Rising Stars: Meet Jason Buchanan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Buchanan.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It’s a rather long story. Growing up, I was a good kid, but mischievous and I always loved to tell jokes. I still to this day remember the joke I used to tell the lunch ladies at school. Coincidentally, we had a jukebox in the cafeteria, and I always loved music. My mother also owned a video store, so I think my natural sense of humor, combined with my discovery of rock and roll music, in addition to seeing a lot of movies… well, I always, deep down, wanted to be an actor, and if I could accomplish that, I specifically wanted to be a comedian. To a degree, I feel I have accomplished that, for better or worse.

When I moved to Nashville, I had no intention to work in music, but I accidentally did by coordinating the talent at a small, yet popular bar called The Radio Cafe. I had no real idea what I was doing, but people seemed to like what acts I put on, which was a lot of rockabilly and alt-country back in those days. Of course, I enjoyed it. I mean, what other job could I ever have where I got paid to meet and form relationships with all these cool bands as well as have a bunch of beautiful women just hangin’ around?? I was in, man. Over time, I worked for a few music festivals as well as some of the cooler rock clubs in town in a variety of roles. I am still the master of ceremonies at a small, yet mighty, garage blues festival called Goat Fest in Clarksdale, MS.

Somewhere in all of that, I began to attempt to stand up comedy. Although I could have been better, I like to think I was pretty decent, and I even opened up for a band one year at South By Southwest in Austin, TX.

One day, I got a phone call from a friend who was a manager at a very nice restaurant here (that is no longer open) called The Stockyard. He asked me if I wanted to be Randy Travis’ Santa Claus, as he was having a Christmas party there and they were looking for a Santa.

“Does it pay?” I asked.

We worked out a deal, so I go there to the party, Randy had a private room with his band and their family members. I wasn’t your typical Santa, and I had Randy Travis and his band stompin’ and hollering and raising hell and just getting drunk in this very nice, very expensive, ala cart restaurant. When it was over Randy walked up to me and said “You’re the best Santa Claus I’ve ever seen”, and I got a picture with him sitting in my lap. This was 2011 and I actually got hired a lot that year as Santa, for both children and adults. To foreshadow all of that, I was also Santa in the school play for 6th grade as well as the mall in Columbia, TN, when I was only 22. True story.

The next year my phone rang and it was Randy Travis’ personal assistant. She had tracked my number down and called me as Randy himself wanted to hire me again. So the first year it was kind of a fluke, the restaurant hired me – my buddy actually hired me – but this time Randy Travis himself actually wanted to hire me. So we once again made a deal (he actually ended up paying me to double what we agreed on, though). But this year I came up with something different: Elvis Claus. I wore a white jumpsuit – the cheapest white jumpsuit made, to be precise – but I also had on Santa’s boots, belt, gloves, and hat. I just mashed up Elvis and had practiced some jokes and even gave Randy my buddy’s rockabilly Christmas record. It was a hit again.

There was a woman there who liked it and she began to hire me as an Elvis for these business mixers she threw in hotel ballrooms. It was about this time I began to think to myself, “I guess I really can do this if I want to??”

But you really must understand that in all of my years of working in entertainment… I always thought an Elvis impersonator was the stupidest thing anyone could ever want to be. I had seen guys getting plastic surgery, dying their hair black, etc. I was like “You’re a barista. You drive a truck. You still live with your parents. None of you are Elvis Presley!” But apparently, I could do it well enough. So, I decided if I was gonna do this – If I really was gonna do this – I was gonna do it my own way and with my own style: “I ain’t no impersonator, and I damn sure ain’t no tribute artist. I’m an imposter, baby, the cheapest one in America; $2 Elvis.”

I quickly set my sights on taking advantage of the booming tourism industry in Nashville, so I bought an old jalopy of a Cadillac, started my company King Of The Road TCB Tourism Service, and now here I am emailing you back. It’s been a wild ride with some highs and lows, but highlights include that I have had a song written about me by a badass band called Left Lane Cruiser. Through my association with that band, I somehow once ended up in the online version of Rolling Stone Russia. True story. I’ve also been referenced in a few other songs. I’ve done a few weddings, quite a few music videos, and been hired by corporations such as Sprint, Lagunitas beer, Tivity, and ASE Technology. I’ve worked conventions. Another highlight was being sought out by a rockabilly band all the way from Spain. A performer named Al Dual hired me and a film crew here, we filmed a video and sent it back to his team overseas where it got a lot of time on air on tabloid television in Spain. Entertainment Tonight Madrid, per se. There would be a beautiful spanish woman speaking in her native tongue and the video (I was the only person in the video) would be playing in the background. That was pretty wild. I also once had a really close call with NFL Films that didn’t work out. But hey, that’s showbiz, baby.

Of course, I’ve had many tours, made many friends all over the country, and I’ve also had many other close calls that just didn’t work out. Fortunately, somehow my phone keeps ringing. It’s been a white-knuckle thrill ride to do this, to promote Music City, USA. King Of The Road is #fungamestoursofnashville, and it’s been a #hunkahunkaburninfun.

“The boy can’t dance. The boy can’t sing. But that boy can drive.”

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No. Not at all. I thought I was just gonna hop in this car and just work for myself. I really did think that. The car can be temperamental, as it is 64 years old. So sometimes she has to go to the doctor, which can be really expensive and sets me back.

The easy part, honestly, was getting people behind me. I know that sounds boastful, but it really is true. At least I like to believe it is. If someone doesn’t like it or doesn’t want to hire me, I never let it bother me. Because someone else will.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
What do I do? As far as being $2 Elvis?

Mostly tours of Nashville. But also weddings, conventions, music videos, etc. $2 Elvis specializes in surprising loved ones! Very often when people inquire about hiring me and it involves a loved one, whether it is their spouse or a parent or just a friend… I make sure that we set it up to surprise the other party. It does make it a lot of fun for me to surprise someone. It makes it a #hunkahunkaburninfun for me, to be precise.

I am most proud that I came up with this idea all by myself and actually pursued it. I have met many, many, people in entertainment and just the nightlife in general that have all of these huge ideas – some are pretty good – but never make a real attempt at them. So, I am proud of the fact that I actually went for it. I am proud of the fact that I haven’t given up on myself or my idea.

I also like my name, I like my company’s name, I like my logos and my branding.

As far as the Nashville tourism industry, I feel that for the most part, they are all the same. You get on a “party bus”, as they are known, and go up and down Broadway getting drunk and listening to backwoods rap and bro-country for two hours. One might be a 4×4 truck, one might be a tractor. But, in my opinion, they are mostly all the same, sorta like a karate movie or a porno flick. You see one, you’ve seen ’em all. With that being said, I can’t knock them. They are an attraction and are good for the overall economy here.

I believe that what I do is more genuine, more organic. I’ve been here since 2000. I know all the cool spots, I know all the cool people. No two tours are ever the same with The King Of The Road TCB Tourism Service featuring your hunky and comic host – The Cheapest Elvis Imposter in America – $2 Elvis. My tours last at least three hours every time. It depends on where I pick them up, and sure, there are certain areas of town I always show off, but for the most part, I just wing it. The tour normally consists of sightseeing murals, Centennial Park, and different districts.

Sometimes we stop at different bars, sometimes we stop at different vintage stores, sometimes we go to The Dukes of Hazard Museum, sometimes we go to visit deceased country music stars’ gravesites. Sometimes we eat bbq, sometimes we eat pizza, sometimes we eat wings. Sometimes I wear a jumpsuit, sometimes I do a Jailhouse Rock look. I do have a few rehearsed jokes I tell during different points of the tour.

I try to show people a good time and ensure they will be glad they hired me. I will say that my people always remember me, and that is a good feeling. They very often refer others to me and I make them have a #hunkahunkaburninfun as well. Point blank: I honestly believe that I am the best tour guide in Nashville, TN.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is that people who take a tour with The Cheapest Elvis Imposter in America leave blown away by the experience and having had a #hunkahunkaburninfun that will always remember with a smile on their face.

What matters most to me is that I am trustworthy. What matters most to me is to treat others with compassion, dignity, and respect. Yes, it matters to me to be treated the same.

What matters most to me is that people who take a tour with me leave blown away by the experience and having had a #hunkahunkaburninfun.

Contact Info:

• Email: kingoftheroadnashville@gmail.com
• Website: www.twodollarelvis.com
• Instagram: @King_Of_The_Road_Nashville