text: Culture Clash Records | Toledo Free Press
  STAR FEATURE	Buck69 releases new blues CD
  Toledo-based blues-rock band Buck69 recently released an album offering 16 tracks of original material.
  Buck69 Illustration courtesy Tom Clawson
  "No Medicine Like the Blues" is the second album from the seven-piece contemporary blues-rock outfit that formed in 2004. Lead vocalist, and songwriter/guitarist Tom Clawson said taking the time to write quality songs was key for the second offering.
  "I started writing new material even before we finished the first CD, so you could say this one took about six years," Clawson said. "We really took our time with this, compared to the first one. We wanted the first CD to be good, but we rushed it a little due to the excitement. I'm really pleased with the outcome. I feel it's the best songwriting I've done, and the band did a great job of putting down the music."
  Buck69's previous release, "When She Whispers Your Name," was a 2008 Grammy Award finalist for contemporary blues. The group also contributed a song, "Have a Mighty Fine Christmas," to the recent Make-A-Wish Foundation benefit CD "Holiday Wishes 3: If You Believe."
  Clawson, a longtime musician, was on an extended break from the business when his son, Alex, suggested that they play together in 2002.
  "The two of us [played] around Toledo doing some acoustic stuff," Clawson said. "I was only too happy to try it out, if not mainly just to spend time with my son. After a couple years he says, 'Dad, let's start a band.' I was a little hesitant, knowing the baggage that comes with forming and maintaining a band."
  But the elder Clawson agreed, and the two set out to handpick Buck69's lineup. Clawson said it was critical to form a true team of professional musicians and singer/songwriters.
  The band is a well-rounded lineup of some of Toledo's most recognizable names in music. Alex plays rhythm and lead guitar, and John Sevilla plays lead and bass guitar. Candice Coleman, a former "American Idol" contestant, sings lead and backup vocals. David Alan plays drums and provides backup vocals, B.J. Love plays keyboards and Randy Paredes plays lead, rhythm and slide guitar.
  "Each of us [brings] a diverse mixed bag of talent to the band. That's why you'll never see us listed as 'Tom and Buck69,' or 'Candice and Buck69,' or any of the other guys' names. When you come to see us play or listen to our CDs,