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Buckley's Cafe Society

The Toronto Sun

Tue Oct 25 1994

BY JAMIE KASTNER

(Submitted by Steven)

Some people do yoga to unwind. Others do drugs.

  Jeff Buckley, singing/songwriting son of tragic folkie Tim Buckley, makes cappuccino in his favourite cafe, the Sin-e in New York's East Village.

  "When my head gets tight, I go down there and wash dishes or make cappuccinos," he says from his Manhattan pad. "I used to handle the money, but that was going too far. Now, I just make cappuccinos."

  Occasionally, Buckley steps out from behind the Gaggia and straps on an electric guitar. In fact, his debut EP released early this year was called Live At Sin-e.

  On Grace, the full-length CD which came out in August, Buckley blends his octave-scaling voice with everything from solo guitar to full band. The songs range from from Buckley originals to his take on Nina Simone staple Lilac Wine. He'll be dispensing in person Thursday at the Trinity Centre.

  Now, on that cappuccino question. You might figure a cafe for a relaxing enough hangout without actively having to sling foam. Apparently not the Sin-e.

  "It's more relaxing behind the counter than in the audience. Sometimes we get these acoustic bands playing really loud. They're like: 'We're not faggots - it takes a real man to play an acoustic guitar!' It's what's said that should intoxicate, not how loud it's said."

  Buckley's had to prove his volume theory beyond the Sin-e's familiar brick walls.

  "At one of the best shows I've played, in Iowa of all places, the Damn Builders and the Grifters opened up for me. They came out and really rocked the house - they do this rockabilly thing.

  "And then we get on and we're like a down pillow in comparison. We had to draw people in with our playing alone - although we did play loudest we've ever played."

  Musically, Buckley's attention to dynamics can be traced back to influences ranging from Gershwin to Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn. (He never knew his musical father, who died in 1975, and has little to say on the subject). Buckley also draws inspiration from the printed page.

  "I've got a real Ginsberg head-groove on. I'm also into really weird fiction - I'm reading this novel called Turtle Boy." A five-minute summary of the travails of Turtle Boy ensues.

  "And do you know Ayn Rand?" A 10-minute lecture on the life of Ayn Rand and the philosophy of rational self-interest.

  "I'm really into biographies too. I read Nina Simone's recently. Amazing. I like knowing what happened in other people's lives. I guess it's a way of getting away from my own."

© 1994 Sun Media Corporation. All rights reserved.