Michael Buono is a 23 year old singer/songwriter based in Oakland, California. A classically trained pianist turned romantic, Michael began writing songs in high school in the basement of his childhood home. Eight years later, he has just released his first studio album, Slow it Down, and is currently doing shows across the Bay Area. Michael’s piano-driven style comes in large part from growing up listening to musicians such as Elton John, Billy Joel, and Gavin Degraw, while he still has not let go of the pop/punk gene in him. When asked about his sound, Michael responded,

“I want to write songs like Billy Joel, sing like Buble, and rock like Billy Joe”.

Michael Buono – Let It Be (cover)

It’s always great to see a skillful build up of music using a loop pedal and numerous instruments. Michael Buono offers a balanced meeting of elements that intensifies appropriately and at the same time leaves plenty of room for the natural emotion of the song to still shine brightly. The initially beat-boxing lays the stage well for the song, and the sound of the distorted guitar rhythm gives off a much bigger moment than an acoustic or less effected offering might.

After the first section of singing, the artist’s performance on the keys brings a little something new or fresh to the mix, really helping to add that personal touch to the cover. This meeting of the distorted, indie rock guitar sound and the slightly more retro keyboard presents something a little left of what’s expected, it adds character, and furthermore, it allows the artist to showcase a string of musical abilities as well as keep the audience interested with various moments of change throughout.

The live aspect of the video is important, with loop pedaling the set up is everything – if you start strong you’re far more likely to continue in that way. This is a good cover of a great song, a well known song, and I think the artist has successfully incorporated his own sense of style and musicality without sacrificing the essence of the original song. Vocally there are perhaps a couple of moments of struggle, but again, this reinforces the power and realness of live music. The passion overtakes the precision and keeps things very honest. The way the whole thing has been structured, particularly in this live setting, is really effective, especially considering the presence of a single artist. Everything is well played and moves forwards in a strong way.

By Rebecca Cullen

Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: 

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

I grew up in Arlington, Virginia, and I’ve been writing music ever since I was a sophomore in high school. I’ll never forget the first song I wrote; I just was hit with this overpowering feeling (the song was a love song), and I went down to the basement every night after doing my homework for something like 3 weeks in a row. I would stay up super late, sometimes until 3 or 4 am, and it was just a feeling that I had never had before. I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since, and songwriting for me is the most cathartic experience I can have. I am a super passionate person, super romantic, and a huge sap, and it’s always such a blessing to be able to just channel whatever intense happiness or intense sadness or whatever feeling I’m going through at the time into a song. I tell people that with the super intense stuff, it almost feels like writing a song puts the intenseness of the feeling into a little box that I can go access later, but it takes the acuteness of it away in real life (especially with pain). That can be so helpful for going through the tough times, because you can just get all your things out and try to move on.

I recorded an EP called Slow it Down last summer before moving out to San Francisco, and that was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I brought in friends and professional musicians to play some of the parts, and I worked with the an awesome studio (Bastille Studios in Arlington). The guy I worked with, Eamonn, was the nicest, most outgoing, and just overall best person ever, and he really worked with me to get the sound I wanted on the album. I am definitely very hard on myself when it comes to how things sound, and the fact that we were able to produce an album that I am still so excited about is wild.

Out in SF I’ve been doing shows and music videos on YouTube, and I’m loving the opportunity to really try to go for it out here. It definitely can be hard sometimes when you feel like no one cares, but you remind yourself why you do it: it’s what you love. And that makes it all worth it.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Find the bars in your area that are trying to have live music every night (or close to it), send them emails, go to shows there, and make friends! There are always places where people really value live music, and those places are the easiest to get your foot in the door. And always have business cards on hand with links to your music, just in case people come up to you and ask you about your stuff; those can be great opportunities to network / share your music with people.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Sometimes! But what I’ve learned from doing a cappella in college and doing solo shows is that most of the time, unless you’re completely winging it, the “mistakes” you make during a show are not noticeable unless you acknowledge them. You tend to be your own worst critic, you’ve heard yourself play the songs so many times, and usually, audiences are not going to pick up on the little mistakes you make. And even if they do, if you play it off / power through it, thats what matters! The difference between a live show and a studio recording is that you only hear a live show once, so there is much less time for scrutiny. It’s all about how you present yourself!

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

I haven’t done a tour yet, mostly just doing shows in the Bay Area. I would love to get to a point where I had enough people listening that I could do a tour though. Music is what I love more than anything in the world, and I’m just trying to work hard and hopefully it’ll pay off!

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

I just bought an RC-300 loop pedal which was definitely a big investment, but it’s been amazing so far. Doing solo shows and having the flexibility to be a one man band for a few songs and layer in some beatboxing and electric guitar is SO fun. So far I’ve done a cover of Let it Be, an original called Goodbye, and I’m in the middle of arranging a few others right now. It’s an absolute blast.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 That is a FANTASTIC question. That’s the biggest thing I’m struggling with right now. At first I thought doing shows in the city were the best way, but I’m starting to realize that YouTube is potentially a bigger market for that kinda stuff. For now I’ve been using sites like Fiver to outsource promotion and stuff, and I’ve had some success with that, but I am definitely looking for ways to share my music with more people / build a bigger fanbase.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Hmm that’s a tough one. I’d definitely have to say Ben Rector, since he’s basically my idol. His style of music is just everything that I love, and I love how he is able to play a lot different types of music yet still stay authentic. I went to a concert of his in Memphis and fangirled SO HARD. My secret dream is that someday he hears something of mine and we somehow become best friends 🙂

In terms of location, I’d love to play in Nashville at some point. I’ve just heard so much about how it’s the music capital of the US, and that sounds like so much fun.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 I am SUPER excited about this music video I’ve been working on for an original song off of my EP (Slow it Down) called 7 Chords. I’ve shot a decent amount of footage for it already, and it’s basically gonna focus on showing the songwriting process from start to finish. And my siblings actually all make an appearance in it so thats super exciting! It should be out within the year, so keep an eye out!

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Probably working in a baseball front office or something. I’m a huge sports nerd, and basketball and baseball are my absolute favorites. I can talk about baseball forever, and I watch an ungodly amount of videos about the game on YouTube. If you’ve seen Moneyball, I’d be super down to be Jonah Hill’s character.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?

 More shows, more YouTube videos, and maybe a new album! I’m always writing songs, and I’d love to get back in the studio sometime soon, but I definitely feel like I should focus on promoting the EP that I already have (Slow it Down, available on iTunes, Spotify and everything else!!) before diving into another album. Being in the studio was the most incredible experience ever, but I do feel like I should make the most of Slow it Down before moving onto a new project. That being said, I’ve been busting out a lot of new material at shows, which is always a blast.

Exposed Vocals: Any Shout-outs?

My family!! I’ve got five amazing younger siblings and two wonderful parents, and they’ve been there supporting me through everything. They are my heroes and my friends, and I’m super thankful for all the love they give me every day.