“I was born Matthew David Buckstein and then shortened it to the cool part,” Buckstein says through a light hearted laugh. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, outdoorsmanship and music collided at a young age for the singer songwriter. “I started playing music right around my summer camp years,” he explained. “12-13 years old that was the first time that I remember singing and people actually enjoying it.”
From Denver, to L.A. and back again
In search of his “Lucky Day,” Buckstein traveled to the west coast. “I moved to California to get my degree in theatre and to try to make it in L.A. as a big movie star,” he remembers fondly. “It didn’t work out very quickly. It might have worked if I had stuck around a bit longer.” Without direction and in need of grounding himself, Buckstein took a leap of faith. “I was 3 years out of college when I was trying to be an actor and not getting anywhere,” he stated. “Then, I tried out for American Idol and that seemed to garner some response; people seemed to like that.”
After his stint on American Idol, Buckstein continued working on his music while trying to make his way in the world. “I ultimately decided to move back to my roots,” he says. “I had music as a hobby while I decided to actually make money, not a lot of money, but at least I got a regular paycheck where as music is…. well music, and over time the hobby became more serious and here we are today.”
“Lucky Day”
Buckstein’s latest release, “Lucky Day” is evidence of hard work over time and invites us all to think of better days. “I think the coolest thing about ‘Lucky Day’ is the time in which it has been able to come out,” Buckstein explained. “The most interesting thing about it is that it was written long before the whole COVID thing even existed, probably as early as 2016-2017, long before we knew what a global pandemic was or what it would do to us.” Although we have all been forced to take it a day at a time, Buckstein reflects on his own philosophy, “I have always liked to stop and reflect on just how good things are right now,” he said. “Not where I want to be, or what is gonna be good in the future, but how good things are right now.”
A Lucky Day for Buckstein
For Buckstein, his perfect day is simple. “The things that make up the best times are good friends, good food, and good music,” said the singer. “With Lucky Day, I wanted to paint the picture of a fantasy day where you just wake up with no bills, no work, you head down to your local pub, you have a few, you buy a few, everyone you love is there, the music is right, that was the whole concept.” Although it was written in 2016-2017, Buckstein feels that “Lucky Day” represents “some sort of clairvoyant fever dream from which I realized somewhere in my subconscious three years ago that we would need a song like this right now.”
Comfort Zone
Slated for release in July, Buckstein’s forthcoming album, Comfort Zone is something to be excited about. According to the singer, the project was penned pre-pandemic and finished in its entirety during lockdown. “As much as I don’t like to talk trash about any of my previous efforts, with all of them playing a big part in the journey to where I am today, this new album is far and away the best stuff I have ever done. This stuff represents me and my artistry the most,” says Buckstein.
Comprised of five tracks including “Lucky Day,” Comfort Zone has one purpose and that is to deliver on Buckstein’s mission. “Something people may not understand if they are not in the music business is that making something that is really you can be a very difficult process,” the singer explains. “For some, it comes natural, but for some people there is an extraordinary amount of outside influence.” Buckstein was most definitely in his comfort zone when crafting this project and was firmly in the driver’s seat the entire time. “For me, it feels great to have sweated and slaved and put all of the blood, sweat, and tears into something that was not geared towards radio or a certain audience,” Buckstein says. “It is just good music plain and simple.”
Buckstein Performing Live
Coming out of the pandemic with new music, Buckstein says that he wants to “focus more on playing original music. I’ve been a cover artist for many years before I started putting out original stuff.” In order to realize his vision, Buckstein says that he has “put together a bigger band, and I have started to go for bigger fish as far as booking shows and venues.” “To date, I haven’t played a public show,” the singer admits. “All of the shows I have played so far have been private.” But, that is going to change on June 30. “June 30th, Live at the Lake here in Colorado, it is right on the beach,” explains Buckstein jokingly. “Well, we don’t have a beach in Colorado, but we do have the Cherry Creek reservoir which has sand and water…. so beach!” A full list of Buckstein’s upcoming performances can be found on his website.
Getting in tune after lockdown
When it comes to his first big show, the singer is over the moon. “It has been so much fun to rehearse again,” says Buckstein. “Even the private gigs, they are so much fun just to dust things off, see how many lyrics you have forgotten, go back to the drawing board and do it all again.” Although he was eager to get back in the swing of things, Buckstein recognizes the pressures he had to face when returning to the stage. “I was anxious. I was one of those guys that really had that post-pandemic anxiety,” the singer admitted. “But, honestly, the minute that I saw the smiling faces and I was back on stage with my buddies and rehearsing again, everything fell into place.”
Essential on and off the stage
In addition to creating new music during lockdown, Buckstein took it upon himself to fight back against the virus. “There was this weird lull where I wasn’t working on stuff as rigorously and I just woke up one morning like ‘I should maybe get a job,'” he says. “I knew some people that were working in the explosive industry at the time of COVID testing here in Colorado, and they needed help,” Buckstein explained. “They had grown from doing about 500 tests a day in August to doing about 15,000 tests a day come November.”
Not one to ignore a call to action, Buckstein gladly accepted an offer working as the director of operations overseeing Denver area testing sites. “It had been over a decade since I had worked for anyone but myself, but these guys needed help and I saw an opportunity to help,” the singer reflected. “It did feel like I was a part of a huge fight. One day the COVID testing industry will be done and COVID will be a distant memory (god willing),” Buckstein said jokingly. “But, in all seriousness, COVID will go down in the history books and even though I won’t be directly mentioned, what I have done and what my colleagues did will be.”
What is coming next for Buckstein?
With his new album set to make its debut next month, Buckstein already has some big plans on the horizon. “I am already working on music to follow ‘Comfort Zone’ and I still have stuff in the can that is almost finished,” he confided. “The creative process is a turbulent one, you fall in love with things, you fall out of love with things, all of that stuff, you are your own worst critic.”
Self criticism aside, Buckstein does aim at making one major change moving forward. “I expect to establish a very different pace of releasing music,” he explained. “One of the most inconsistent things about my career thus far has been ‘put out a few tunes and then take a giant break while I just go play shows.'” With more opportunities to play live and grow his fanbase, Buckstein says he plans on focusing on what is really important. “The product, the actual product, the song, it hasn’t been there as consistently as I would like it to be and I am going to fix that,” says Buckstein. To learn more about Buckstein, visit his website, or follow him on his Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube pages.