“I always wanted to be in a band. I always wanted to make music.”
Landon Stuckey, who performs under the moniker Doughland Stucks, offered that explanation for his choice of a musical career before a recent performance at Little Amps Coffee Roasters.
Stuckey, 21, who has lived in the Harrisburg area his entire life, makes music within the vein of Daniel Johnston and Beck (in his early years). His goal seems to be to create a unique body of work while still paying homage to these influences.
Beginning with “Joy Ride,” Stuckey cruised right through additional originals, such as “B.Y.O.S.” (“Bring Your Own Soda”) and “Chemicals.”
“Millennial Scum,” the fourth song Stuckey played, was one of the highlights of his set. As the folk-punk strumming and the attack of his raw, untrained vocals combined to become a powerful force, I thought of one of the formative bands of my musical youth, the Violent Femmes. Gordon Gano, their lead singer, came to mind, despite the fact Stuckey’s voice is far less nasally. It was something in the approach that recalled Gano.
“They were actually a huge influence for me in the way I sing,” Stuckey said. “When I first found my ‘voice’—I guess to say, after trying a bunch of different styles—was when I first sang ‘Blister in the Sun.’”
It may be no shock that, as a young man, Stuckey writes “many of my songs about women.”
Of course, many of history’s greatest songs have explored the territory of love and loss. But unlike, say, Nick Drake’s body of material, or the singer-songwriter movement of the early 1970s (Joni Mitchell, Carole King, James Taylor), there is a humorous attitude to Stuckey’s material.
His ability to engage audiences between songs with wit and directness was a natural fit within this style, and it was clear from his laid-back approach that he views the power of community as crucial to his method.
“I always try to keep in contact with everyone, always try to make new friends and become friends with the people who come to my shows,” Stuckey said. “I try to make posts on my Facebook page, and on other pages on Facebook and Reddit, but nothing has seemed to give me more success than just talking to people and being nice.”
I asked him about his stage name and where it comes from, and he replied that it originated with high school friends playing around with his first name.
“I guess I have all my friends (to thank) for coming up with the name Doughland Stucks because well, that’s what they called me,” he said.
Stuckey showed a lot of promise for a musician of his age, and I wondered where his career would take him.
“It would be cool if I was as big as Bob Dylan,” Stuckey said. “But I don’t write super thoughtful songs. I just kind of write how I’m feeling at the time.”
As I listened to the closer, “I Don’t Mind,” it occurred to me that, while accompaniments often work wonders for the kind of music Stuckey performs, sometimes (such as in the case of Daniel Johnston) it removes the endearing authenticity of one performer, alone with their guitar and voice. But it is something Doughland Stucks has considered.
“I would really like to make an indie-style album with full band instruments, but that’s going to take a while,” he said.
Perhaps one day, we’ll find out what that might sound like. For now, let’s appreciate what we have—a blossoming singer-songwriter finding his footing.
Doughland Stucks can be reached via Facebook at “Landon Stuckey” or on Bandcamp at www.doughlandstucks.bandcamp.com. He is slated to perform at The Empire in Shippensburg on Aug. 26.
Author: Trey Knarr
