CrossBeat, Oct. 1994

Interview by Toshifumi Moria

Cooperation by Yoko Hayashi, Kazumi Someya

Translated by Tutu Fujimoto

“Frente!! Ah, this guy (Mark Sandman, Morphine), looks like Philip Glass, doesn’t he?”

  As he flipped through the July issue of this magazine, Jeff Buckley began to talk happily. An interview, with the guitar on his lap, gulping wine at a quick pace. It was held at a cafe just behind tonight’s venue, the “Howlin’ Wolf” in New Orleans. The first interview on this day has finished by a French magazine and it became our turn. During the rehearsal, he performed a hula-like dance playing Sebadoh’s tune (Jeff says), it shattered the image of "difficult and refractive introverted young man" that I had painted on my own. I was able to ask him without hesitation because it was just after that kind of rehearsal.

  Jeff's real father, Tim Buckley, is a cult folk/rock singer who was active in the 1960s-70s. His works, such as his ambitious works that actively incorporate jazz, are highly regarded today (the cover boom of the 1980s is one of the examples). Tim died in 1975 from a drug disaster at the young age of 28. His keepsake is Jeff. He exactly takes after his father in unique voice quality, and his facial expression proves his hereditary correctness. However, Jeff keeps an absolute distance from his father, who had only met him for a week. He throws his father away with even hatred. The frustration of those who have taken the same path has been conveyed from the articles of overseas. In fact, I felt nervous only when I talked about his father in this interview, too.

**********

With the full album coming soon, you're on tour first. This is the opposite of the normal way like promotion first then go touring, isn’t it?

I would say, if you have your own band and your album is coming out, it's more constructive to go on a tour. Because I don't think I can put my music into words. This is not something that competes with words, but something that you should experience and taste for yourself. The reason I've been on tour before the release of the record this time, and the last time as well, is to get everyone to make a decision, and to see by myself if everyone really sympathizes with it or not. It's about checking the honest reaction of reality.

On the other hand, you seem to have a lot of distrust of people in the music industry.

Ah, about that? I mean, in other words, I grew up being told not to believe. Or maybe I've tried not to believe it myself. But that doesn't mean I'm controlled by that kind of attitude. Actually, the music industry is...well, it's the same in any industry though, it's an individual matter. If you look at it individually, there are always honest people, and there are always people who don't care about anything. I'm one of those people. The music industry is really a human-like world.

I heard that you have formed bands and started your musical activities when you were in high school.

Ah yeah, three bands, I think. I did everything that I could play. We mostly practiced in the garage, and when we get the courage to perform in front of people, we played a gig. The first band was just a rock band, and we were doing guy music. The second band was...I was about 14 years old, and then I moved... no, no...ah yes, I moved and...what did I do? Anyway, I’ve got sick of all that moving, so I decided to leave from my mother. Only my mom went, I stayed there and graduated from high school, and moved to LA in 1984 after graduation. And after I moved to LA, I had been there for about six years, but I couldn't stand it anymore, so I moved to New York. I would be there till I die.

You've been thinking that you'll be doing music for the rest of your life since you were in high school?

Hmmm, I don't know? I've never thought about it particularly, it feels like I was doing it anyway. I don't think I wanted to be a so-called professional, but the only thing that really understood me was music. I knew there were many other arts and ways to live, but basically it was only music where I...the ocean I lived in.

I can see from the way you are doing it now that you love to play the guitar, but how about your voice? When did you become aware of your unique voice?

Since I was born. I keep singing. I’ve been singing ever since I was little. However, like the story I told you before, I’ve never thought about this particularly as well. I'm not the type of person who thinks, "Okay, I'm going to do it seriously from now on."

To return to the subject, why was NY chosen after 6 years in LA?

I mean, I wondered if I had to have my own house somewhere, what would be a good place? Anywhere, it doesn’t matter, Paris or Frankfurt is fine, but what immediately came to mind was NYC. New York is still winning that contest.

Did you have any preliminary knowledge about New York?

No, I didn’t have it at all. But you know, if you live in the United States, whatever you do, the city of New York penetrates into your life. For example, NYC appeared in comics and TV that I used to watch when I was a child, and so did movies. "West Side Story" was also set in NYC. No matter where you look, it’s New York! It was as if anything cool came from NYC. That's why I had an incredible romance in that New York City.

After you continued to change for such a long time, did you feel like you relieved of your burden when you released "Live at Sin-e," a live performance in New York?

Nah, not at all. I’ve never felt like I was relieved of my burden. As you can see, even if a book is completed, you don’t feel like “Yay, it’s done finally”? It's a real dilemma. I feel relieved...when I come up with ideas for each chapter of the book. And, when I created undeniable characters that I drew with the eyes in my mind. Once the book is completed, the burden disappears, and also every time I find a key element, it disappears. But in the next moment, another burden that I have to worry about is increasing.

So, for this full album, do you think you've packed in everything you wanted to do?

I don’t think so. This is the beginning, and also the end. I put a lot of things to rest with that album. It's meaningful, but it's already progressing from there to something new, so I don't have any more to do with it...that’s it for me.

Are the lyrics based on your actual experiences? Or was it written from an onlooker's point of view away from you?

It's impossible for me to write about something that doesn't contain my soul.

Does it mean that as long as your true feelings and emotions are there, it doesn't have to happen to you for real?

No, I can't write unless it's what I've experienced. But I'm not stubborn about writing my autobiography. The song itself has to live on its own. Otherwise, I would write letters and tell you exactly what I've done. But my favorite song goes beyond time, not just humans. That's why I sing “life”, keeping life inside...like that.

There are a lot of simple words used in your songs that evoke images. It can also be interpreted as an attempt to prioritize the expression of emotions of vocal performances...

Yes. But if you don't attack with words first of all, it's just like a beautiful woman with big tits and beautiful hips, but an empty head. I can't always rely on my voice. I shouldn't underestimate the voice, though. Voice conveys experience. But it must be equipped with the soul, the words of the soul. But it doesn't have to be what we call a word. On the other hand, if the music demands exaggerated words, I would use them.

What would be the names of the ideal songwriters for you?

Hmmm (thinking for a while), what I really respect is Bob Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde" including its workmanship and everything else in that album. I think that's exactly a norm. But my love and passion for music is far from his. I don’t know how to explain it but...okay, Duke Ellington and the Cocteau Twins‘ illegitimate child was brought up by Robert Johnson and grown up, and then thrown into a homeless shelter run by Bad Brains, something like that. But that also changes every day. What I really want to do is...here’s a basic soul, creating something, whatever it is, that resonates and talks to me from that basic soul.

By the way, in some interviews, you said that you have anger towards your real father (Tim)? Could you tell me about those stories?

I have a lot of emotions. You too, right?

And, you mean, anger is only a part of it?

Just only a part of it. I have all kinds of feelings for my father. It doesn’t matter what kind of person he was. On the other hand, there was a man (stepfather) who was with me for a long time and loved me, so my personal life is quite well balanced. No problem. Good question...I have anger towards my mom also.

That's why you stayed at home and your mother moved, right?

Yeah, I'm too close to her.

Do you think it's because of your mother's lifestyle that you've been moving?

Of course.

What was the effect of that?

Some good influence on me of course, there were some parts I had to do by myself though...But it wasn't something she did on purpose, it became a situation like that, so she was trying her best to deal with it. It depended on the man she had been dating, and love, marriage, financial situation, or her job, she was just doing it so hard for everything. But her choices always kept me on my toes, she took only wacky directions (lol). It’s like...I don't know what she's thinking until I shave off the paint...anyway, she, and also that kind of life, gave me great adaptability. If you look at all those different situations, such as different lifestyles, towns or income...I mean, I've seen a lot of things about relationships between men and women, about life, and how similar and different they are. But it also crept into my relationships. Is it fragility, or changing, the ability to select someone, absorb them, and throw them out quickly? But in a short time, you will find that it is not going to be nutritious for you. You find that it was not a person you really liked and benefited yourself. We need more effort to continue our relationships. That's also a burden.

Then, was there a time when you neglected human relationships?

For many years. For decades.

Oh, did you feel any dissatisfaction?

I just thought I had something else to do. But yes, I can be a very unsatisfied adult. For example, if I could live until I was about 30, I would like to be surrounded by people I understand, people who understand me, people who need my help, and living in need of those people’s help as well, at that moment. It’s a so very important thing. And this also means what you feel the music, feel the life.

*******

  An hour after the interview, I watched his live performance. Coincidentally, his mother that “moving addict", and his aunt also came from LA and watched Jeff closely next to us. His mother was enjoying sitting in the front seat, there was a scene where she pressed the young man who started dancing in front of her, "I can't see him, so please get out of the way." I just laughed at it remembering Jeff’s words.

  Of course his show is not so mature yet, and the band is not experienced as well, however, I felt the certain possibility in his amplitude and ability as a vocalist when I saw him singing leaving it to his ewhen I saw him singing leaving it to his raw emotions then changed suddenly as if he whispered to the person next to him. His dilemma as a second-generation artist would not fade away from him. But he would be able to fly across this world where such things are common, with the ghost of Tim Buckley in his hand.

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.

Crossbeat, Jan. 95

By Goro Nakagawa
Submitted by Sai
Translated by Tutu Fujimoto

It was by a mini album called "Live at Sin-E” released in late 1993 that I made sure myself a rumor that Jeff Buckley's live show was amazing.  This small piece, just under 27 minutes long and containing only four songs, was recorded live for two days in August 1993 at Sin-E,  a cafe on St. Mark's Place, where Jeff is based in New York.  It is said that it was Colombia Records (or rather, A&R Man, Steve Berkowitz), who finally struck a deal because of a reputation for his great live performances, he came up with this live recording that he sang on a single guitar in order to relieve the pressure put on the artists to make their first album.  Then only four songs were selected from among the five and a half hours of total performances for two days, and they were released in the style of Jeff Buckley's unveiling.  It's only four songs, but it's not hard to learn about Jeff's charms and the greatness of his live show.  His representative original songs, “Mojo Pin” and “Eternal Life”, and two cover songs, Édith Piaf’s “Je Ne Connais Pas La Fin” and Van Morrison’s “The Way Young Lovers Do” are included in it.  Especially in the latter part of the cover song, which was played for more than 10 minutes, we were able to confirm the greatness of Jeff's performance as the song unfolded and swept freely along with the singer's own soul.  Jeff Buckley's "Live At Sin-E" was a small piece, a so called mini-album, but the worth of listening was just like an epic work.  About six months later, in the early summer of 1994, Jeff's solo debut album “Grace” advance cassette was delivered to a Japanese record company.  This time, it was with the band, recorded in a way that was inevitably close to live performances.  I was more and more overwhelmed by his freewheeling music when I listened to it.  And then finally in August, I was able to watch my long-awaited live show in New York.  I was finally able to see with my own eyes how amazing Jeff Buckley’s live show was.  On August 12th, I saw Jeff Buckley at a special gig called "The Best Of Sin-E" at Wetlands in Tribeca.  Jeff and the rest of Sin-E's regular artists, like Cattel Canek and Talking To The Animals, played in different locations that evening.  Jeff, who made his last appearance with three band members, has spent more than two hours for his tremendous show, either finishing the U.S. tour ahead of the release of the album or giving a warm thanks to Sin-E, where he made his name.  Almost all of the songs in debut album “Grace” have appeared, including cover songs such as "Hallelujah" and "Lilac Wine”.  On the second or third encore, Alex Chilton’s "Kangaroo" played for nearly half an hour on end.  (It had much more time and power than the performance of the 14 minutes contained in the mini CD “Peyote Radio Theater” which was released for demonstration.)  Anyway, once the performance starts, it's full of dangers and thrills and you don't know where he’s going depending on his mood.  Especially his changing vocals that followed by his sensitivity, moved me so violently that I could not stop shivering.  Jeff on the stage, who sang with a shouting of love, farewell, pain, and joy, looked strangely divine.  And almost three months later, in early November, I was able to see Jeff's live show in St. Louis, which resumed its U.S. tour after the release of the album.  My everyday actions are not good however, and I don't meet the deadline at all. However, I was so lucky to see my dreaming, Jeff’s show twice in short time.  Besides in St. Louis, I was able to interview him fully for an hour the day before his show.  Below is the part of the St. Louis's interview I did in room 305 of a hotel, like an old English house, called Cheshire Lodge in Clayton, which he talked especially about his live shows and the band among other things.  Incidentally, the stage of the Jeff Buckley band at Sheldon Ballroom in downtown St. Louis the next night wasn't nearly two and a half hours as it had been seen three months ago in New York, but about an hour .  But the performance of a band in which music is "alive" as if members, including Jeff, are trying to see how each other breathes...and his free-flying vocal...I've seen his show a number of times (although I've seen it only twice), and it's all nothing but fabulous.

In August, I saw your live show in Wetlands for the first time, and I got the impression that you are doing it very freely, whether it be playing or staging.  I'm sure your every live shows will change a lot from time to time, right?

Well, it would be great if it changed thoroughly.  But yeah, it’s certainly different every night.  There is a lot of room left for improvisation in the performance, so it becomes different every night.  I don't force myself to play the same performance, and the band members know that.

Do you decide the order of the songs in advance before going on stage?  Or something like “take it as it comes”?

Not like that.  There’s more rigorous side.  But I've never made a set list.  I know what song I should play next though.  When I'm playing the intro of the song, I can hear two songs that I'm going to do next from those that I haven't played yet.  And also what's the best way to finish the song that night.

Even if you play the same song, it will change a lot depending on the stage, right?

It may change a lot, but I don’t mean to aim for it.  If everyone in the band has a different idea, it will happen naturally.  In other words, even if it's the same song, all the members will feel different depending on the day.  It may appear in tempo or become another melody or improvisation.  Sometimes we throw guitars on the ground?  But we’re not trying to do that.  It's about enriching experience.  If we don't let go of the song somewhere, we'll never lose our groove.

You are playing in a band now. When you were playing solo, were you free to play?

That's why I formed a band.  It's like a Japanese ink painting.  It is very delicate and the ink always oozes out because it is drawn on very thin paper.  It’s going to make one picture by blotting the lines like that.  Even with music, I sometimes think it would be better to do it like that.  Making a set list may be a good thing sometimes in terms of that you can see the whole picture.  But as far as I am concerned, I hope that doing things freely will produce a different kind of force.

About the member of your band, are they coming together naturally?  Or you recruited them?

A good question.  “Grace” was to be recorded in September 1993.  Was that it?  Yeah, that was it.  Before that, I was still playing solo, but I wanted to organize my own band.  I was hoping I could find a cool member to suit for that.  And then I made it.  I was very lucky.  At first, Mickey.  Bass player, Mick Grondahl.  And Matt was next.  Somebody recommended him to me, and on the first night I met him, we made music together, and made a song called "Dream Brother”.  The band is a good match, and the fit has always been there from the start.  So, I went on as a trio for quite a while.  Then my friend and guitarist, Michael Tighe joined last. Because I wanted a fourth member.  I tried with all sorts of guys, and Michael was the best for us.  And I'd known him for a few years.  The band was formed that way.  It was so natural.  And yet it must have been an exceedingly hurried event for them, as they might have been carried away by a whirlwind, I guess.  Because I set up the trio three weeks before we went into Woodstock and started recording.  So first of all, what I did was I rented a context, which is an extremely cheap rehearsal studio on the Lower East Side, and we all shut ourselves up there and made music together.  Then I booked as many small gigs as I could and tried to do live shows.  And then we went to Woodstock together.  We can say that we are still developing.  There is a great power in the band to go farther ahead.

Did you want to create a different sound from the live show compared to the recording?

I didn’t mean that.  If the sound of the album is different from the live one, it is a result of natural evolution and change.  But at the recording, it raised new problems about the volume of the instruments.  For example, about the volume of the amp, if you want to record with a beautiful sound, you have to drop it.  To do it that way, the noise will disappear.  But live concerts, as I always say, are more direct and closer to the truth.  If you watch a live show, you can get a better idea of what kind of music they’re playing and how much more accurate it is.  You can change the tempo as you like when you play live.  And also you don’t need to think about recording time.  I know that would happen without bothering to think of what I want to play differently from the album.  I think other people's albums are not very different to their live concerts.  It’s not too difficult to do.  Ray Charles is exactly the same as the album.

But in a way, your music seems to be the most contradictory to the act of recording.  The most attractive thing about your music is that it doesn't become fixed in one form.

That's right.  Suppose we started playing and someone did something unusual and special.  But I wouldn’t ever say, like, 'What on earth are you doing? You're gonna blow it up!'.  Never.  Of course as long as we play in a band, there are rules.  But there is a rule just about how to play it, and not much about what each person does.  We should listen carefully to other members’ sounds and be aware of them.  And I'm going to express exactly what I feel.  In order to do so, we must always have our heart open, and we must being ready to be able to accept everything.  That's how you get into people's minds deeply.  But it's important to be aware of it.  Well, depending on my mood, things are often staggering and shrunken.

In a 15-minute little documentary video called "Grace" made by Colombia for promotion, you emphasized, "Processes are important”.  Could you elaborate a little bit more on what you mean?

Oh, that one.  I think the question was something like, "What kind of result do you expect when you make something?”.  And so I told him to fool your expectations always.  When you're making things just for the sake of what the results will be, you have to make things harder by fooling them.  The results are spontaneously produced in the process.  So you should take care of each and every little thing you usually do.  I think artists know all about it.  But it's hard to keep that in mind because there are deadlines, things don't go well by the deadlines, or you’re inclined to something else.  All the songs that I wrote, when I thought of how strange they all started, then went straight on and on as the way they are.  That's exactly how it was when it was written.  Men often say, "I'll make this song a lot more rocky" or something like that.  But they can’t do that.  Women can do it better than men.  I agree with PJ Harvey who said that women place importance on the process.  Women are more involved with this earth and the process.  I’ve been doing my best though.