By day he is a hard-working Third District Assistant D.A. serving Lincoln and Union Parishes.
But sometimes by night, he is a hard-hitting member of the local rock band Hidden Tracks, marching to the beat of his own drum no matter what he takes on in life.
Less than two weeks ago, James Buckley got to live out a near lifelong dream as he and Hidden Tracks were featured as one of the Louisiana Peach Festival performing at Railroad Park.
“It was exceptionally hot, but we really didn’t even notice that because of the excellent reaction by the crowd,” Buckley said. “It’s such a great setting and we truly loved every second of it.”
A graduate of Bernice High School, Louisiana Tech University and the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, the Peach Fest was nothing new for Buckley.
But performing as a part of the celebration was certainly something entirely different.
“Growing up in Bernice, the Peach Fest was an annual event for all of us,” Buckley said. “When I was a kid, my dad played on a bunch of travel softball teams and back then there was almost always a tournament involved as part of the Peach Fest. So, I’ve been coming to Peach Fest since I was a kid, and getting to perform our music as part of it was thrilling.”
Playing at an outdoors site like Railroad Park was nothing new, but Buckley said getting to finally play a Peach Fest show was quite an experience.
“We’ve played outdoor gigs, but nothing quite as professional as this setting was,” Buckley said. “I’d always go to the Peach Fest shows and watch the performances. But once I started playing music myself … I remember thinking how cool it would be to perform as part of this one day.
“And it took a few decades, but I finally realized that dream. And it was an incredible experience.”
Buckley said his love for percussion began as a member of his middle school band.
“It was at Lillie Middle School back then,” Buckley said. “And I kept playing through high school in the marching band. But on the side, I always had a little drum kit set up at the house and I was always practicing trying and become the next Stewart Copeland (drummer of the rock band The Police) or Tommy Lee (of Mötley Crüe).
“And in college I started playing with these guys in the band and it’s just kind of organically developed over the years.”
Joining Buckley as members of Hidden Tracks, which bills itself as northeast Louisiana’s premiere 90s alternative rock cover band are Preston Fulco on guitar, Tracy Rainwater on bass and Heath Work handling lead vocals.
“Stewart Copeland was the first big influence I had,” Buckley said. “And I loved a lot of ’80s metal drummers, too — Tommy Aldredge, Tommy Lee, and guys like that. And then I gradually started getting into kind of punk rock college bands.
“The first I heard (Nirvana drummer) Dave Grohl, it just resonated with me on such a personal level, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is the way I’ve always wanted to play drums.’”
Leading a triple life as an attorney/Assistant DA while being a devoted husband and father and providing the backbeat for a successful rock band can make life somewhat of a balancing act for Buckley.
“The band practices once a week and I probably spend at least 15 or 20 minutes every day working on some drumming at the house,” Buckley said. “But as far as the job — it’s a stressful job in a lot of ways. I love my job and what I do, but there’s a lot of stress associated with it, so getting to pound some of that out on the drums is helpful.
“Three hours of beating on a drum head relieves a lot of tension. It’s something I’ve been doing for a very long time. I stopped playing when I was in law school. Down in Baton Rouge, I knew if I started playing with some of the guys down there, I could write off my education.”
But there was, and still is, a secret behind Buckley’s success in the courtroom as well as sitting on a drum throne — his wife Leanna, with whom he shares daughter Hannah, a student at Louisiana Tech, rekindled his love of drumming when the time was right.
“I knew I had married the right woman when I graduated (from law school),’ Buckley said. “A lot of people are getting cars, computers, or briefcases — my wife got me a Tama drum kit. That got the fire going again and I’ve been drumming steadily ever since.
“And I also have a wife and daughter who are both pretty understanding about my weekend warrior music playing. I am blessed on both sides of the coin. I have a great group of people I work with, from (D.A. John Belton) on down, and I also have a wife and daughter who support me in my music. I couldn’t ask for anymore.”
