Jax Resto and Bud Buckley make up the musical duo known as BudaRest.
Jax and Bud have been working on an multimedia eBook titled Too Much To Remember.
In our interview, we discuss their backgrounds, migrating to Florida, and I manage to squeeze some details about the ebook out of them.
For those that don’t know, who are you? Where are you from? What style of music do you create?
Jax: I am Jax Resto, half of the dynamic songwriting duo BudaRest with Bud Buckley.
I am originally from New York City, but have lived in Venice most of my adult life.
Our music has been described as British Invasion.
Bud: I’m Bud Buckley, half of the dynamic singer/songwriting team of BudaRest.
Oh, Jax already said that. We are often of one mind.
I’m living in Venice, Florida these days but migrated here from New York up in the Woodstock area. I came here for the weather and I’m staying except for the occasional tour. Jax and I are playing New York City in June for instance.
What led you to migrate from New York to SW Florida?
Jax: I migrated from NY to SW Florida after I joined Ringling Brothers circus, which at the time was based out of Venice, Florida. After touring around the country several times, I settled in Venice.
I miss some things about NY, but I don’t think I would want to live there year round. I am excited about visiting NYC with my husband and son in June and about performing in Greenwich Village with Bud as BudaRest while there.
I don’t think there is anyplace quite like New York. But I am constantly amazed by how much talent there is here.
I loved performing with the circus, but I don’t miss it, really. It’s a chapter of my life that’s over. Wonderful memories, great experiences, but I’m constantly moving forward and making new memories.
I only played music on an amateur level in school, but as a professional dancer, I was always very driven by music, drums in particular. I think I’ve always had a fascination with drums, but it never occurred to me as a child that I could actually play them. I wrote as a child and young adult in college, then took a brief hiatus from writing when I joined the circus. A couple of years into my circus career, I needed something to stimulate my mind, and wrote my first novel in between production numbers and shows. I think I finished the second book in the car on the way from NY to Florida. I wasn’t driving.
Bud, does your experience in journalism and PR ease the process of marketing and promoting your music? Are there new challenges you face?
Bud: Journalism was a very useful thing to have studied, it seems. It eases the way for me to do the promotion part of this indie music scene. I have a distinct advantage over many of my mates in the biz. The internet is constantly presenting new challenges. First of all nobody buys music anymore. There are too many ways to get my music free. There are also too many songs on the net to compete with. None of that stops Jax and me, however. We do what we do because it’s just who we are. We hope people dig it and we try real hard to get attention but if we were the only two people on the planet, we’d still be making music.
What was it like studying guitar/music under Helen Avakian? What was it like working with her as your producer?
Bud: Helen Avakian is a great and close friend now and I’m extremely lucky to have worked with her. She’s a very exacting professional with a masters degree in classical guitar. Who does that? Amazingly, I was able to persuade her to teach me even though I refused to learn to sight read music. I did learn a lot of theory and I can read enough to figure things out. Very Sloooooowly. She’s produced four CDs for me in Woodstock at great studios and always gives me a level of professionalism that is hard to find elsewhere. The few times I got to perform live with her were amazing and I hope she can join Jax and I in New York this June along with Deni Bonet, another terrific well traveled pro musician who plays violin on most of my CDs.
Tell us a little bit about your interactive book that you are working on?
Jax: Too Much to Remember is a multimedia eBook novel with music embedded. It is in the YA genre mainly because the main character is a teenager, but really, it is about life, and about being in like, in love, and in deep, which we can all relate to. It is a lighthearted comedy about a guy named Joe, who is getting a crash course in geometry when he finds himself in the middle of a couple of different triangles. The music Bud and I have written fits with the characters and situations in the book. It’s basically a book with a soundtrack, though the book and the songs can each stand on its own. I have noticed my son always has ear buds in even when studying, so, Bud and I are hoping to bring our tech addicted teens back to reading by giving them what they want.
What is the link to the Kickstarter campaign again?
Jax: Well, unfortunately, our Kickstarter has ended, which is a good thing, since the link was too long for us to remember anyway. I just kept typing in Too Much to Remember Kickstarter and if it is stit would come up in the search engine. We, happily, exceeded our goal, thanks to some very generous and supportive friends and fans. We still have a long way to go, and lots of work to do, but we are enjoying the journey.
Going back to the music for a moment, who or what influences your music? What inspires you?
Bud: I understand this is a mandatory question but it’s not one I answer comfortably because I hate to leave people out. As Jax said, the Beatles certainly, but you can hear other British Invasion influences in my melodies and chord progressions. I’ve been compared to a wide range of vocalists that perplexes me. Both Dylans, Paul Simon, Sting, Springsteen, Mellencamp, the list goes on. Jax especially likes it when I growl, croon and go head voice in one song. I just let my soul tell my vocal chords what to do. As for what inspires me to write–any emotion I notice in myself or others, any combination of words that makes me or Jax laugh or stop and say it again. We would drive everybody else nuts but we really enjoy us. That’s obvious if you listen to our radio show. KDWRadio.com every Tuesday and Friday night at 8pm Eastern Time.
How is the Internet helping (or hurting) you with the marketing of your music?
Jax: It’s a great help marketing wise. Bud does a killer job of marketing us. Our web radio show is also a great tool, not just for marketing, but I think it helps keep the creative process flowing. Bud and I don’t script any of our shows. We just turn on the recorder and start talking. It’s like Improv. Bud, Jax, and BudaRest are very high profile on the internet, which helps build credibility when booking gigs and radio spots, etc. The hard part is getting people to pay to hear your songs, so I guess the beauty of the internet all depends on your perception.
I-yi-yi will always love…The Beatles. They definitely influence my writing…and I think most everyone in the business whether they admit it or not.
Everything in life inspires me to some degree. Plus, I finally found someone who can write great music as fast as I can write lyrics. So, as far as writing and creating go, I guess Bud inspires me.
Bud: The internet gives us a wider audience in an ever expanding ocean of talent. We’re learning to navigate through it to the best ports. But as I said, even if we stay aimlessly adrift, we won’t sink. We’ll just happily perform for the fish and the clouds.
Where can we find you and buy your music online?
Jax: CD Baby, right, Bud? Where else?
Bud: Bud Buckley is on CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon and just about anyplace you can download music. BudaRest is just getting organized on CDBaby because we are still refining a lot of our music. By this summer we will be everywhere since CDBaby will handle that for us.
Any last thoughts or shout outs?
Jax: Enjoy the journey of every adventure and cherish everyone who is a part of it. Oh, and buy our music and our book. Too Much to Remember, the first rock eBook will be released this spring. Thank you 🙂
Bud: When our eBook comes out late this Spring, you really should give it a read. Jax is a very talented and amusing writer and our songs are first rate. Don’t let the genre of Young Adult fool you. It’d very entertaining on all levels. I’m hardly a young adult and my first read totally sold me on the idea of doing this project with Jax. Now we have at least three or four more books planned. I’ve never had more fun in the biz.
