World Premiere - Listen to "Chase A Buck" from Los Angeles roadhouse singer David Serby!

  

What the artist says: 

 

“Every once in a while I like taking a stock phrase (like Chase a Buck) and trying to do something interesting or unexpected with it. Here, I thought it would be funny to signal a word I never actually sing. Thematically, it builds on an idea I really believe but wish I didn’t…it’s extremely hard for humans to change and more often than not they either figure out small ways to short circuit they’re internal wiring, or they’re doomed to stumble along making the same mistakes over and over again.

 

My two favorite kinds of music are county and the power pop / new wave / punk kind of stuff from the ’70s and ’80s. I think this song combines those genres in a fun way. Thematically and structurally it feels like a country song to me. But, the instrumentation and tempo is energetic and fast, with big open chords under a slide guitar, and a melodic and propulsive bass line.

 

I brought the song into the band and played it through. We played it through a few times, getting a feel for it, and trying to figure out what the song wanted to be. David [J. Carpenter] said, “I’ve got an idea…” and laid out what became the intro, solo, and outro bass part for the song. He’s such and amazing musician. His part hear really captured what I love about the bass parts by Nick Lowe, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, etc... They’re all super melodic, with tons of energy, extremely important to the sonic landscape of the song, and actually very busy when compared to what is going on with the bass part in lots of country music. Without David’s part, it wouldn’t have the same feel, fun, or energy.

 

Other than the chorus, I have two favorite lines. The first is, “sneakin’ pass the boss / he’s the meanest catfish I ever swum across / one eye on the clock and the other staring at a balance sheet.” I like that it's a very fun, traditional, old school country line that sounds like it was lifted from a Little Jimmy Dickens songs from the ’50s. I also really like the image of a googley-eyed catfish. The second is, “drop into a bar / spend the morning drinking beer / that little place is magic / makes my money disappear.” It’s a twisty way to say, “I’m throwing my money away,” but in a way that completely refuses to accept responsibility.  It’s not my fault…that bartender is a sorcerer!!”

 

Serby’s sonically upbeat new album Broken Heart in a Honky Tonk (out May 29) is frontloaded with high-energy shuffles before it moves into more introspective tunes and ends with barroom honky tonks played with a wink, nod and laugh. He has an adventurous vision for what he does with country music, bringing his own brand of the Bakersfield sound to a modern audience, taking cues from greats like Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam.

 

Serby creates worlds for the flawed characters of his songs to occupy as they search for connection. Each song has a protagonist doing the best they can with problems they’ve most likely created themselves. Serby brings us his distinct perspective of real people singing about real people. Active listeners will be rewarded with the thoughtfulness and craftsmanship of his lyrics.

 

Serby has played Stagecoach Music Festival twice, sharing stages with Old 97’s, Chris Hillman & Herb Pederson, Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen, Neko Case, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Wanda Jackson, Leon Russell, Phosphorescent and many more.

 

Joining Serby and guitarist-producer Edward Tree (The Spencer Davis Group), his musical sidekick for more than two decades, are drummer Kevin Jarvis (Bo Diddley, Lucinda Williams, Brian Wilson, Steve Wynn, the Jayhawks’ Mark Olson), bassist David J. Carpenter (John Doe of X, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp, Dead Rock West), pedal steel guitarist Chris Lawrence (Mike Ness, Shooter Jennings, Dave Gleason), keyboardist-accordionist Carl Byron (Hot Club of Los Angeles), and Darice Bailey & Grammy-nominated blues singer Teresa James supply vocal support