Creeper Sneakers featuring Caleb Buchanan

Tell me about yourself:

I'm from Los Angeles! I live in South Central. My birthday is October 25th and I'm about 6 feet 2 inches tall.  Fun fact: I’ve dropped out of three different community colleges which could either be a flex or a concern depending on how you look at it.

Who or what is your biggest inspiration?

One of my favorite musical influences is John Frusciante. Although he’s most known for being the guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, his solo projects are amazing. Another favorite of mine is Solange. I loved her usage of synths and textures on “When I Get Home”. I’ve listened to that album roughly once a week for the past year.

How long have you been making music?

I hit the 10 year mark of playing bass recently, so now I feel like I know what I’m doing. :) My musical interests began to kick in during middle school. I originally wanted to play cello in orchestra. My teacher said my hands were pretty big and that I should consider upright bass. After about a few weeks of playing bass, I realized how much I loved it and I wanted to learn as much as I could. There was something about the instrument that made me feel powerful and unique. 

This was also around late 2009, and Michael Jackson had just passed away. My mom had his Greatest Hits CD, and I immediately borrowed my school's electric bass to learn the whole album by ear. That led me to learning as many other bass lines as I possibly could. Whether it was Fall Out Boy, RHCP, or any song on the radio, I just wanted to play bass. 

Eventually I got more into more progressive styles of music, including jazz. I realized that soloing on bass was something that I’d seldom see, and I wanted to tap into that a lot more. Listening to artists like Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius showed me that bass could be a beautiful lead instrument, as well a member of the rhythm section. 

I've done plenty of gigs and sessions around LA – as well as some touring – but it wasn’t up until the pandemic hit that I started to make my own music. When you get six months of free time, anything’s possible haha. You get used to being in the background and supporting the music as a sideman. When writing, you get this freedom to write whatever you want, which could be very intimidating. Now I understand why it takes some artists years to finish a project. You want it to sound exactly how you envision it in your head, which could be a very daunting task. But it’s a lot of fun!

Whats your all-time favorite album, and why?

Good question. Although it’s hard to pick a sole favorite, one of the most influential albums to me is Thundercat’s “Apocalypse”. It was my senior year of high school, and I was hearing his name pop up around the few bass player friends I had.  I decided to check out some videos on YouTube and fell in love. I listened to "Apocalypse" and studied the hell out of the album. His fusion of face melting bass lines and satirical lyrics resonated with me. It reminds me that music is supposed to be fun.

What currently fuels your creativity?

A big inspiration is my group of friends. I feel super lucky to have my closest friends also be some of my closest collaborators. It so happens they are all REALLY good at what they do. 

What are you working on next?

Well I’m currently writing and producing for other people, as well as working on my own music. I’m planning to release a project when the pandemic is over. I really want to have an unforgettable live release show, so I’m ok with holding off until life opens back up. I currently do not have a label pushing me to release anything, so I have all the time in the world haha.