferson ©&® 1971 Sony / ATV Music Publishing  LLC