Greg and Pexa's Autographs

Submitted by Gabby

I adore this one ❤

A Singer With a Voice Beyond His Years

By Peter Watrous
The New York Times, March 16, 1992 
Submitted by Gabby

  Precociousness  is a strange thing, and it made its appearance at a concert by Gods and Monsters, a new group led by the guitarist Gary Lucas and the singer Jeff Buckley. Mr. Buckley, 25 years old but looking closer to 18, is almost surreally gifted. When he sings, it's as if his voice, and the melodies that come with it, were emanating from a far older person, somebody who has had the time to do all the studying it takes to learn as much has he has. Mr. Buckley was the focus of Friday night's show at the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights, partly because he is immensely charismatic and partly because of his ability. The band, made up of B-team musical celebrities, including the bassist Tony Maimone and the drummer Anton Fier, didn't have much to work with. The group's songs, short on melody and barely arranged, with absolutely no dynamics, were plain rock, as gray as yesterday's potatoes.
  The show really began when the rhythm section trundled offstage, leaving  Mr. Buckley and Mr. Lucas up there alone. Mr. Buckley is oddly clumsy onstage, and between songs he alternatley hanged himself and showed his talents.   Introducing a reggae song, Mr. Buckley spoke in a Jamaican patois; it was embarrassing at best. And when introducing a song by Edith Piaf, he mixed the sound of Piaf (coming from a record player, tinny and thin), and a human beat box, exposing a real gift for mimicry.
  That mimicry showed up in a gospel tune he sang alone, accompanying himself on guitar. Singing in a pure falsetto, his voice surged and arched over the guitar, passion in the form of idiomatically correct gospel singing. At other times, he fluttered his voice as if he had been studying ethnographic recordings; sometimes his voice bounced off bad notes, as if it were a drunk sliding off a sidewalk.
  When he and Mr. Lucas worked together, they gathered some real momentum, with Mr. Lucas's finger-picking driving them on, while Mr. Buckley's voice etched strange melodies against the harmonies. They played blues tunes and other pieces, and Mr. Buckley let himself be vulnerable, not  only in the traditional sense of singing about love from the wrong end (on the reggae tune he sang "How long will it take me to be your man  again?" until it seemed like the most profound lament ever written), but also by the sort of emotional exposure that comes from taking a chance.

Stance Boy and Sweet Dreams

Love these! 😁❤ Thanks to Gabby for finding!

Slow-Burning Star: the Smouldering Appeal of Jeff Buckley

Cosmopolitan, November, 1995
By Paul du Noyer

That voice, that talent, those cheekbones, that brilliant first album. And he's single. No wonder the whole music world is talking about Jeff Buckley. Just don't mention his father...

  He has cheekbones you could hang your coat on. When he's performing on a hot night, he often takes his shirt off, and then grown women climb on nightclub tables just to get a better view. In fact, since a UK tour in June (that took in the Glastonbury Festival) and the release of his debut album Grace, a lot of people had been yearning for a good look at Jeff Buckley - and not entirely because of his phenomenal talent. But he would be scornful if you told him so. Off the stage, that celebrated face remains unshaven, the hair unwashed. His scruffy clothes look as if they've been donated rather than bought. At 29, Buckley is careless of his appearance, as only the truly good-looking can afford to be.
  "First there were my mother's breasts, then there was music," says the American singer, declaring his life's primary passion. Call him a star or, worse, a sex symbol, and he takes a long, dismissive drag on his Marlboro cigarette and looks away. But about his art he is eloquent. "I'm completely chemically altered by the end of a performance," he says, "due to the places I have to go in my head for my songs." If that sounds unworldly, so does Buckley's music. It's a darkly beautiful hybrid of the folky, the experimental, and the deeply sensual - a sound that shimmers rather than rocks. And he sings in a dreamlike reverie, as if possessed by ancient spirits.
  To sample the sheer talent, listen to Grace. It won Buckley major acclaim and sales were encouraging for a newcomer, but low enough to preserve his cultish aura. Right now, you can be a fan and still enjoy that feeling of exclusivity.
  Buckley can come over all mean and moody about any kind of praise but the sort he least appreciates is that comparing him to his father, Tim Buckley. His dad was a hippie troubadour of the Sixties, a restless soul who didn't take to family life. When Jeff was born in 1966, Buckley senior hit the road. The pair were reunited, briefly, in 1975, when Jeff was nine. His father died of a drug overdose two months later. He was about the same age that Jeff is now.
  Despite the similarities in looks and vocal style, the younger Buckley bristles at comparisons. "Actually," he says, "I'm the son of Mary Guibert." His Panama-born mother raised him in California, where they led a wandering existence. "We moved so often," he says, "I used to put all my stuff in paper bags. My childhood was pretty much marijuana and rock n' roll." He remembers getting a part in the school play, only to learn he was leaving town that night. "I was the new kid everywhere," he says. But, having to sort potential new enemies from potential new friends, he developed the observational skills a songwriter needs.
As an infant, he had discovered his grandmother's guitar and, with his mother, would sing Joni Mitchell songs as they drove through California. At 17, he graduated to post-punk bands in Los Angeles, and, in 1990, he moved to New York. Regular gigs on the coffee-house circuit got him a deal with the record company Columbia.
  Now with a band of his own, he has created a genuinely new sound with impressive ease. "Usually when you get young guys," he says, "they just wanna rock, rock, rock. But if you can burn at a slow tempo, that's everything." It's precisely that slow-burning intensity, inspired by everything from blues to classical church music, that offers such sensuous support for Buckley's voice. And that voice is the most exotic element of all: slipping across the octaves from a deep-breathing murmur to an imploring falsetto scream, it will soar, then suddenly swoop like a bird of prey. Women and men alike find the effect mesmeric.
  "I love anything that haunts me and never leaves," he says of his music, "Like an old flame who has something about her you can't resist." Jeff's own old (and new) flames are subject to fevered speculation: there were rumours of romance with Liz Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, and lately he's been seen with hellraiser Courtney Love (lead singer of Hole and the widow of Kurt Cobain) but, apparently, there is no one special: he lives alone and his taste for solitude is well-known.
  What's on his mind at the moment is his next album-the all-important follow-up to Grace, due out next year. Will he fulfill his early promise? The anticipation is immense. An admirer of Buckley senior once said, "There's no name yet for the places he and his voice can go." Prophetic words, but will it be the son who lives them out?

Misty's Autograph

"I'm a huge Jeff Buckley fan and I've had the honor of meeting him and sharing a bottle of wine and a few smokes with him.
Such a sweet and talented person (funny guy too...check out how he signed my "Live at Sin-E" copy!)...I was really shattered when the news broke about his passing..."-Misty Loveheart (Thanks to Gabby)

Phil's autograph

Courtesy of Phil "Bob" Harris via FB, from the Edwards No. 8 show, 8/31/94

Ben Jammin's Autograph

"Owner met him at a press thing and got it signed. It hung in the store behind me from the day I started working there until the day we closed. I drooled over it every day. He gifted it to me along with 2 other autographed Radiohead & Kula Shaker boards. My kids are going to inherit them along with my record collection."-Ben

Lover, You Should've Come Over at The Middle East

What a wonderful gift this version of Lover was, done at the Middle East in Boston on February 19, 1994 💞 (website)

Wetlands

Finally, a new full gig from Sony: Wetlands in NY, August 16, 1994, this show includes the legendary "chocolate" version of "Mojo Pin" (and another sublime "Kanga-Roo") :

Mojo Pin-sound check

1. Chocolate/Mojo Pin

2. Dream Brother

3. So Real

4. Last Goodbye

5. Lilac Wine

6. Grace

7. What Will You Say (with Chris Dowd)

8. Hallelujah

9. Je N'en Connais Pas la Fin

10. Lover, You Should've Come Over

11. Eternal Life

12. That's All I Ask

13. Kanga-Roo

courtesy of Denise Batura

RIP

The location today

Buckley's 'Grace' is poignant and soul-baring

North County Times, November 25, 1994
By Dan Bennett
Submitted by Sai

It's more than lineage that makes Jeff Buckley stand out from the new pop sensations who surround him.
  The provocative young vocalist, who performs at 8 tonight at the La Paloma Theatre (220-TIXS) in Encinitas, mixes a bluesy rock edge with a wailing, haunting voice, sounding only slightly like his cult-favorite father, Tim. The senior Buckley was a maverick troubadour of the '60s, moving effortlessly from folk to modern blues before he died of a drug overdose in 1975.
  Jeff Buckley barely knew his father, in fact, meeting him only a week before he died. But even if their styles were different, the plaintive expressiveness of their music is similar.
  Evidence can be found on "Grace", the full-length debut offering from Buckley on Columbia Records after a frenzy of major labels surrounded the 27-yesr-old singer in an attempt to sign him.
  "It was a chase that kept me up nights," Buckley said in a telephone interview. "It was a worry because I knew how life in the buisness could change you. I'm happy with the choice I made, but now I'm encountering a new phenomenon in the loss of my anonymity. That's been another strange experience."
  The signing came after several years of Buckley playing to dedicated crowds in the East Village, garnering a reputation as one of the earthiest, most alternative sounding artists on the New York circuit. Buckley cut his teeth on modern folk-rock mavericks such as the Knitters and Golden Palaminos, as well as various ethnic sounds, relying early on electric music, acoustic ideals and sonic emotion to carry his message.
  The songs on "Grace" are barren, poignant and soul-baring. Buckley, seemingly ignorant of his powerful presence and matinee-idol looks, often reaches out in his music as an insecure, sometimes desperate partner in ended or never-consummated relationships. 
  "Eternal Life" and "Lover, You Should've Come Over" showcase the Buckley extremes, from advocator of all-together -now spirituality, to remorseful romancer. Many of the same tendencies can be found on "Live at Sin-e," the four-song CD Buckley released last year, featuring a free-form jazz and blues mix.
  "I encourage and ask for improvisation in the different forms of music we do," Buckley said. "In fact, it's not so much improvisation as reinterpretation at a moment's notice."
  Just because Buckley is on the road, he hasn't stopped writing.
  "I have to," he said. "The need inhabits my body. I'm insatiable about writing even when some days it's not the best thing for me."
  Riding high on intense critical support and showing an eagerness to explore new avenues, Buckley appears to be heading in disparate and artistically rewarding musical directions.
  "I'll just go where the songs take me," Buckley said. "I know there are so many new ideas that haven't even occured to me, and it's going to take more time and maturity for me to channel them. I'll just let it happen and try not to rush it too much."

Music Life, Oct. 94

By Yoshinobu Morita
Submitted by Sai
Translated by Tutu Fujimoto 

A new hero of ‘90s American rock, Jeff Buckley. His father is the late Tim Buckley, 27-years-old, single, living in NYC...Apart from the main points, I want you to listen to this singing voice which gives you goosebumps, that's my frank feeling. The excitement of the surroundings doesn’t matter to him, he’s still cool. His steps are forward, down to earth, he is going on a journey where nobody knows what lies ahead without fear. It's not bad to share this journey with him. It wouldn’t be good taste however, to say I even want to see him bumping into the wall and struggling.

When I am in a place where the air is thick, I am so glad of a gust of wind that happened suddenly. Jeff Buckley is like that gust of wind. We’ve prepared ourselves for the worst or underestimated it like “nothing new would be born to our music scene.” But such a man suddenly appeared in our world. Yes, this sound is so fresh no matter what we think. There are many groups in which the appearance of style or music is fresh. There are also many groups that have great constitutionality to collect and unite music in various fields. But in his case, the new and fresh thing is on the inside. It's not an inner reflection that gives you discontent feelings and calculating like Beck's major debut album, but rather an off-track inner reflection without any decorations. The sound of Jeff Buckley certainly goes toward not outside, but inside. But the arrow of his music seems to thrust itself outward, as it goes inside. From delicacy to chaos. From chaos to delicacy. His inner self running wild, moving freely from place to place, may even be trying to jump over the frame of “rock music” in every sense. He is an artist who made such a sound with his debut album. Of course, I’m going to ask him about it.

Do you like to go on trips?

I've always traveled.

When I was listening to your album, I felt that there was some kind of scenery coming up, different with every song. Maybe it's because the place named Corpus Christi was used for the title of the song.

You can write music based on one scene or a memory of the city. Of course, it's not always the same...But if you think about it, life is just like one scene. A view with different wavelengths in every part. Those sceneries, hand-in-hand with music, move people's emotions.

A great variety of emotions is put into your music. Delicacy and chaos. Stability and instability. Sufficiency and anxiety. To sometimes put contradictory feelings into one song is a very natural thing for you.

It's a natural desire for me to have my songs like that. I think every emotion has a sound. Every emotion has a voice. If you hear such a voice, you can put it to music as it is. If you try to forcefully give a framework to something wild like music, it's just going to be weird. Music is not something that you create forcefully, but something you "find." It’s what you discover. It's so simple, and it's so hard that you scratch your head.

For example, a three-minute pop song framework is unthinkable for you, isn’t it?

Nah, it’s not. Of course, a three-minute pop song has its limits and smells artificial like a chemically synthesized nutrient. But at the same time, it's also a very pleasant thing (lol). Sweet chocolate and junk food are all very good, aren't they? So I might make an album with 15 songs of three minutes someday. Yeah, it could be the fourth album.

Seriously?

Yeah, seriously. If it’s the case that the emotional state I'm in wanted me to express that kind of thing.

Your emotional state also includes a three-minute pop song, right?

Yes. A three-minute pop song, and also a fourteen-minute “Kangaroo”. (By Alex Chilton, a song included on Jeff’s mini album for promotion. For about 10 minutes in the second half, it is filled with a truly avant-garde guitar and drum interplay.)

That “Kangaroo” showed us your Far-Out state, speaking in the old way.

I think it's Far-In rather than Far-Out.

I see. I feel like your eyes are looking inside of you once, then looking outside at what's reflected on the inside, rather than looking at the outside directly.

It's hard to get out of yourself. Even if I could get out of myself, what I would find outside is just a picture of “me” taken by other people. But there’re many points in common between humans. We can get connected to each other because of these common points.

So, are your songs also a way to connect with others?

All songs are like that. Of course, the songs exist just as the songs.

However, you told them not to put translations on Japanese editions.

That's just because I was unhappy with the translations of Pakistani CDs and so on that are sold in the states. It's a difficult task to translate words from the languages of mentally and physically different countries into the language of other countries. Of course, I don't deny the translation itself, but there are many things that are lost when translated. Even if it didn't have a translation, I thought the music would be conveyed.

Yeah, I do translations too, so I understand what you're saying.

I think translators need to be poets. The job of a translator is the alchemy of language.  A circus of music. Yeah, it's like trying to tell a friend by telephone what's going on in the circus. I like Rilke’s translations though. Yes, Rilke is the only German poet I like.

Your words are “lyrics”, not words to be read, but words to be listened to.

Yes. But my lyrics are all from my poems. I think all poetry should be expressed as words. Not as literature, but an oral tradition. Poetry is a blueprint for the voice.

Do you already have a melody in your words?

Yes. Words have sounds. Where there's sound, there's a song.

So why did you become a singer instead of a poet?

That's just because “singing a song” was always with me. And I don’t only stick to the form of singing. Sometimes I write songs that are easy for everyone to understand.

Wasn't there any pressure from the record company to make songs that are easy to understand?

No. If they wanted an artist like that, they didn't have to sign a contract with me.

Was the music of the '80s boring for you?

There certainly was a lot of cheap music that were best sellers, wasn't there? But there were a lot of amazing artists. The Smiths were so amazing, and so were Siouxsie & The Banshees. Black Flag, Meat Puppets were also cool, and Minutemen, Jane’s Addiction as well. There was a band like The Clash in the early '80s. But it must be true that all the great bands were pushed to the underground at that time.

So why is it that a singer like you is now rising up “over-ground”?

Who said that I’m “over-ground” (Lol)?  The sound that is so clear to my ears seems so weird to another. It can't be helped. But I'm not a Martian either. I'm not making things no one can understand. As I said a while ago, there are many points in common between humans. They love or hate the same thing, or they share the same sense of beauty. You know, everyone loves vanilla ice cream, and they hate Michel Bolton?

But it's a very difficult task to understand others.

Yeah, I think so. There are times when you can't even believe other people's existence. It takes time (to understand). And to accept others, to have real courage, as well.

So, what do you think about the present situation of your country? 

I don't think it's easy for anyone to live in. Even though it has a lot of talent, it's a child-like country that just runs along the path of self-destruction while having problems. I think that's because our souls are not united as one. I think, basically, we don't realize that human beings need to recognize other people's existence to live. American culture is still a culture of European white men, isn't it? I want it to stop. It’s nothing but boring. In America, we have to go where there are no men or women, no white, black, Mexican or Chinese. We have to have a real human culture that has no such stupid distinctions. Otherwise, this country will surely be a mess. But it's not going to get messy. I guess I do my best not to make our country that way. At least, I want to protect my family.

Do you think about yourself as being negative or positive for the current United States ?

I want to be both negative and positive. Is it not a very healthy condition for the human spirit if the needle is off the scale on either side? I want to live in harmony with both my anger and my positive attitudes. And understand why I feel anger and why I can be positive. Because both anger and pleasure must be necessary for music, art, humans, and this country.

Jeff Buckley’s selections for “This American Band”:

Historic: Bob Dylan, The Band, New York Dolls, Sly & The Family Stone

Recent: Fishbone, Jane’s Addiction

Chrissy's Autograph

Courtesy of Chrissy Lampard 😆❤

Rockin'on, Apr. 1995

By Hiroaki Tanaka, Interpretation by Steve Harris
Translated by Tutu Fujimoto

(audio can be heard here)

  I wrote, "His performance in Japan is going to be a historical moment", however, I didn't mean that I wanted to insinuate an incident that occurs like when Dylan appeared in Newport with his electric guitar. Each person gathered that day had something engraved in their mind, it also would be etched into each life as a permanent memory...I intended the meanining to be that such an incident should be waiting.

     On Jan. 30, the Shinjuku Liquid Room, which was eagerly awaiting Jeff Buckley’s Tokyo debut, had already released the heat of tent shows and the aroma of night cafes before the performance started. The noise in the hall rings as one chord in response to the appearance of the band. A moment of silence given to the man following up the band. If Jeff was an artist, everyone gathered on this day was a director. The band started to play “Mojo Pin”. Jeff's voice was waiting for something to come down to the very last minute of being late for the rhythm. And each audience's memory of life was absorbed into Jeff’s perfect appearance which had started to sing quietly. “Grace”, “So Real”...every moment the audience of 18 years-olds, 35 years-olds, men or women, those who filled the hall bathed in his songs, a small thing at the corner of their memories is led back to a big drama. It tells you that there is a story in life that seems to be nothing unusual, like an encounter, a break-up, taking a test, a family trip or anything. It’s exactly like a story teller, or chanteuse, when speaking of Jeff.  By the time “Hallelujah” was sung at encore, the hall was colored with the pale red and green of revolving lanterns. Quite a few people were standing in a daze after the performance, and I wondered if Jeff could realize that it was in great admiration of him.

     I was able to listen to a demo of a new version of “Eternal Life” while waiting for the interview. I'll report that it was as hard as if Pearl Jam were playing in the background. When I started running the tape, Jeff started to answer quietly putting brand new strings on his Rickenbacker. I was surprised to see that his boyishness was only emphasized when I looked at him closer, contrary to his appearance on the stage.

******************

I was surprised to find that the “Eternal Life” I had just listened in the office downstairs was much harder than the one you recorded in “Grace”. Will that version be released?

Yeah, it seems to be so. There needed to be a song for a B-side. We didn’t know there was a demand for a ‘B-side song’ in Europe or Japan. “Grace” was a complete work by itself, but the arrangement of “Eternal Life” changed while we were doing it in the live shows. I couldn't get one riff out of my head. So, I re-made it way harder based on that. Actually, I've forgotten the old arrangement, and I can't play it even if you asked me to.

Do you think music is going to grow like a living thing?

I think music changes and evolves in ways different from the writer's wishes. While you're playing the same song for years, or months, it may be fine, then you may feel that it's not working well for some reason.  You should either change your approach or not play the song for a while. Also, songs sometimes have a deeper meaning with time. Some songs might lose power. But this is the first time I've ever recorded, I mean properly recorded, all of those changes.

I understand that a guitar riff has come up to your head, is that kind of inspiration coming from the inside or by the stimulus from the outside?

Hmm...Epiphany is something that happens to everyone. To any person who has lived any life. It often happens when you're faced with difficulties and having internal tension or conflict. I suddenly realized that I had found an answer, or the door to a solution had opened. Like that. Everybody is the same, I think. In the creative process, an accumulation of those things that are the words you feel, some vibes, are always written and collected, or deep thinking is necessary to receive inspiration. Because you have to be trained to demonstrate the strength to cling to the inspiration when it flashes. I think other artists do it in that way.

You mean, if you keep your ideas in this way, you can sublimate your inspiration into something concrete, right?

My advice...record your dreams. Your dream is yourself and part of you. It tells you what you want to know. And, respect the ideas that even seem so ridiculous. Don't throw away any ideas that look silly.

What do you mean by “respect”?

It’s about having the strength enough to give them the same space as the most complex and lofty ideas even if they are considered trivial. What the best idea is...the artists, most of them I know are the same, may have deep self-hatred (with bitter smile). The best of our ideas are often the most pointless and stupid of all. The reason is that our attitude towards it change and we feel love for it again. Make sense? It's very useful to accept yourself. It’s difficult though.

I see. You’re saying that you should not throw away the love letter that you failed to send.

(Lol) Never. You shouldn’t burn your own poetry notebook like me. It's certainly too hard to look back on everything in detail. But some of them were certainly very good things. There's always a side to make up for what I thought was bad.

What does it mean that you burned it even though you’ve understood that so well?  Was it a particularly difficult time when you wrote it down?

Well...no, I've always had a destructive feeling, and sometimes I have an urge to break things. Usually break something about myself. It's not self-torture, I can burn things out of my world quite cruelly.

I don't think you would like to tell us the details. By the way, what's the first chord that you're going to play unconsciously when you hold the guitar like that?

The first chord that comes up to my head.

Is it different every time?

Yes.

I see (lol).

Usually, it's a chord that can be pressed with one finger.

Are you attracted to the chords that use open strings?

Yeah, I love it. For example, I think it's similar to going to the piano, dropping my hands, and adopting something that sounds good.

Do you write songs with piano also?

Sometimes. But I mean it's like that kind of approach. If it looks beautiful, the tone is beautiful, and the feeling of play is good, I’m okay with that. I like to use my thumb, as a bass sound. About the chords, there was a time when I could explain complicated things like those used in classical music or jazz. But just like when I studied French, at first I remembered it, but later I forgot them all. Now I play the guitar sensuously.

By the way, you were attending a kind of music school.

I was just satisfied with curiosity, I wanted to know about the chords. I don’t need it anymore. I think that the fact that there was such an intense period of music study taught me the pleasure of playing naturally. Now I think it’s good pursuing the two points; the sounds I can hear, and the feeling that I can obtain from it when I play them.

I see. I feel like I’m listening to the story of the law of casualty. By the way, it’s also my preconception about you, we have an impression of that you’re such a sourpuss and nervous person who sometimes flips out.

Seriously?  How come? Did I do something bad?

(Lol) First of all, I think most people feel that way because of your appearance. Look this cover photo on the CD.

Hmmmm, I certainly look introverted.  But I’m not such a nervous person. I don't particularly care about how I interact with people and I don't ask for irrational things. I’m quite normal. Except for only thinking of something all the time. But...I've actually been fired twice for being like that.

You see what I’m saying.

Yeah, it’s absolutely the cause for one of the two. Even though I was doing my job well, it seemed to my superiors I was distracted from concentration.

What was that job like?

I was a salesperson at Banana Republic on Broadway. I was advising a customer whether the clothes would look good or not, but I couldn't flatter them. I was told that I needed a superficial friendliness, even if I was thinkibg about something else in my mind. But I couldn’t do that. I can only be myself. If you talk with me, I think you'll understand it. There’s a case that you may be deceived by the impression-I'm sure it's going to change from what you expect of me. For those looking for a hero, it would be better that I’m an introvert. Or in the case you want to make me a reckless person. But in actuality I'm not one of them, or I may be all. You can't understand it until I see you one on one.

I can understand it so well. But I just wonder you got fired because you can't say a word of flattery?

Well, specifically speaking, I was told that I had stolen something even though I hadn't. A security guard said, “You look wary. You must be hiding something.” I explained, “basically I'm a musician, so I have a lot of thoughts”, but they couldn’t understand me. I can only be a complete outsider or a complete underdog in general society. I've worked with people who don't drink with me even after work, and I've got such a stupid eye for observation. An inventor and a dreamer...the sound of music is going off in my head all the time anyways. If there wasn’t music, I would be hanging by my neck with a demo tape in my hand.

This may be a silly question, but what does it mean to you singing a piece of work that projects your life in public?

Specifically speaking, in my case, it’s to speak my mind as it is. Music is like a drug, it's similar to telling your secrets with people around you after one hit of Ecstasy. It’s like I'm going to burst into tears saying “I love you, we’re the best of friends, right?” I'll admit that I hadn't been accepted before, so then it make me feel refreshed. Of course the next day, it'll feel like a hangover and I'm going to be in the depths of my regret (lol). It's hard to get used to publishing yourself to others, but I'm getting used to the fact that I'm not used to it. I mean, I dare to expose things that others may not understand at all. Well, I'm trying not to think too much about this but there's a fear of being cheated and knocked down.

You have something like a lone-wolf-feeling that doesn't belong to any of the present school.

There are a lot of lone wolves in this universe. The real meaning of the word "alone" is "all one." Humans usually want to act in groups. And they also need to be properly accepted by others. But if you were there, you can’t make real judgements whether you’re going up or down. So I can’t trust that kind of thing.

It’s like, you have the illusion that you were accepted, even though it wasn't real?

Or you have the illusion that you are right because you are accepted...I don’t know. One of the rules of humans is that they must know what they believe. Even if they ignore it for years. You should know what you believe, live according to it, love according to it, and accept what you are. It may sound like I’ve actually done it, but I haven’t. I'm still looking for it. I need it especially now. Why? Because...the conditions of how you accept yourself are too subjective and you don't know when those conditions will change. I think the more important thing is to know yourself, your own sounds, who you love, why you love and why you are loved than to be accepted.

There are artists who are using their past damaging experiences as a driving force for creative activities. How about you?

Hmmm (he stops playing the guitar that he had been playing during the interview)...I think it's important that art comes out of joy. It’s not good that only sadness drives you, is it? Joy has more power. But there are a lot of cases that you can hear nothing but sadness. I’m often hurt and I've hurt someone as well. What drives me from the core is the fact that it happened. The fact that I've had that much experience as a human being...No matter how much I want to be good to the world, no matter how much the world wants to be good to me, there are countless obstacles here. That’s “the world.” The demons are planted in all humans at some stage of growth.

What you just said seems to be related to the story that your boyhood was a series of moves.

I don’t know but...growing up in such an environment has had both positive and negative effects. It's a positive thing in a way that adaptability has been refined. I have come to observe people's natures deeply. I mean I had to do that. I had to give up my sense that it’s safe because it was a place like school or a school yard or a restaurant. I’m constantly observing around me and constantly checking for myself as well, just like that. But it didn’t bother me because I’m the kind of person who can’t put down roots. The only problem is that it affects relationships with people or things. I don't have any obsessions with pet dogs, foods, money, or friends. I can pick up someone's mind and easily let it go. An eight-year-old boy who had to pack up and move quickly is still inside me. I’m always battling with this. I have to tell myself all the time “Now it’s different, I can settle down here, and I can keep company with these people, I don't have to say goodbye unless I die in a traffic accident.” Well, on the other hand, I think I'm grateful that I came to think “life is short, nothing goes on forever.” No, it’s also a matter of trouble with me.

You mean, you’re a stranger wherever you are?

Yeah. What I've learned is that it all means nothing, no matter how gorgeous and what good conditions people seems to live with.  Fixed rituals, fixed values, they have no meaning at all. I've always been isolated and saying "fuck you" from the time I recognized it. Because I grew up in an average, conservative, white neighborhood like Anaheim and Riverside. There's no racial union, there's a lot of prejudice, and people live in a dream world. I didn't feel too attracted to, and I was by no means a part of it.  I couldn't bear the feeling that I was being tortured just by sitting. If you can't understand that there is a vast world outside, you'll be dead.

The last question. Which do you like better, the idyllic scenery of the country or the bustle of the city?

The city. If I’m living in the country, I’ll be crazy without a situation like I have to run my own farm. I've been to Bearsville once to try writing songs in a remote area of the mountains.  Not surprisingly, there's no 24-hour shops and I can't even drop by a cafe.  There’s nothing there, really. There was a television in the cabin, but why was there a television set where I was trying to create something? And it's just like the one that comes out on “Friday the 13th”, it's almost likely to be done by a chain saw. Anyway, that kind of splatter scene only comes into my mind 24 hours a day. So I don't want to go to the suburbs anymore (lol)...Tokyo looks like Brooklyn in the 20s. Especially Shinjuku, it’s so beautiful. If I could stay longer, I think something would be born.

Alison's Autograph

"My most treasured possession 😊 I used to run the UK fanzine and this came through the post the week before Christmas."-Ali McKelvie via FB

Fleese and Firkin

Live at the Fleece and Firkin January 15, 1995. I'm so glad for this new gem...this version of "Last Goodbye" is probably my favorite...❤ (website)

1. Dream Brother

2. Grace

3. Last Goodbye

4. What Will You Say

5. So Real

6. Eternal Life

7. Mojo Pin

8. Lilac Wine

9. Lover, You Should've Come Over

10. Hallelujah

Crossbeat, March 1995

 By Atsushi Sasaki
Translated by Tutu Fujimoto

Jeff Buckley, who's been deified at the same time as his debut because of the stoic impression you get from his album’s cover photo or the "Miracle Voice" catchphrase issued by a record company, was a slender built, naive young man who looked younger than the actual age of 27. The way of his frank speech, sometimes child-like, is a little different from the surreal atmosphere of his singing.  The real Jeff stands slightly in a place far from the image that the world has about him...he looked that way to me.

******

I wanted to interview you after seeing the concert if possible...

Yeah, right 

First of all, could you tell me the members of the current band?

Mick Grondahl.., oh, (looking at the material on the desk) you have the list.

You mean, it's the same as the members of the album?

Yeah, the same members.  Michael Tighe and Matt Johnson. Always these members.  I don’t feel like playing with others.

A show playing with four members, right?

Yes.

I heard you don’t have set lists, is it same in Japan?

Yeah.

Is it better without set list for you?

Hmm...there’s no meaning even if I prepared it because the reactions are different by the audience. For example, you don't always feel the usual energy in your first place, you don’t know what kind of songs the audience would enjoy as well. So we play the song that appeared next in my head naturally after one song finished...like that. So, it’s like when a DJ plays their records at a party.

You mean, it depends alot on the reaction of the audience?

Right. And of course, it also depends on the energy or feelings on the band side. Anyway, it’s better to get ready for what or when we play the songs. It’s going to be better in some cases. It’s going to fall straight down sometimes. (lol) But...there's something we've got, a sort of habit, and there’re songs we want to play. So, it feels like I'm going to change it according to the time.

In other words, I think it's a close relationship with the members of the band.

Yeah, I love them. Of course. The natural chemistry of this band is sewn up very tight, we’ve all built each other up. It’s exactly what I wanted.

I think the live show is an important part of your music.

That’s right.

There are two characteristics of the situation about the live show. First of all, it's hard to redo, and the audience is right in front of you.

Yeah, it creates a unique situation that is different from recording an album or giving live shows to radio or television. The music originally comes from there, and it always goes back there. If you can't do that, you can't do anything else.

Could you tell me a little more about it?  Especially in your case, I think the recording and the live performance have completely different values.

Yeah. On the one hand, it's like drawing a picture. That's the studio matter. On the other hand, it's like tap dancing or a 100-yard race. (imitating tap dance)

How do you prepare for that tap dance?

I just have to do this. Many times, again and again. Open your mind and relax as much as possible...Even if you've got a fuzzy head by drugs or too much alcohol around, that moment would be still okay. Only that moment. It's becoming difficult to live for the moment in this world now. Everyone is thinking about the past and the future, worrying about both, and trying to do something about both, but now is the time when it's really important. What we're actually living is “now”, the moment. I guess you remember about it only when you are having sex, when you are having a fight, or when you are creating art. And if you are a woman, when you give birth to a baby. Everything hangs on the moment, no doubt about it. I think it needs those moments for human beings. I'm determined to build a better live performance and make it fruitful as one part of myself.

The recording is to freeze the moment, right?

CD? Yes. The moment is frozen and comes back to life again and again. Even John Cage said he didn't know whether it was such a great idea to record music or not. I love records. But I can agree what he said. I don’t agree with the opinion that someone shouldn't do recording. Because I love records. Magnetic tape is a canvas, and you choose your favorite paint and keep your color on it, then you mix-down and put your finished-work in a black box, your soul pops into the room...it's like that. That itself is fabulous. But recording and live shows are completely different experiences. There is no overdubbing in the live show, and the energy and sound are all only right then. It's hard to compare with anything else. And, having both the strength to perform such a tough job and play well, it’s also hard to compare. That's the point. Well, I won’t say we’re doing good all the time. (lol)

The new single also includes live takes. They're each about 15 minutes long.

Does it? “Mojo Pin” and “Wetlands”?...Oh, “Kangaroo”. That’s right.

Both of them are great performances, and I feel as if you’re committed to the flow of sound.

Thank you. It's great to hear by car. Start the engine and drive for about 15 minutes while listening to Kangaroo. Screeeeeech (sound of a brake)!!!! (lol). I'm not trying to write a song for 15 minutes however, “Mojo Pin” has an intro and then the main story, so it's actually two songs in one, “Kangaroo” has happened to come like that. That’s the second take out of three takes. That’s recorded live in a Sony studio. Well, I like to write both short and long songs. Time length doesn't matter to music, it doesn't matter where you start and where you end. I get to start anyway. It's just like I'm on the train.  Get on, and get off. You may want to ride for 3 minutes, or you may want to ride for 26 minutes. I don’t care about that. As long as there's a stream and you can feel good energy. That's all right if you don't lose the flow or the excitement.

Did you write the song that way from the beginning?

Yes. In short, I’m not a self-controlled person at all, I don’t recognize myself what I’m doing.

Why don't you make a live album with only one song from start to finish someday? It’s like one piece of music spread out variously, and the phrases of another song in and out of it.

If you're going to do that, you have to be a super genius.  At this stage, it will be impossible until around 80 years old I guess (lol). Yeah I think it could be, but it’s impossible as long as you are a genius like God. No drug will help, I guess. Because I don't want to do it like The Greatful Dead if I do, and I want to create 74 minutes of non-stop music that really attracts me and that I don't want to cut along the way.  If it isn’t like that, it’s going to be rubbish.

By the way, you seem to be close to Gary Lucas, the former Captain Beefheart Band. How did you get to know each other?

I happened to be with him at a gig in Brooklyn. I knew him and Beefheart, so I talked with him and went to his house. He said he had an idea for a song, so we put it together, then we made a project and had gigs about two times together.

You mean you were a fan of Beafheart, right?

Yeah, since my high school days. I was totally a Zappa-head. That is, until around 16 years old? I got “Bongo Fury” at that time, then got into Beafheart. Since then, I much preferred him to Zappa. I don’t mean I quit being a Zappa fan though. It’s just, “Oh man, Beefheart is fabulous“, like that. But it wasn’t so popular at all in my high school back then, everyone was into Depeche Mode or Spandau Ballet and so on. Interestingly enough, it's now turned around and those people changed their attitude as if they liked it for a long time. Stop kidding, baby. I’ve watched it. I was there the time when you called me dork. It makes me laugh. I still remember, I brought that stuff to high school and played them on the stereo...but everyone at that time gathered to A Flock Of Seagulls, Wall Of Voodoo, The Stray Cats...or "I know this music is true! (“True” by Spandau Ballet) Yeah, when I brought Zappa or Beefheart, they said to me like “that’s so lame!”. How about that now? They're all classic rocky.

In your case, how did you know the music like Beefheart?

I've been quite a bit contrary ever since. I'm a vinyl geek. I loved those that nobody had. And those albums gave me happiness that other pop records didn't have. The Smiths or Siouxsie And The Banshees were good and I still like them though. I think they’re still great and have their records...but how can I say, perhaps it’s one part of my rebellious stage and also an intuitive thing that I felt like "This guy is fabulous. The lyrics are amazing."

You seem to have been a great record buff, some people listen to everything and make their music that have everything. But in your case, you have a steadfast style.

I've learned myself the first thing from the experience of perfect hero worshipers...when you’re into with it much deeper, for example, The Birthday Party, Miles Davis, The Sex Pistols, or The Smiths, the more you’re into them, the more things that are given from them. Or The Velvet Underground is fine, anyway, it turns out there is no way to imitate someone who is not yourself. But I love them after all. So the only thing you can do is to channelize with the person you're longing for naturally by being yourself. There's a lot of self-criticism, but that's the only way. Everybody did it, Patti Smith as well. Every artist begins with imitation. Some people get out of it and others don't get out of it. Only those who can get out of it and have a completely unique eccentricity will give you a different experience. For example, Tom Waits.  He is so unique, isn’t he?  How can I say...(lol), Tom Waits is nothing but Tom Waits. That's it. To be honest with the people you love, you have to be yourself. In the future, I want to establish more of what this is about my style. By all means. I haven't gotten that far yet.

*****

I think it’s a sincere statement. In fact, there are not many artists who can survive the temptation of imitation and self-repeat. And you have to know others to establish yourself especially. Jeff seemed to be listening to so much music, they certainly become the flesh of his music, even though they are not directly reflected in his music. Even during the interview, tapes of an Egyptian singer were running. I asked him “Do you like ethnic music?”, the answer was “Garage bands are also the ethnic music of white people.”

*****

By the way, you participated in The Jazz Passengers’ album “In Love”. Do you have a close interaction with the people of Knitting Factory?

No, no. I wasn't a member of that scene. I know a few people, that’s it. I know Marc Ribot or Elliot Sharp, but not so close. Roy (Nathanson, a leader of The Jazz Passengers) is more close. But I’m not in that scene. Roy and I are going to play together on Piaf’s album by Hal Willner. That is what I’ve always wanted to do, Roy is going to be a music director. Ah yes, I had a show with The Jazz Passengers. Debbie Harry was there, John Cale also...and one more, a beautiful Puerto Rican lady (lol), and Mavis Staples sang, too. Debbie Harry sang her own song, that was fabulous! She is fantastic. She is a Diva. I was so nervous, but I was honored.

You often join the projects of other people.

Yes. They all end on a daily basis, but it's fun. There’s a lot to learn, it’s fun to write songs with friends together as well.

You do cover songs of Edith Piaf, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Hank Williams so far.

Bad Brains “I Against Thy”, The Smiths “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side”, MC5 “Kick Out The Jams”, Ride “In A Different Place”... I've done a lot of other songs, but that's what I can remember now. And I did The Creatures “Killing Time”.

Is there anything common that you want to sing in those songs?

It’s all just fun to listen to. And it's a song that you can feel real soul. It's hard to explain in words the background behind doing cover songs like Leonard Cohen's music. Actually I've done only one song by Leonard Cohen. I’ve done many of Dylan’s though. A few of Piaf’s, quite a lot of Nina Simone. I’ve done Zeppelin, too. I’m not going to be Van Morrison. It's a different world from me. To tell the truth, my friend dreamed that I was singing "The Way Young Lovers Do" with him, it's all out of that without much thought. I felt that song settled for me when I played at the cafe, I'm still playing the same way I did then. I'm not the kind of artist like Morrison, however, I like the feeling when I play that song, so I'm going to wear the fur of that song to get that feeling.

Is there something different from the song you wrote yourself?

Yes. It’s a simple curiosity about what chemical reactions will take place, for example, “Sweet Thing” or “I Woke Up In A Strange Place”, “The Last Goodbye”, “Mojo Pin”. At that time, I didn't think I was going to sign a contract. I wanted to start with a band first, and then get a contract. But everything started from the other side. I can’t help it because that’s how it goes. (lol)

Are you a fan of Leonard Cohen?

Leonard is fabulous. What's great about him, he is still...still...he is still at the height of his power, even though he is old enough for when almost all the artists are exhausted and disappear or die. He’s been still sending songs that won't waste a second. That's the good point. Even Johnny Lydon can be any good now, huh? I wish he'd be like Leonard Cohen. It's wrong to think that you can rock only when you're young. Because those young people I see on TV are not attractive to me. In short, this industry discriminates too much by age. They’re much too obsessed with how old the person is. Age has nothing to do with art. Picasso also did my favorite work at the age of 60. I'm not interested in reflecting my life only up to the age of 30. I want to know what kind of shocks and nightmares and love and life and sex and drugs and dreams are given to my life. It's a destiny to die one day. It's like...we're going to be made to disappear.

Can you imagine yourself being the age of 60?

No. I can't imagine a year from now.I don't even think about it. The future is like...a white blank TV screen.

Can you rewind that TV screen back to the time you start singing?

That's when I was a kid.

I heard you've never taken formal lessons.

Yeah. I've taken it once, it’s like $60 for 30 minutes, and the teacher, they leaned over the piano and doing like “Ahhh!”. I thought I didn’t want to be like that when I saw them, then I quit. So, yes, my songs are almost instinctive. But I want to find a teacher in the future. Because it would be nice if there’s someone to tell me something I don’t know. Provided that it must be a really excellent person with whom I can feel sympathy.  

Do you currently do anything special to keep your voice by yourself?

Nah. To tell the truth, I've been doing all the bad things for my voice lately.

For example?

Well, I promised to start smoking in the New Year, but it got worse recently. In any cases, smoking cigarettes is addictive. Now I know why everybody got addicted to nicotine. I just wanted to know what smoking was like (lol). Now I’m smoking one after another.

When did you come to realize that you could sing and what was the reason?

I’m not sure if my voice is good or not. But about singing, as long as I remember, I've been singing the whole time. For example, if I sang a song listening to the radio, I was able to harmonize nicely. I’ve been aware of that since I was a little child. But I don’t know what my voice is. Give me a few more years for the answer.

Can you explain in words what “singing” means to you?

It’s a way to speak my mind, what’s more, in a room with no guards or being watched. But my room was a little guarded. Yeah, I mean it’s to speak my mind.

Your recording career has just started, but you already have a short but bright career of it.

I'm surprised myself.

What’s your next plan to brush up on your music and your career also?

Just continuing. The success of this album is certainly a wonderful thing. But it's not that big a thing. I’m not sure but is it big in Japan? Am I big!? Big as same as Elvis? (lol)

I don't think you've got any real feeling because you haven't seen the audience in Tokyo yet.

I take this success rather calmly. Real success is what you see in your work, it’s up to how wonderfully you can create your work. It doesn't matter whether it's big sales or not. Because there’re some of those people who seem to forge things around that and they always hit the big sales. I didn’t mean that I don’t care about it, but I don’t think that you love art, or you’re loved by art, just because you got the big sales.

Do you start thinking about your next album?

I’m thinking about it all the time.

Can we listen to it soon?

I want to release it as soon as possible. It’s in the process of struggling and assembling in my head so far, but the ideas come up all year round. I'm making up my mind to release it this year. That’s only my wish though (lol).

******
  I went to Jeff's live show days after the interview. The first thing that surprised me was that he was more popular like a “Singing Idol“ than I expected. Shrill voices were buzzing from all over the hall. The audience is very young. Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah from Grace was more responsive than when he sang his father's song, it shows what they want is Jeff Buckley, not Tim Buckley's son.
  As he said, his live show was as if it were a living thing, as the song went on, it steadily increased its tension and reached its peak in encore. To tell the truth, I had some points about him that underrated a little bit at first, however, I want to write down here that Jeff’s vocalization has both robustness and delicacy and was worth a “fantabulous”. His beautiful falsetto on the intro of “Mojo Pin” reflects in the air inside Shinjuku Liquid Room.

  We don't know what kind of road Jeff Buckley will be going to take. The only thing I can say is that no matter how much time goes by, he will just continue singing on...where, nobody knows...on the stage in front of the big audience, or in a small club, or on the street.