

Jeff Buckley Author David Browne: The Life of the Late Jeff Buckley Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2001 noon ET David Browne has written a book on one of the most prolific yet short lived musical careers, that of the late Jeff Buckey. Buckley was the son of the Tim Buckley, a folk singer in the 60s who died of a drug overdose. His son Jeff, who had released his second album Grace in 1992 drowned four years later in Memphis at 31.



Author David Browne, who is also a writer for Entertainment Weekly, chronicles the lives of both musicians in his new book Dream Brother. Jeff Buckley

Sherman Oaks, California: How did you come upon this subject, and what about it caused you to see its possibility for a dual autobiography?



David Browne: I saw Jeff perform in NYC nearly eight years ago and interviewed him thereafter. I was fascinated with his music and I thought Grace was an extrodinary piece of music. Not long after his death in '97, it became clear to me that there was a story there. I lept into the research and interviewed as many people as possible and let the research take me forward.



West Hills, CA: Do you think Jeff Buckley's work was influenced by his father's death? And, even more, was his own early death in part due to the effects of his father's early death?



David Browne:

Tim's rise and fall and his clashes with the business side clearly made a big impact on Jeff's perceptions and left him very wary. Jeff had many more influences than Tim from progressive Rock to Led Zepplin.



springfield, va: what kind of relationship did jeff have with tim



David Browne: They had a distant relationship at best. Tim left Jeff's mother shortly before Jeff was born and only visited his son a few times during his early childhood. The most time they spent together came when Jeff was eight, when Jeff spent about a week with Tim and his second wife. Tim died several months later. Not surprisingly Jeff was very bitter and angry toward his father most of his life.



Alexandria, Virginia: His voice was so beautiful and unique. Did he ever have voice lessons? Also, was he involved in a relationship at the time of his death?



David Browne: As far as I know Jeff never had actual voice training lessons during his youth. He appeared to have perfect pitch right from the start -- interestingly enough he didn't start singing until he was in his early twenties. He saw himself primarily as a guitar player partly because he did not want his voice to be compared to his father's.



Jeff's girlfriend at the end of his life was Joan Wasser, who was then violinist in the band the Damnbuilders.



Lake Carmel,NY: Did you ever meet Jeff Buckley? Did you ever see him perform?



David Browne: Yes I saw him perform several times at Sin'e in the East Village in the months before he recorded his first album. Those were pretty lose and ecclectic gigs. I also saw him perform later with his full band. I'll never forget a show at Roseland in New York at which he took off his sparkly jacket and the room was engulfed with female screams.



Washington DC: The references to death in so many of Jeff's songs is hanting...was there and indication in Memphis of suicide?



David Browne: The indications that I encountered is that it was simply a reckless accident that Jeff went wading into water with a stong undertow and the fact that he was wearing boots and jeans didn't help. Jeff was certainly often consumed with thoughts of mortality, going back to his early songs. Some of his friends wondered to me about whether he knew he was on a path to destiny from which he couldn't escape.



Boca Raton, Florida: David, is there any truth that there are several (20+) live Buckley shows that will be released via internet or on cd? Thanks Ryan Sentz



David Browne: All I know is that Jeff's mother, Mary Guibert, is considering such a plan for releasing live albums on the net or in some other form. I haven't heard a specific number but she does have many dozens of recordings in her position. Nearly every sho Jeff played was recorded.



Chicago IL: There were several rumors regarding Buckley being on heoroin. Did you find any to be true?



David Browne: As the book explores, Jeff did have a brief period of experimentation with the drug, which seems as if it was prompted in part by the Rock n Roll road lifestyle. By the time of his death, he seemed to have moved past that period.



Jeff in Ottawa: My favorite Buckley song is "Everybody Here Wants You" from Sketches... What's yours and why?



David Browne: It's hard to pick a favorite from "Sketches" but I love "I Know We Could Be So Happy" and the power of the "The Sky Is A Landfill," and "Moring Theft," is one of my favorites of his ballads.



Dallas, TX: Why would a rich record company like Columbia have one of their most promising singers hanging out alone in Memphis?



David Browne: It was Jeff's idea to record in Memphis initially, and after the sessions were finished (and not to his satiisfation) he decided to stay in town in order to refocus himself on his new songs. Jeff could be very distracted in NYC, so the idea that he would be woodshedding by himself struck many around him as a positive sign.



New York NY: Did you speak to Jeff's mother for the book



David Browne: Yes, at great length. She was very gracious with interview tim and allowed me access to unreleases recordings, documents, and journals.



Fairfield, IA: What relationship did Jeff have with Ben Harper and Chris Cornell?



David Browne: I'm not aware with any relationship he had with Ben Harper, but he and Cornell met backstage at a Soundgarden concert in 1994 and became friends. The two would occasionally speak on the phone or get together in Seattle (Cornell's home) and share their thoughts and concerns about music and the business.



Germantown, MD: Does anything that Jeff ever said to you (in an interview) stand out in your mind? Any particular moment you remember with him?



David Browne: The moments that stand out the most are the times he would seem completely self confident about his music and how he was going to do something no one else had ever done, followed by and utterly dispairing comment like, "I'm just trying to stay alive."



Was there A Dylan/Jeff meeting?: ------------------------ Yes. In 1993 Jeff met Dylan backstage at one of Dylan's shows at NYC. Jeff by then was a hugh fan, but was taken aback when Dylan remarked that JKeff looked like his father Tim and that Jeff should be in the movies. Jeff never wanted to be comapred with his father nor judged by his looks, so Dylan's comments were very disconcerting.



Brookfield, CT: Did you find Jeff Buckley to be somewhat of a throwback to the 60's?



David Browne: Yes but in the best ways really. Jeff saw himself as a serious musician who would grow organicly over the course of many records and not as a prepackaged "act." His record company saw him as a successor to the likes of Dylan and Neil Young in the sense that Jeff could be a career musician making many different types of music. And they were right and that was a smart perception.

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