Everybody with Angela Williamson is made possible by Fire Heart Entertainment and viewers like you.

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From Los Angeles.

This is KLCS PBS.

Welcome to everybody with Angela Williamson and innovation, Arts, education and public affairs program.

Everybody with Angela Williamson is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Very much.

And the band.

When my time will come, baby, I don't know.

I hope it'll happen soon.

I hope he's not too slow.

So I'm living him.

Time is almost done.

You see, two seasons out.

We should have some fun.

Jeremy, thank you so much for doing this for us.

We've been wanting to learn how AI has changed the music industry.

However, before we talk about that, I want our audience to get to know you.

You've been doing this for quite some time over two decades.

Yes, actually longer than that.

But, Yeah.

Thank you for having me on the show first.

Oh, you.

Angela.

Oh.

Shoot it.

Thank you.

Thanks for coming to my chateau motel.

Yes, yes.

I mean, this is such a unique experience for us.

And we love when we're able to go inside the person we're interviewing their studio.

Because I think it adds more depth to our interview, but also to our audience just to see your personality.

And that's what I'm seeing right now, because for over two decades you've been doing this where in your studio you're about to celebrate a milestone anniversary, but it all wasn't like what we're seeing today, right?

No, this used to be just a normal garage with a bunch of stuff in it.

And through the years I've lived here for almost 23 years.

And so through this, journey, it's changed.

It's gone through many different iterations.

But, kind of once I got here, this became a space for me to be creative and, you know, live out my dreams and, and and I love it.

And so welcome to it and get comfortable.

Oh, thanks for your time.

Well, and before we talk about what's going to happen next with you, I want our audience to know how you started in this business.

Because are you more or are you soft rock or you rock?

I mean, is important too.

It is.

And I've been searching for my genre for a long time.

I'm a songwriter first and foremost, so I try to service the song, find the truth in it.

And then from there, what genre does it fit in as?

Production style?

But ultimately getting started.

You know, I grew up in a small town in Indiana.

You know, on a farm, and, and, began doing music at an early age and, just kind of follow my dreams and ended up now I call, you know, Southern California, my home.

I've been here for almost 25 years, and I met so many wonderful people here.

And, the journey just keeps getting better and better and, you know, has its ups and downs, but but ultimately, I've just always search for the truth.

You know what?

What, you know what matters.

What what I see going on that kind of align with my values in the world and how I can kind of share that and take all this inspiration around me, the cultures, you know, just, and kind of blend it into to melody and emotion.

You talked about where you've come from, you know, small town in Indiana, you get to California.

How has your songwriting changed with that journey?

I guess it's evolved with my life.

You know, I was very ambitious when I moved here from Indiana.

I didn't really know anybody.

I had no money.

I packed up my 1989 Honda Accord and with a handful of songs, and came out here and and like everybody you come to, to LA Hollywood to make it and you think like, you know, I just need to be discovered.

And so I worked as hard as I could to try to get discovered and, and, you know, would play the venues.

I would go up and play the Viper Room and the whiskey where you pay to play and, and you keep thinking that, you know, that you're going to someone, someone's going to magically picked you.

And, over time, you realize, you know, you got to pick yourself.

You, you know, you can't wait for somebody to do it for you.

And so that has, driven me because I love to do this.

I have a passion for it.

But I learned to do a lot of these things that I was waiting for someone else to do for me.

And I got very lucky because I met some incredible people on the way.

After I'm celebrating 20 years that since my first album release, and I'm still with the same band members since then.

So, my bass player Joel Guice, and my guitar player, Chris Hanna, those guys have been with me from the beginning, and as well as a friend of mine named Darren Wyler, who kind of he's from Indiana, but I've met him out here, and he was the first guy that really believed in me, musically and said, man, you gotta you got to do this.

You gotta make this music.

So it's it's interesting to come from Indiana and not know anybody but follow my heart, my passion, and then meet up with like minded people that we all came together and say, let's do this.

So it took a team, right.

And, and so we, we gave it our best shot.

We kept doing it.

And then, you know, nothing.

You know, we weren't getting picked, but we just kept doing it.

We booked our own tours.

We're 100% independent.

You know, we never had an agent.

You know, we never got signed to a label.

So we signed ourselves.

We created the Chateau Motel Records, which you see on the sign right there.

And so every single song that we've released, we've done independently on our own, and we're still doing it.

And so that's, that's the evolution of coming from thinking that you're going to get picked from Indiana and then realizing that you got to actually build it yourself.

And I've been lucky and blessed because I've had so much support along the way with people that support original music.

You know, we didn't just have to be a cover band.

Nothing wrong with that.

I mean, that's a great thing.

I love to I played a lot of covers growing up, but we've been supportive in this community in the South Bay of being able to be original artists and write original music, so my music reflects my journey and what I've been on and, and, you know, I became a father and in 2016 and that changed, changed me in ways I didn't even imagine.

But in all the best ways.

You know, I got married in 2008 when Amazing Wife and she has been right there with me through thick and thin.

She supports me.

And so when you have that, you know, foundation, it changes you.

So the struggle is, is not as bad, you know, just trying to make it you realizing, hey, I've got to live my life to like that's just as important.

If not more important than just coming in the studio and writing songs.

And so I kind of just relaxed at that moment and, and allowed myself to, you know, live so that I could, you know, interpret well.

And what I'm hearing is that it was establishing that firm foundation that gave you the synergy, the positive energy to continue this journey.

Can you tell us a song you wrote before you started to get this firm foundation with a beautiful wife, children, band members that become a family, and then a song that you written after that because you started to see like a piece with your journey.

I've written so many before and after and you only had to give anybody what to get more.

That's okay.

You know, I guess the one that would sum up the, the uncertainty would be, the one that I wrote two weeks before I moved to California, called Going to California.

And there's a line and it says, I might not make it when I get there, but I'll never know if I never try.

I said, I'm gone.

California said, I can't stay here any longer.

They've been in way too long.

I think I do see, see it.

I'm leaving Sunday morning and I'm afraid that's all the warning I give you.

I said, I'm going to California.

Said, I can't live you any longer.

So I've been.

You're way too long.

I think I'm screwed.

Screw it.

I'm leaving Sunday morning.

And I'm afraid that's all the warning I give you.

I said, I don't know what I am going to do, so I'm going to California.

They gone crazy.

I said I'm going.

I still have that desire, you know.

I'm not done yet.

There's still more that I want to say and more that I want to do, but I still believe in and I still believe that music is important and that I need to, you know.

And that song is so inspirational.

Do you think that this latest song sums up to the piece that you were trying to achieve when you made that decision to come here in California to California?

Yeah, I think it does.

I think what makes that song so special is the fact that, you know, I got to make it with some of my heroes, you know, some people that I've looked up to that have worked with, with some of my heroes, I should say, I got to work with Steve Ferrone, who played with Tom petty for 25 years, and he really was, you know, an integral part drumming.

And Tom petty was a big influence on my music.

And he played with Eric Clapton.

I got to work with Rhonda Smith for this song, and she played with Prince and with Jeff Beck, all integral, you know, influences, you know, in young musicians life and then mine all the way through and to record at EastWest Studios.

So, you know, most of my recordings were, you know, started on like a four track tape machine.

And then, you know, this is evolved and thank goodness, due to technical status.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Talking about that.

Exactly.

So technology you know, is came up.

So you know I can use computers and stuff.

But that was a really awesome experience to go to a world class studio as East West.

But they recorded so many different albums in there the stones, Tom petty, Johnny Cash, you name it.

Did you get chills when you walked into East West Studios?

And are you recording this song with some of these musicians that are we consider the great at what they do.

I mean, give us describe the feelings because I'm getting chills just listening to what how do you tell them you're walking down a hallway that, you know, Frank Sinatra walked down Elvis, you know, LED Zeppelin, you know, everybody who's been anybody is kind of recorded there.

And it just kind of it's like playing, you know, Major League Baseball.

I think for the first time when you get out, you know, and if you're lucky enough to be drafted and you play in the major leagues that, you know, it's kind of weird that you're you're there.

It's the surreal.

And so for me, that that was the case because I had always wanted to do something like that.

And I had the opportunity and, and, it was a really, really incredible experience that gave me, like more of a boost, more of a confidence.

I think, a reassurance or, validation that like, hey, you know what?

I'm good enough to do this.

I'm good enough to work with these guys.

And before I don't I don't know that I believe that fully.

But now, after having gone through it, I'm like, I'm ready, let's go do this.

Let's bring some more people in.

Let's have some more, do another song.

Exactly.

You talked about these great musicians that played with Prince and Tom petty.

How did you reach out to them?

Did you just you know, write them an email and say, hey, I'm Jeremy Buck, come play with me.

How do you do that?

Our audience was the no.

Of course, of course.

No, no.

Actually, so I, I have a friend of mine, named Toshi Yanagi, who also co-wrote the song with me, and he is a guitar player for Jimmy Kimmel Live!

And I got the opportunity to play keyboards with Morris Day and Snoop Dogg on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show.

And that was, a few months before I met up with Toshi.

So I met Toshi while recording on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, and he was playing with Steve Ferrone, the Baked Potato.

I was like, oh my God, I would love to work with Steve, so come see us.

So I went up to the baked potato and it was Toshi, Matt, roadie, Steve Ferrone and Rhonda Smith all playing at the Baked Potato.

If you've ever been to the baked potato, it's incredible.

It's it's like this little dive in in universal, near Universal City.

And they just only serve potatoes and they're like, as big as your head, but they have all of these incredible musicians that come in to, to play.

And so it's like an intimate venue.

So I was there, I saw them, I was like, these guys are amazing.

How about this?

To have this band do it?

And, and they were like, sure, let's do it.

So, it kind of just happened from that.

As an independent artist, you have learned to not only, you know, do your music and produce your music, but you've learned to market yourself and get out there to network to bring this talent together.

Yeah, I think through the years, you know, you just have to be it.

Just try to treat people, have respect, you know, and and be genuine and offer something to them as opposed to asking for something.

And this was an opportunity that they could come record together as well.

So I made it a win win situation.

And, you know, I, I've been I've been paying my dues, I've been putting in the time, you know, to develop my craft.

So I was confident enough that I could if I got the opportunity that I could make it happen.

And luckily enough, they said yes.

And and so.

Yes, but you got it.

You got to be out there and you got to, you know, it's important to network and go to these functions and stuff.

But it's more important to make sure that you're, you know, lock in in your craft.

You know, that was a perfect way to end that segment, especially when you talked about how you've been honing your craft.

And as an independent artist.

When we come back, we want to talk about you did a little experiment with I want to talk about that, but then you're moving into celebrating 20 years, correct?

Yes.

20 years.

Not just 20 years with music, but you also have a really cool idea of how you can bring this into our homes and show us how these independent artists work.

So we want to talk about the future for Jeremy Buck.

Okay.

I'll come back to hear more on a secret made up dreams.

I live on a secret made up dreams I was living a secret.

Made up dreams.

Through.

You don't know what I'm gonna do when.

One time I took the day and thought of ways.

Fabricate.

Yes.

It was a dream.

One time I got too long.

And in my dreams.

With all the wrong.

I guess it was a dream.

No one knows the common goals.

The spirits talking, laughing songs stealing riches.

Verticals fill the gaps by digging holes like the light went straight to things.

The truth was they as darkness swallows up the day and coming home.

Sick thing I was in on a welcome back.

That was a fantastic first segment.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

We learned so much about you and your journey to Los Angeles, but now we want to talk about what's happening now and what you're doing in the future.

But before we do that, this is the reason why I wanted to interview you, is that you had this phenomenal video out there that talked a little bit about AI and how it's trying to change the music industry, but there still it's not perfect yet.

So I want to talk about that.

How do you think to do something like that?

Well, you know, I just was very interested.

I've always been interested in technology and seeing what's happening, and especially with the very fast moving landscape that is AI.

And I thought, you know, let me explore this.

And when I did it, I was exploring just the very rudimentary.

I mean, it's gotten so much more advanced right now than than what I even attempted to mess with.

But, I was just like, let's find out what happens if I just try to write a song.

And so, you know, I didn't do it, you know, intentionally to, like, write something that I thought, wow, it's going to move mountains.

I mean, the way I started it is I started with a random word generator just to kind of throw out some random words.

So I had no part of the process, you know, you know, adding in the the funnel of what it would be about.

And so I got some very random words.

And then I went to a couple websites that were using generative AI for like lyrics.

And and they started shooting back some stuff that was quite ridiculous.

You know, and some of it I kind of wish I would have kept up because it was so, so random that it just might catch on because, like, who would say useful me up, you know?

That was one of the lines we got out of it.

And I say it all the time now.

Even made a t shirt about it, but, you know, so, yeah, it was a really cool process to just try to go in and see, you know, what I would give you.

And then instead of, like, just using only that, I decided to kind of integrate with it and, and manipulate it to make it more of what I thought would be a more cohesive song and whether or not that was good or bad, I don't know, it was just a it was an experiment.

It was an exercise.

But it was pretty fun.

When I watched your video, it was not only was it entertaining, but it showed me that I what it's trying to do, but when you're a songwriter, it's about your tone, it's about your emotion.

And when you listen to a song that's written by a certain songwriter, you know it's by them because you have a signature.

Has I gotten to that point yet?

That's a good question.

It probably will.

So they've been able to do voice emulators, where they, you know, you can put Beyonce's voice in, and that sounds kind of like her.

I mean, you can still tell it's kind of like the deepfakes, you know, some of these images and videos, you see, it looks, you know, if you're not paying close attention, you can get fooled and and that's kind of very scary in the world we live in.

If you know when you're looking for important information, of course, you know, I don't know.

It's all important.

Can you find the truth?

That's a good question.

Now, there's the truth anyway.

And I guess that's what we're talking about.

Well, how do you know what's real?

What's not real?

And, I think it always comes down to how does it make you feel?

You know, and can it can I take that place of the human connection, the human emotion, you know, learning what that is and then conveying that in a real way?

I don't know, they're not there yet, but that doesn't mean that you can't use AI to kind of help you craft some songs and some lyrics, but then you you sing it, you know, a human being sees it, sings it.

It makes it something that sounds like their own.

It's like no different than other writers in the room.

So it'll be really interesting to see how this develops.

You know, it's gonna take half the time to do anything, you know, like these image generators that you can do right now, the dollies and stuff like that.

ChatGPT where you can just ask it to, you know, I've used ChatGPT a couple times for some just artwork, and I do a lot of my own artwork as well for, for cover art and, and it just speeds up the process.

It gives you some ideas.

I don't always use it, but it might give me an idea.

So I think it comes down to how you how you utilize a new tool.

You know, we utilize computers now, but back in the day you recorded on, you know, reel to reel tape, but to make an edit, you had to cut that tape and piece it together.

So, you know, I, I'm kind of I like to sit back and, and just watch things evolve and try to, to understand it as best I can because I don't want to miss it.

But I still think when, when two human beings are together, there's something magical that happens there.

And I think it's going to be a while before that happens where I can can do that.

But that doesn't mean that they can't.

Humans can't use it as a tool to to connect deeper.

Maybe, you know, as long as you're using something organic and authentic.

When I listen to your latest song, I can feel Jeremy's journey in that song.

Wow.

Yes.

Yes, definitely.

So.

Oh.

You're welcome.

You're welcome.

It's such an honor to be one of the shows that can share this song.

Oh, I've got a feeling no one knows.

As is.

Fire in my soul.

Bones within.

Comes from the lessons that I learned while I waited for my turn to begin.

And I keep holding on.

Holding on, holding on to my faith.

As I keep rolling on.

Rolling on, rolling on.

In this race.

Who I've got a vision in my head that I'd rather have instead than what is here and what is here.

And I'm never giving up.

Even if they say I'm not enough.

So never feel so.

Never be.

And I keep holding on, holding on, holding on to my spirit.

As I keep rolling on, rolling on, rolling on.

In this place.

I'll never take it for granted.

But I'll take what I found and turn it around.

Round, round.

Don't need to read all the letters.

Cause you bring me down.

Just bringing me down, down, down I keep holding on, holding on, holding on to my faith.

Before we end our time together.

You have to let our audience know what you are doing next.

So you have a couple of projects, one musically and the other one.

We may even see you in front of the camera soon.

So I'm continuing to write music on a regular basis, but something very I'm very passionate about is a charity concert that I started almost 20 years ago.

I guess the theme 2005 was a big year for me.

I started all these things and they're all coming true, you know, full circle in 2025.

But, so I'll be celebrating my 20th Rock for tots charity concert in Hermosa Beach, on November 22nd on the Pier Plaza.

And it's an amazing event.

It's grown so much through the years.

We raise money and we collect toys, and we donate to a local charity called the Beach City Toy Drive.

And then they collect all the toys, and they have a wrapping party and distribute them to needy children.

And organizations around Los Angeles.

So it's a big part of, you know, my love for music is bringing people together, and then to be able to do something good with it won't do it.

Then you got to do if you want to do it, then you really gotta do it.

If you really want to put your mind to it because you really, not really want to do it.

If you really want to do it, you better get to it.

Come on, pick it up.

If you want to do it, then you gotta go.

You wanna do what you really gotta do?

Do I gotta put your mind to really not do it?

If you really want to do that, really want to do it, you better get to it.

If you really wanna do it, you better get to it.

And I heard you saying the same thing for so long.

Makes me wonder if it will you find the time to go through is all on.

And you finally begin.

If you won't do it, then you gotta do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do it.

You better get to it.

You better get to it I well, before I end our time together, can you just let our audience know how they can keep in touch with you, especially our audience will probably want to help you with that fundraiser.

Definitely.

Well, Jeremy, ABC.com is my website.

You can check me out.

I have all my social handles there, but, Jeremy, book.

Video is my YouTube site.

And then Jeremy Berg Music is my Facebook and Instagram sites so they can connect with me there.

I'm also all over streaming, so Spotify, you can check out my music there and and just say hello.

Let me know that you saw this.

And you know, I would love to connect and come down to my show.

Thank you so much, Jeremy.

Thank you.

You are such an inspiration to independent artists, but also to that you are using your talent to help others.

This is the reason why we wanted to be in your studio right here in the Los Angeles area.

So thank you so much for welcoming our show.

Thank you.

You're awesome.

Thank you so much, Angela.

You heard that.

He said I was awesome.

You are.

Thank you for joining us on everybody with Angela Williamson.

Viewers like you make this show possible.

Join us on social media to continue this conversation.

Good night and stay well.

I'll do my best for no good reason.

No one cares what I'm about.

And it seems like everybody tries to knock me down.

And I'm gonna turn around.

And no one dares to try to please me.

It's like I'm lost and never found.

And seems like everybody tries to knock me down.

I'm gonna turn my ship around.

I'm gonna turn my ship around.

Here we go.

Oh.