David Browne About Jeff Buckley

Stefania Altomare

Hello, David.I know you have been interviewing  Jeff’s friends and about 100 people who shared  lifetime as well as memorable occasions with him in order to write his biography , so I thought I could ask you such questions…who do you think he was referring to when he says “when I was younger I had some failed musicians as friends, they were failed to themselves but not for me”?It should be useful to have a hint of those who’ve been  part of his musical background in his childhood and early youth .

With regard to the first question, he was referring to older musicians he met in southern California when he was growing up and in the Musicians Institute school in LA. He didn't tell me any specific names during our interview. The LA scene was filled with musicians who'd never made it and were scuffling to make a living, so I imagine he ran into many of them.

I would like to explore Jeff’s style both technically and poetically..as a musician , I think it is absolutely impossible just to copy out his style starting from the “Live at Sin-è” and going on to his full length records  , do you think ( or did anybody suggest you about this ) his sound was about his gear and experience or it was simply a brand new interpretation of the American traditional style?

As far as the second question, are you mostly referring to the Sin-e period, when he was using a borrowed guitar and playing so many covers? It's such a broad question, in a way, that I need a few more specifics.

Well, I am actually referring to the Live @Sin-è period  and both to the “Grace” tour and album, as well as “Sketches from my Sweetheart the drunk”..The fact that he was using borrowed guitars is new for me and nice to know …so what about the way he was using them?Which were his mostly used guitars and amps? Which were the effects he mostly liked ?What about the guitar  tunings he was using?How did he come to play that extremely peculiar instrument ,  the Dulcimer ?

Jeff began using borrowed guitars at the start but wound up buying new ones later as he went on tour. I never heard much about his tunings and presumed that he mostly used standard ones, as opposed to the likes of Sonic Youth. Jeff was a musically dexterous player who could practically pick up any instrument, from a trumpet to a drum to a dulcimer, and make music with it without "lessons."

How did you come to write your “Dream Brother-the lives and music of Jeff and Tim”?

It had to be hard…do you want to tell me more about the inspiration and the difficulty to draw a common line between the two Buckleys ? ..I read on the “Sketches from my sweetheart..” booklet  that Jeff’s father just gave him “a fleeting glimpse”…

Yes, writing the book was difficult, since Jeff had only passed away about a year before I began my interviews. Talking about him was very emotional and cathartic for some of his closest friends; many of the woman I interviewed broke into tears at one point or another during our conversations. Some were understandably protective and took as much as a year before they decided to talk with me. By the end I was emotionally drained myself.

Any news about the idea of a film about Jeff's life?

There is talk of a movie based on his life, but nothing has been firmed up yet. I know Mary wants to do it right and wants to work with the right collaborators, so she's taking her time, with good reason.

Thank you so much, David.

Stef