Gitarre & Bass, October, 1995
By Lothar Trampert
Submitted by Ananula
Translated by me
Jeff Buckley is crazy-and that's good! Only rarely do you meet such an extremely coherent and contradictory person like him. Two humans? Outwardly, he appears a mix of Male Model from the Zeitgeist catalog and Cool Kid from the street. During the conversation, his defiant shyness develops into an almost offensive attitude with clear, pointed statements. Beginning on stage he is a lamenting singer / songwriter with a guitar, performs as a bandleader, convinces two songs later as a musician and composer with extremely own-atmosphere ideas, then succumbs to the ground to act hardcore punk with his instrument - and ends his performance again with purely acoustic songs as a singer / songwri...
No, because after an hour and a half no longer you hear the lamenting guitarist from the beginning, but every listener realizes that this concert was a single deception in which Buckley introduced one of his many characters after another. He does not seem to want to prove anything with this, but he almost consistently refrains from creating an obvious connection with his audience, for example through the pink-cuddly soft transitional moderations of the brand: "Nice to be here again in Wanne-Eickel! Are you goood?!" The only conclusion is that anyone who is as interesting as Jeff Buckley can not be straight, smooth and one-dimensional. This musician is an absolute harmonious incarnation of external contradictions, someone who prefers to live everything but only play a role, but who also occasionally knows how to play poker with his charisma. Where Helge Schneider is a genius in observing everyday commonalities (which are often taken up by his audience as if they have grown on his crap rather than as a distorting mirror of their own TV fast food culture circle), Buckley delivers both provocative and intellectual-artistic - atmospheric counterworld - he just does his own thing, turns his head left and shows the world behind the mirror. Pretty crazy, is it not? Unfortunately, crazy...
At the beginning of July, the singer and guitarist was on tour in Germany. The following interview was made in the afternoon before his concert in Cologne.
Jeff seems tired at first, opens up a can of beer, asks for two cigarettes, which he then smokes in turn, and hangs in a chair-a leg on the adjacent stool. His eyes are on the title page of a G & B issue.
Is it more often that you give interviews for music magazines?
No.
And why not?
Because I'm not a musician. I play fan music.
And what kind of music do you think are in these magazines?
(thinks) Mmh, no idea. Sure, a lot has changed, that's true. But I grew up with musician and guitarist magazines who constantly have only featured these very special types...Gary Moore is one of those fast guitarists.
But he has just released his slowest album yet, with Peter Green cover versions.
OK, I like that, but he's also known for playing fast. I am for example, much closer to Keith Richards, his way of handling the guitar is not very popular today, even though the Rolling Stones are certain. But Keith has a lot of very simple things to say, very essential stuff. Many other guitarists are more in a sports magazine. But this scene does not really interest me-with many exceptions.
By age, you fit in the G.I.T generation, but you obviously are not one of them.
These facilities are a mystery to me. There they tell you only one thing: hurry up! This leads you nowhere, afterwards your own children run away from you. Through these trainings you get to know women, you get to know men, music is inoculated into people who have no feeling for it; then they can only scare other people or insult them...But: after all, the guitar is after all a very interesting, mysterious instrument, which is equally simple and yet difficult to master. It's easy to start playing the guitar, but on the other hand, it's very difficult to really master this instrument. But if you go on this infinite journey to deal with it, then you can do anything with the guitar and your fingers. It offers quite different possibilities than a piano - because you only have one "C" per octave, while with a guitar you can play this sound in several ways - even in different sonic variations.
Is the guitar closer to the human voice than other instruments?
Yes. But I prefer to compare them with...-a drum.
With a drum...mmh. (minute of silence) Your music belongs to the department "atmosphere" for me-the term is more comprehensive, more open and fits in my opinion rather than "folk rock singer / songwriter" or similar. Can you live with that?
Yes, I like that...
Karl Berger (German vibraphonist and composer living in the USA) has received a "thank you" in the booklet of your album 'Grace'-are you also interested in modern jazz?
No, no, no, he got the credit for the string arrangements. That was a great thing to do with strings in the studio, that was fun. Karl was one day at one of our concerts, in Woodstock, where he too lives. He stood in the corner first, then danced. That is how we got to know each other-in the dance.
What kind of music interests you?
The Grifters, Stereolab...and this Egyptian singer, Oum Kulsoum, I like it very much. I have a live album of hers.
This combination of their impressive voice with the great orchestra of strings and oud players creates a, for western listeners, very, exotic, typically "oriental" atmosphere. This is "Arab blues"; and a similar melancholy and darkness can also be found in some of your songs.
(laughs) "Arab Blues", OK. Yes that's true; I like that feeling.
This can be heard, for example, in the string arrangements of 'Last Goodbye' and in some other songs from Jeff Buckley's debut album 'Grace', which was released last year, the third single was released with 'Eternal Life'. The son of the legendary Tim Buckley, a singer / songwriter star of the late 60s, brought to the conversation with his 1993 released mini-album, 'Live At Sin-e', where he was still to hear without a band. No one had expected that he would make his growing fan base happy with Andy Wallace's production after this critical success; Wallace had made a name for himself with his work for Nirvana, Alice Cooper, and Bad Religion, with 'Grace' he has finally proved his cross-style feeling for expressive music-free following the motto of the well-known music philosopher Torge Berger: "Do not always be full on the bell!" But Buckley can do that just as well, even if his handwriting comes across in the restless, hovering numbers, no matter whether he interprets it solo or band.
Two titles of 'Grace' were written by Jeff Buckley along with Gary Lucas, the former Captain Beefheart guitarist, co-writer credits were given to guitarist Michael Tighe and the band's rhythm section, Mick Grondahl and drummer Matt Johnson.
Buckley grew up in California, lived in Hollywood / L.A. and later moved to New York, where he played in diverse bands before settling for the soloist career. Shortly after the release of 'Live At Sin-e', in December 1993, he then went on a solo North America tour. He did not stay alone for long, met his current band musicians and, as I said, everything turned out differently than expected.
From Buckley you should still expect some surprises, as a songwriter, as a bandleader and indirectly as a guitarist. He certainly belongs to the G.I.T definition but to the rare sound painters of this instrument. Because there are only a few musicians who can fill a sound with life and space or even (still today) a sense of meaningfulness and a sense of individual flair. Jeff Buckley is a musician who plays the guitar.
I was five or six years old when I got my hands on an old nylon string. At first I always hit the open strings with my toys- (grinning) so the first songs were all in E minor. Then came little tunes, etc. I got an electric guitar at thirteen - a black Les Paul copy that sounded pretty good. Yes, that's how it started...
Do you remember the first time you heard an electric guitar?
That was probably on the radio when I was a kid: waahwah, waahwah, waah...but it was not just Hendrix. I also liked other pop songs with wahwah: Sly & The Family Stone, Isaac Hayes, Diana Ross, things like that; and also Stevie Wonder, Deep Purple, Hendrix, of course-I was between seven and ten when I first heard him. 'Hendrix In The West' I liked it very much. But before I consciously realized that there were certain instruments and playing techniques, I just recorded sound - as a child I had never seen synthesizers, Hammonds or pianos. The instruments themselves interested me later.
And today the sound is still in the foreground when you listen to music?
Oh yes, that's the first thing I pay attention to. Of course, today I know something more about music, about what's happening there.
Can you read and write music?
Only very slowly...I was in this terrible place too, by the way-G.I.T That was a complete waste of time, apart from the theoretical lessons and the friends that I had there. Otherwise: an absolute wrong decision.
How long have you studied there?
One year, the normal program. They give you tons of material, you have to absorb everything, you practice, you are tested and you go to the next course. An intensive support with development is simply not possible. I did so many things: theory, single string technique, jazz class, rock class, all sorts of genres. My friend John was teaching bass there, and he once said that there is not a single teacher at the institute who says to the students, "OK, you're learning all this stuff here now, you're learning how to entertain people and you're learning to learn. But do you even know that there is no one in the universe other than yourself who plays the music you play? " John left the school then. For me it was all a joke that cost me $ 3,900. People interested in music should take private lessons somewhere, start a band, do something with people who like them and have what it takes. These schools are a scene in their own right, a very small, secluded world-the music, on the other hand, is gigantic and open. If you don't notice it, you miss a lot of magic, pain, development...(thinks) and rock! Apart from Paul Gilbert, there was no one there who really rocked. Session musicians are bred there; and at the end of the year you get a piece of paper that says, "Now you have the skills to become a professional musician." Well, congratulations! And then you look for jobs and play what other people want. But that's not all the music, there's something else isn't there? Where's the music coming from? From your own head or stomach, or the concepts of the people you work for?
Michael Landau has also developed from a studio guitarist to a living musician with hands, feet and voice, since he has his own bands. Today, in my opinion, he has more identity than before-which is not necessarily reflected in thick checks.
There are a lot of prejudices against "session musos" and "street players", some blame others for wasting their time, etc. I do not know Michael Landau, but I think he took the right step. Such a development is great-when you get to the point of doing things that you can only do yourself.
Did you feel a kind of arrogance towards the "street players", the normal, untrained band musicians?
I can not say anything about what other people think, but there was a lot, hmm ... (thinking) I would bring someone like Keith Richards to such a school, but when I talked to other students, it always came : "Phew, Keith Richards, he can not play." (laughs) "Jimmy Page? He's so sloppy." I was just out of place! These people eventually wrote songs, they created things that never go away. And I have not heard any real songs from a session musician, maybe a few little tunes for commercials.
And what about your own songs: are you writing alone...
Partly, but the guys in the band are also very important, they have such great ideas. Especially the collaboration with Michael (Tighe) means a lot to me, that is a cooperation that brings a lot. For example, the music of 'Dream Brother' came about when we first played together.
In addition to Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', the repertoire of your album features 'Corpus Christi Carol' by the English composer Benjamin Britten.
I chose the title, (grins) clearly! The recording is a gift to a good friend who once played the song to me. I have always played the piece on my solo shows.
As a soloist, you had plenty of freedom in the interpretation; how does that look live together with the band?
Sure, something is happening. All this intensity or calm that comes over the audience at a gig has a strong impact on the musicians. Sometimes that works very well, sometimes it works less...If there is no interaction-with the audience and also between the musicians-then it's not music.
Have you ever listened to techno?
Sure.
And where does the interaction take place?
With Techno, the machines do the work, they represent the environment that works when you get into ecstasy and drink Cool Aid (paperback US refreshment (?) Drink). But the music that's popular as "techno" does not necessarily appeal to me. Some raves-in old churches, candles everywhere, and the sound is right-but that's not a bad thing. It's about the presentation of music, and space; the DJ is the musician, he turns people on when he's good. Much of it is stupid, of course; but that's in every genre.
I still like best when "handmade" music is combined with "tangible" electronic sounds.
I would like to play with my music as a house band at a rave, conducted by Moby. We would then play for ten hours, and when we stop, then the party is over. Like some African rituals, when after fourteen hours the drums are silent, people go home. (laughs) Good idea! I'll try that. (Jeff sings Techno-180 BPM) Grrrzczzssshhp&%H$§)P?'#-Bupp, bupp, bebubup, bupp, bupp, bupp...
Do you see differences between your concerts in the US and in Europe?
Mmmmh, not really. I think the art in America is more commercialized-people should recognize everything immediately when it's on TV. But there is also a big underground scene that the masses do not know; but you can find that here in Europe too. On the other hand, there are big differences between Germany and France, between Amsterdam and London. But I think Europeans have a closer relationship with art.
What interests do you have next to the music?
(thinks) Food, dreams, movies, books, New York, friends, speeches, daydreams, sex, missing sex...Actually, I'm interested in many of these things through the music: poetry, dramas, performing arts-that has everything to do with music.
You've been on tour for a year and a half now: are not some of these interests coming too short simply because there's no peace?
Mmh, with a good sense of humor you can handle this life quite well. You should see it like a child...
We have not talked about single songs, playing techniques, etc. Is it more important to you, something ... (As the door opens, and a load of drinks is pushed into the dressing room)
What is more important to me? Coffee or beer? (Laughs)
Would you rather give facts about your career, your instruments in interviews, or do you prefer talking about things like...
Coffee or beer! Sure, it's more important to talk about myself, about what I like. Because that's the music! The rest is just facts and tools. What we talked about here is the music.
Could you imagine doing something completely different in a few years?
No. The music, that's my way. Making hamburgers was good to me too, that was a few months ago. Maybe I would do that again: The singing hamburger chef! I'm very attached to music, but that has never stopped me from gaining experience in other areas as well. If you're not constantly involved with people, not in life, then you have nothing to do with art. But the only notable quality or ability that I have is being able to express myself with music. Since I will not find anything comparable-I'm not looking for it.
