Raro, April, 1995
By Fabio Massimo Arati
Submitted by Niella
Translated by me
The artistic and human events that accompanied the advent of Jeff Buckley in the international rock scene are so unusual and singular to have aroused, before it even started, a huge interest from critics and the public. At a time when most musicians feel the need to play in a group, Jeff emerges as a soloist: voice and guitar. His music is a modern reinterpretation of overseas folklore, experienced not only from a musical point of view, in the celebration of the love song, but also from the attitudinal one, in the way of life, or at least to appear, that is so reminiscent of the wanderering minstrel, that he has nothing but his guitar.
Jeff is a child of art only by accident: his father, Tim, now a legendary cult figure, by any follower of American auteur rock, died when he was still very young; anyway, due to complicated family intrigues, the two only managed to live together for a few weeks. So, intrigued by such assumptions and crazy to see him perform on stage, I went to Cesena to attend, last February the only Italian date of his tour and especially to learn something more...
"I never thought I should be a musician."
Yet ever since he left home at the age of seventeen, he has played in various groups, first in Hollywood, then in New York, then facing the small group of small clubs in the East Village as a soloist.
"In New York I played in a myriad of tiny pubs and clubs, but I didn't think I would become a professional at all, I never planned anything like that!"
In early 1994 Jeff made his debut with Live At Sin-è, a four-track EP that captured an exciting performance in a New York coffee shop, Sin-é. The album, which contains two original tracks and two covers, has been released in England by Big Cat Records. A few months later comes "Grace", the first formidable 33 LP that immediately has countless successes around the world. Feelings and passion arise spontaneously from his songs; Jeff is able to alternate electric moments of dazzling intensity with acoustic episodes of intoxicating sweetness. All this is magnificently interpreted by his splendid voice, capable of reaching notes and tones unknown to most singers today.
"Music always comes from the experiences of people, beautiful or ugly, as far as I'm concerned, I don't even distinguish between them: my songs can be considered sad or happy, it depends on the mood of the listener...actually, it can happen that it's happiness that hurts people!"
It is no coincidence that his songs clearly express an inner reality linked to everyday life, so that music becomes integral to his very existence.
"I usually write down what happens to me day by day and from this I then draw inspiration to write; this, however, is a process that requires a long time of maturation and a lot of reflection, for this reason I can never write anything when I'm on tour: I'm too busy with other things."
After the publication of "Grace", last year the young Buckley had already been the protagonist of some concerts on our continent, also playing in Milan. In the early months of '95, a new tour took him to twenty different European cities. The event follows a few weeks after the release of the first single taken from his album; it contains, besides the title track "Grace", the unpublished "Tongue" and the magnificent "Kanga-roo", written by Alex Chilton.
"Very often it happens that in large stadiums or in the Palasport, people gather together only to attend an event, and not to listen to music. I am not able to play in certain situations, I can not transmit what I would like. In large spaces, what is most important is the way in which the show presents itself, the music comes to the background. This is why we love to play in not too big places. We feel more comfortable in small rooms, although often the acoustics are not the best. Sometimes it happens that some cities do not have adequate rooms to play, but in the end we always manage to find one..."
The plural is mandatory as Jeff is accompanied by the same musicians who played in his debut album: Michael Tighe on guitar, Mick Grondhal on bass and Matt Johnson on drums; now together they form a real band.
"Working live is a completely different experience: in the studio you record everything on a tape, which is then modified with further overdubs, so as to always get the best...Live it's another story: every single day, every evening is different from the others; the songs, the concerts, become almost human entities, and you have to treat them as such..."
In fact, the emotional intensity that the artist is able to express on stage is far superior to that which emerges from the disc, as the greater the power and the hardness of the sounds.
"We do not have a fixed lineup, I immediately decide which songs to play...there is no precise ritual: maybe we start for a few days with the same piece and then we decide to change, usually we also do a couple of songs that are not included on the album. However, our concerts are always electric: I have not yet found the way to make an acoustic set...I have the impression that, in places where we usually play, it would have a rather miserable effect..."
Jeff answers the questions in a veiled voice, while tasting a glass of red wine. His fascination with James Dean hides a certain melancholy, perhaps linked to the countless pressures due to such a sudden success.
"I am happy with the work I do, and also with the responses I am getting: this success, I assure you, has come completely unexpected ... on the other hand I am worried about the way in which many people risk losing their heads. I can not always control the things that happen around me, everything happens so quickly and this worries me a little."
Often journalists from all over the world worried about finding affinities between the new star and his illustrious predecessor. But Jeff does not like to talk about his father at all and certainly prefers to be remembered for what he really is, rather than for the fame of his surname. It is for this reason that his relationship with the press has never been too cordial.
"It's not true that I'm mad at journalists, it's just that I do not like the way they treat people. And as if they were judging something with which they have nothing to do, of which they know absolutely nothing! Music is a terrible individual experience, but people want to say their own without having the faintest idea of what's really behind it, without even knowing its creator! We artists can not do anything for this situation, we limit ourselves to continuing our work. This however does not worry me too much: I do not even read the reviews, even if it often happens that my manager arrives and tells me: read here and reflect! For me, the real torment of the music industry, on the other hand, is the innumerable pressures that one has to suffer..."
His glass of red wine is now empty. The meeting ends here, Jeff says goodbye and walks away.
By Fabio Massimo Arati
Submitted by Niella
Translated by me
The artistic and human events that accompanied the advent of Jeff Buckley in the international rock scene are so unusual and singular to have aroused, before it even started, a huge interest from critics and the public. At a time when most musicians feel the need to play in a group, Jeff emerges as a soloist: voice and guitar. His music is a modern reinterpretation of overseas folklore, experienced not only from a musical point of view, in the celebration of the love song, but also from the attitudinal one, in the way of life, or at least to appear, that is so reminiscent of the wanderering minstrel, that he has nothing but his guitar.
Jeff is a child of art only by accident: his father, Tim, now a legendary cult figure, by any follower of American auteur rock, died when he was still very young; anyway, due to complicated family intrigues, the two only managed to live together for a few weeks. So, intrigued by such assumptions and crazy to see him perform on stage, I went to Cesena to attend, last February the only Italian date of his tour and especially to learn something more...
"I never thought I should be a musician."
Yet ever since he left home at the age of seventeen, he has played in various groups, first in Hollywood, then in New York, then facing the small group of small clubs in the East Village as a soloist.
"In New York I played in a myriad of tiny pubs and clubs, but I didn't think I would become a professional at all, I never planned anything like that!"
In early 1994 Jeff made his debut with Live At Sin-è, a four-track EP that captured an exciting performance in a New York coffee shop, Sin-é. The album, which contains two original tracks and two covers, has been released in England by Big Cat Records. A few months later comes "Grace", the first formidable 33 LP that immediately has countless successes around the world. Feelings and passion arise spontaneously from his songs; Jeff is able to alternate electric moments of dazzling intensity with acoustic episodes of intoxicating sweetness. All this is magnificently interpreted by his splendid voice, capable of reaching notes and tones unknown to most singers today.
"Music always comes from the experiences of people, beautiful or ugly, as far as I'm concerned, I don't even distinguish between them: my songs can be considered sad or happy, it depends on the mood of the listener...actually, it can happen that it's happiness that hurts people!"
It is no coincidence that his songs clearly express an inner reality linked to everyday life, so that music becomes integral to his very existence.
"I usually write down what happens to me day by day and from this I then draw inspiration to write; this, however, is a process that requires a long time of maturation and a lot of reflection, for this reason I can never write anything when I'm on tour: I'm too busy with other things."
After the publication of "Grace", last year the young Buckley had already been the protagonist of some concerts on our continent, also playing in Milan. In the early months of '95, a new tour took him to twenty different European cities. The event follows a few weeks after the release of the first single taken from his album; it contains, besides the title track "Grace", the unpublished "Tongue" and the magnificent "Kanga-roo", written by Alex Chilton.
"Very often it happens that in large stadiums or in the Palasport, people gather together only to attend an event, and not to listen to music. I am not able to play in certain situations, I can not transmit what I would like. In large spaces, what is most important is the way in which the show presents itself, the music comes to the background. This is why we love to play in not too big places. We feel more comfortable in small rooms, although often the acoustics are not the best. Sometimes it happens that some cities do not have adequate rooms to play, but in the end we always manage to find one..."
The plural is mandatory as Jeff is accompanied by the same musicians who played in his debut album: Michael Tighe on guitar, Mick Grondhal on bass and Matt Johnson on drums; now together they form a real band.
"Working live is a completely different experience: in the studio you record everything on a tape, which is then modified with further overdubs, so as to always get the best...Live it's another story: every single day, every evening is different from the others; the songs, the concerts, become almost human entities, and you have to treat them as such..."
In fact, the emotional intensity that the artist is able to express on stage is far superior to that which emerges from the disc, as the greater the power and the hardness of the sounds.
"We do not have a fixed lineup, I immediately decide which songs to play...there is no precise ritual: maybe we start for a few days with the same piece and then we decide to change, usually we also do a couple of songs that are not included on the album. However, our concerts are always electric: I have not yet found the way to make an acoustic set...I have the impression that, in places where we usually play, it would have a rather miserable effect..."
Jeff answers the questions in a veiled voice, while tasting a glass of red wine. His fascination with James Dean hides a certain melancholy, perhaps linked to the countless pressures due to such a sudden success.
"I am happy with the work I do, and also with the responses I am getting: this success, I assure you, has come completely unexpected ... on the other hand I am worried about the way in which many people risk losing their heads. I can not always control the things that happen around me, everything happens so quickly and this worries me a little."
Often journalists from all over the world worried about finding affinities between the new star and his illustrious predecessor. But Jeff does not like to talk about his father at all and certainly prefers to be remembered for what he really is, rather than for the fame of his surname. It is for this reason that his relationship with the press has never been too cordial.
"It's not true that I'm mad at journalists, it's just that I do not like the way they treat people. And as if they were judging something with which they have nothing to do, of which they know absolutely nothing! Music is a terrible individual experience, but people want to say their own without having the faintest idea of what's really behind it, without even knowing its creator! We artists can not do anything for this situation, we limit ourselves to continuing our work. This however does not worry me too much: I do not even read the reviews, even if it often happens that my manager arrives and tells me: read here and reflect! For me, the real torment of the music industry, on the other hand, is the innumerable pressures that one has to suffer..."
His glass of red wine is now empty. The meeting ends here, Jeff says goodbye and walks away.
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