Kevin M. Buck plays original music from his album Initiation, as well as carefully hand-selected cover songs. The current line up features: Tommy Salzburg, formerly of Metal Blade recording artists Tattoo, on drums; Eric Pine on the six string bass guitar; and Kevin M. Buck on guitar, mandolin, keys, and vocals. For more information, visit www.KevinMBuck.com, or contact Kevin M. Buck online at KevinMBuck@hotmail.com or by phone at 708-655-3882.
Biography
Biography
Kevin M. Buck began violin lessons at age six and guitar lessons at age eleven. In high school, Buck’s original heavy metal band enjoyed a faithful following throughout the Chicagoland area, playing at such legendary clubs as The Thirsty Whale, The Riviera, The Vic Theater, and The Gateway Theater.
Buck has shared the stage with acclaimed artists such as Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions), Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen), Disturbed, and many others including Roger Daltry (The Who) who remarked that Kevin M. Buck is “one of the greatest guitarists ever.” Leslie West of Mountain said, “This kid has a fucking encyclopedia worth of shit in his mind.” Steve Vai (Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Alcatrazz) stated, “I listened to a handful of your sound clips and was impressed with your technique on the instrument. Sounds like you have great control. Jam on.”
Buck won the 2003 Guitar Idol Competition sponsored by 97.9 WLUP-FM in Chicago. He was also in the August 2004 issue of Guitar World Magazine.
In 1996, Buck formed The Blizzard of Ozz, the highly successful Ozzy Osbourne tribute band. Today, The Blizzard of Ozz continues to tour the country, playing over sixty Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne songs. Buck has received much praise for his work with The Blizzard of Ozz, and they were voted top 3 tribute bands in 2005 by the Midwest Beat’s readers’ poll. “It is some of the greatest music of which to pay tribute. I love the guitar styles of Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, and Tony Iommi," says Buck. "The music offers enough diversity to make my job fun as fuck, and still allows for my own self expression." Buck has also played many sold out shows with Battery, the national Metallica tribute act that opened shows for Metallica themselves on the Garage, Inc. tour.
Kevin M. Buck’s first album, Initiation was released on October 11, 2003. Initiation is an instrumental rock album and displays Buck’s creative and virtuosic guitar playing. Jason Becker (Cacophony, David Lee Roth) commented on Initiation saying, “I like the CD a lot. You’re the man.” Buck has organized two benefit concerts for Jason Becker to help find a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease.
In 2006, Uli Jon Roth awarded Buck a scholarship to attend Sky Academy in Los Angeles. Buck played with and learned from Roth, who thinks Buck’s playing is “very good, very very good. . . some very inventive and creative stuff.”
Buck enjoys teaching at guitar clinics. Buck also gives private guitar lessons as well. Buck teaches all styles of music, and has been doing so for over thirteen years.
Buck’s new album, Euphoric Darkness, was released October 11, 2007. Euphoric Darkness is a collection of heavy metal hit songs with unique and memorable vocals, riffs, and solos. This album features Buck’s songwriting and vocal abilities, along with his insane guitar talent. Buck’s future plans include more recording and touring, a book about guitar playing and music theory, and an instructional guitar video revealing tricks and shortcuts to learning the instrument.
Live, Kevin M. Buck plays his original music, as well as over one hundred and twenty, hand-selected cover songs. For more information, visit www.kevinmbuck.com, or contact Kevin M. Buck by phone at 708-655-3882 or online at KevinMBuck@hotmail.com.