Musician Joe Buck in a class all by himself

By John Benson

He performs by himself, but don’t call him a one-man band.

Before you read about singer-guitarist Joe Buck (born Jim Finkley), who explores his rockabilly and American country music sound with his solo act Joe Buck Yourself, you should know two things: Buck, who looks like a cross between the Six Pistols’ Johnny Rotten and the weird looking dude from The Prodigy, likes to swear and lives in a dark, bitter world, which he’s examining on his latest EP release “Gory Gory Hallelujah.”

“I released ‘Gory Gory Hallelujah’ in March, and it’s all the same [expletive],” Buck said. “I’m using a lot more banjos and [expletive] like that, but it still comes from the same place.”

We’re guessing that place isn’t filled with sunny days, fresh daisies and puppy dogs. Instead, it’s defined by overcast skies, overgrown weeds and oversized pit bulls.

“Yeah, I guess so, but I’m not in the place to stay there,” Buck said. “It’s to get out of there, that’s why I make this [expletive].”

While Buck is a one-man performer, don’t make the mistake of pigeonholing him as a novelty act. You know, the guy with a bass drum on his back, cymbals on his feet, a guitar across his lap and a harmonica strapped to his chin.

“I play by myself, but I don’t like to be called a one-man band because first of all there is so much crap going on right now that it’s not what I dig,” Buck said. “I’m not like trying to be a band, I’m just a guy who plays by himself.”

Playing well with others is something Buck does with caution in side projects or supporting roles. After briefly spending time with Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, Buck has toured with Hank III and recently recorded material with Throw Rag singer Sean “Captain Sean Doe” Wheeler for the new EP release “Buck & Wheeler.” Today, he said he’s better off being a solo artist.

“I was playing in bands, but I swore I would never be in a band again in my life because you can’t trust anybody,” Buck said. “You work hard and blah blah blah, so out of necessity I wrote the first record, ‘Joe Buck Yourself [expletive].’ I was going to do it myself, like this way I don’t have to depend on anybody.”

With a punk mind-set, rockabilly vibe and iconoclastic spirit, Buck said audiences attending his show at Cedars Friday should look forward to authentic hillbilly music that above all speaks the truth.

“Something about what I’m doing is very reflective because I’m an old man, I’ve lived out my rock ’n’ roll dreams,” Buck said. “I’m not acting. This [expletive] is about something, and I know exactly what it is about. I may appear vile and whatever, but at the end of the day, my motives are pure and the energy is pure, so I can do and say whatever the [expletive] I want.”

He added, “And it’s like, my [expletive] only scares the people it’s supposed to. And those people know who they are.”