A
Pure Drop -The Life of Jeff Buckley, by Jeff
Apter (Backbeat Books)
Usually, when you really what to get to know
someone, you want to know everything you can
about them. When it comes to musicians, you
want to know all their songs, why they were
written, their background, etc. Most of the
time it’s an interesting, enlightening
experience, and sometimes you find out more
than you really wanted to know.
A few years ago I had interviewed Sandy West,
who had played in the all-girl band The Runaways,
with Joan Jett. I had always been a huge fan
of the band, and I was just ga-ga talking to
Sandy about the early days of the band. She
easily sensed how I felt, and said something
that I’ll never forget. She said, “Be
careful who you idolize, because than they have
a lot to live up to.” And it made a lot
of sense. I mean, I’ve never considered
any band or artist to be a “superstar,”
or any type of crappy title like that, but there
are a few musicians like Springsteen, or Joan
Jett, and a lot of the punk bands that through
their music, you feel you know a little about
them. Their music strikes a chord in you that
really touches you in many, many ways.
The first time I had heard Jeff Buckley sing
a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,”
on the radio, I was an immediate fan. The
music put me in the front pew in church, but
when you get into the lyrics, it’s a
whole other story- a sexual ode to love and
life. It was about a year before his death.
He had drowned accidently swimming in a river
1997. Jeff was only 30 years old. I didn’t
see any of his live shows, except for the
DVD that was included with “Grace,”
but hearing “Live at Sin-E,” literally
put me in the front seat of one of his shows.
“The Last Goodbye,” and “Forget
Her,” were just as immediately mesmerizing
to me, especially “Forget Her.”
I know it sounds odd, but “Forget Her”
made me think even more about the woman I thought
I had loved, and the blind stupidity of being
an old fool.
“A Pure Drop” is a warts-and-all
story of Jeff’s life that fills in a lot
of missing pieces from his friends, family,
and other contemporaries in the music field.
I came away from the book knowing more about
Jeff Buckley, and wanting to know more, which
is a good thing.
Between the hero worship of a lot of his fans
- Buckley at times embracing it and at other
times shunning it - he comes off as very human,
with all the coolness and cracks we all have.
His artistic side is much the same. Remarkably
talented, the depth with which he can get inside
you with his music is amazing. Not many artists
can expose your raw nerves, and also make you
want to be a better person because of in spite
of it.
In the last chapter Duncan Skeik, who was a
friend of Jeff’s wrote a very moving tribute
song after his death. “I think it’s
a kind of way of placating ourselves. When I
asked why he wrote ‘A Body’ and
why so many Buckley tributes exist. ‘It’s
one of those mysteries of life that we can’t
answer, but it feels better to think that he
came here to do this one amazing thing and bring
this deep beauty to the world and that process
was finished and he needed to go back, as Buddhists
say, to that state of neither existence or non-existence,
another place, another existence.”
“A Pure Drop” is not an emotional
roller coaster ride. It is however, a ride of
a life time. You relate to so many of the stories
that his friends, family, and fellow musicians
have to tell. I think the one recurring story
that runs through the book is Jeff’s relationship
with his dad, Tim Buckley. Ironically, Jeff
got his first bit of notoriety when he played
at a tribute show to his dad in 1991 at St.
Ann’s Church in New York. The author relates
it in such a way throughout the book that you
find yourself walking right along with Jeff
as at times, as he’s either backing out
of hell slowly, or running joyously to heaven!
Sonic
Boom: The History of Northwest Rock, From
“Louie Louie” to “Smells
Like Teen Spirit,” by Peter Blecha (Backbeat
Books)
From the early rumblings of rock ‘n’
roll, the Northwest has played an important
role in the fundamental development of music
and all the controlled lunacy that comes along
with it!
Before reading this book, my impression of
Northwest Rock was The Kingsmen, Nirvana,
Pearl Jam, Hendrix, and one or two notable
bands. Then, when I dove into “Sonic
Boom” my head was practically spinning
from all the other bands, and detailed information
that the book presented.
At first, I just wanted to get to the small
picture- the bands, the scene, and their influences.
But starting from chapter one “The ‘Gonest’
Sound,” all the way through to chapter
thirteen “Overblown,” I couldn’t
resist all the minute details and overall
passion that writer, Peter Blecha put into
writing “Sonic Boom.”
It was written exactly the way a book, or
a song should be written- I felt like I was
there experiencing the clubs, the bands, and
the whole scene throughout the years.
Obviously, it’s not a book you can read
in one sitting. 300 pages, and a handful of
photos, but it was hard putting it down, and
I practically I dog-eared every page for reference
points.
One of the most interesting and important
stories in the book- of which there are many-
is about Ray Charles Robinson. Having gone
to Seattle to play a few gigs at The Old Rocking
Chair with his touring band, he so impressed
the promoters and fellow musicians there,
that he was offered multiple gigs at the black’s
Elk Club, which was highly prized at the time.
Forming a trio with Milt Garred on bass, Gosady
McKee on guitar, and Ray on piano, he shortened
his name to Ray Charles, and the rest as they
say, is history!
Besides the whole music scene in general,
the author also focuses on minor bands, which
made major contributions like The Fleetwoods,
Paul Revere and The Raiders, and how Beatlemania
influenced and hindered the Northeast music
scene back in the 60’s.
To me, the story on Jimi Hendrix- his trials
and tribulations on getting started and the
low recon ignition he received from the start,
was a lesson in how NOT to start a band.-
Ironic, and at some points demoralizing, the
story actually is a great lesson on ingenuity,
faith in yourself and your music, and determination.
The Ventures (instrumental surf rock), were
surprisingly from the Seattle area, and were
hugely influential on their genre starting
back in the 60’s. A couple of years
ago they played Asbury Lanes, and for four
elderly guys in their 70’s they rocked
the socks off the joint!
The story on Nirvana shows the band’s
D.I.Y. approach to the music business, and
there’s also a loving tribute to Kurt
Cobain, and how his death affected the music
scene, and how epically devastated the members
of Pearl Jam were, by cancelling their tour
when they heard the news of Kurt’s suicide.
These days the Northwest music scene has the
necessary infrastructure to sustain a living,
breathing, multi-dimensional music scene.
Other current bands that have made the grade
from the Northwest, and have become vital
contributors are: Death Cab for Cutie, Sleater-Kinney,
The Shins, Modest Mouse, Murder City Devils,
and Fleet Foxes.
I had recently read a book about the Asbury
Park music scene (“Local Heroes”),
and both that book and “Sonic Boom”
are fun, detailed, and interesting. Sometimes
when you hear the words “new music scene,”
you pretty much automatically think of a scene
that is probably a music business generated
scene that they’re going to milk for
all it’s worth. Well, that’s not
the case with “Sonic Boom,” or
“Local Heroes,” for that matter.
Yeah, there were a few carpet baggers and
a good amount of payola- those who took more
than they gave, but the you get the feeling
that it was more like bands inspiring and
helping each other than the every man for
himself attitude. That’s a good chunk
of what keeps a vital and fertile music scene
alive and thriving!
