The Jeff Buckley International Newsletter
The Only Official Fan Club & Newsletter
(Authorized & guided by the family of Jeff Buckley)
*All rights reserved* Vol. 10:03 10/02/08
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-Uncommon ground: Accepting Artist Submissions
-Kansas City Tribute Recap
-New Online Store JB.Com
-New [Limited] Items Available !
-Connect with us Online
SCENE & HEARD – [Jeff Mentions From Around The World]
– New York Times: Movie Review – “Tell No One”
– Rolling Stone: Coldplay’s Chris Martin sites Jeff Buckley
– The Australian Stage – West Australian Ballet
– UK’s Sunday Times & BBC Radio
– American Idol Winner David Cook mentions Jeff
MARY’S MAILBAG (With Love from MG)
– Jeff & WFMU Recordings Available
– Hello From Greece !
– Films “Elizabethtown” & “Four Brothers”
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11TH ANNUAL JEFF BUCKLEY TRIBUTE EVENT
UNCOMMON GROUND- CHICAGO, ILL
ACCEPTING PERFORMANCE SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINE: OCTOBER 15, 2008
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The 11th Annual Jeff Buckley Tribute Event at Uncommon Ground in Chicago is scheduled to take place on November 17th & 18th 2008. Event organizers are now accepting submissions for artists to perform. Artists have come from countries such as France, Italy, Denmark, Holland, Mexico, UK, Australia and many others in past years to perform at the tribute.
Submission will be accepted until October 15, 2008. If you would like to submit material for consideration, for more information check out Sonicbids at www.sonicbids.com/jeffbuckleytribute
This event, which is supported by the Buckley family and featured on the official Jeff Buckley web site, sells out every year in less than 10 minutes for both nights’ performances. Jeff Buckley’s mother, Mary
Guibert, has been known to fly in for this event on many occasions. All net proceeds for the night will benefit The Old Town School of Folk Music Scholarship Fund, which allows musicians of all ages who can’t afford to pay attend classes.
A bit of history:
On a snowy night in February of 1994, Jeff Buckley played a legendary set at Uncommon Ground. This performance was lauded “Best Concert of the Year” by Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune, and was later recalled by Mr. Kot as one of the best concerts he’s ever attended.
Jeff Buckley was born in California’s Orange County in 1966 and died in a tragic drowning accident in Memphis on May 29, 1997. He had emerged in New York City’s avant-garde club scene in the 1990’s as one of the most remarkable musical artists of his generation, acclaimed by audiences, critics, and fellow musicians alike. For more information about Jeff, see the official website- www.jeffbuckley.com
Dinner Reservations will be taken on Nov. 3, 2008 @ 10:00 am CDT at:
773-929-0415.
More Online: www.uncommonground.com/buckley.htm
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GRACE IN THE HEARTLAND
Kansas City Tribute Recap
Saturday June 28: The Record Bar
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The first ever ‘Grace In The Heartland’ tribute to Jeff Buckley in Kansas City was a gratifying evening for fans of the iconic star’s musical legacy.
The creative yet true-to-form adaptations of Jeff Buckley
original and favorite cover tunes performed by local-area musicians left the Record Bar crowd well satisfied.
Miller Howell kicked off the Tribute with a few tightly-wound verses of Hallelujah. Howell’s intense vocals and powerful stage presence set the tone for a remarkable set.
His original “Not My Time”, written specifically as a tribute to Buckley, was the only exception made on the night for a song never performed
by Jeff and was well worth breaking the rules for. Howell left the stage with a great deal of intensity after a rousing performance of Eternal Life.
Following an intense day of recording for her new album, Anna Cole took stage with performance of ‘Calling You’ and ‘Be My Husband’ and left no doubt that her powerful vocal range is very adaptable to
Buckley’s anthology.
Joe Garvey earned his tribute stripes performing in the June, 2007 homage to Jeff Buckley at the Hard Rock Café in Paris, France. His repertoire includes enough Buckley compositions for a full evening and a
last-minute line-up change allowed him to complete a seven-song set.
He opened with ‘Lost Highway’ in a format similar to Buckley’s 1995 Bearsville Studios release. He was accompanied on ‘Last Goodbye’ and ‘So Real’ by his brother Tom on guitar and bassist Ryan Bob of Overland Park. The threesome performance inspired a retro-glimpse of Jeff’s early performances sans percussion.
Garvey’s inflections, voice control and emotion were uncannily true to form in ‘Lover You Should Have Come Over.’
His set closed with an extended and somewhat original version of ‘Hallelujah’, following the lyrics of Buckley’s Chicago performance and adding verses from Leonard Cohen’s original version that Buckley had omitted.
The bar was infused with a reverence typical of ‘Hallelujah’ performed to Buckley’s interpretation.
Abigail Murphy and her entourage of talented musicians brought a feeling of fullness, satisfaction and conclusion to the evening. Working out some solicitousness through a soft ‘Je n’en connais pas la
fin’ duo with Pat Ables, the full band rocked through New Year’s Prayer with Ables providing a captivating flute introduction preceding a powerfully smooth transition to knock-down percussion and guitar and
Murphy’s hauntingly close vocal connection with the spirit of the song.
Stroking the sub-consciousness, a surreal mélange of sound leading into ‘Dream Brother’ steered the crowd on a power wave of oceanic sound and transparency filled with Buckley memories and fate. Following a performance of ‘Forget Her,’ the tribute came to a vivifying conclusion with the band’s energy packed rendition of ‘Grace.’ Performing with Murphy and Ables were Drew Sitt on bass and Mark Knickerbocker on guitar.
Each artist expressed thanks to Jeff Buckley for inspiration as though he were still there among them. In fact, the sense of closeness the music created among the close-knit community of his fans left a
feeling that Jeff himself may have been sitting at a table with friends and a beer, influencing the sound and emotion of the night. Perhaps he was.
It should be noted that the Record Bar has excellent acoustical quality and the sound crew is very skillful. The sound expertise is critical when musicians are changing setups throughout the night, and the Record Bar is certainly up to the task in hosting such an event. Now that it’s clear that the event can be successfully pulled off in Kansas City, thoughts will gather for organization of an encore.
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JEFF BUCKLEY.COM
Brand New Online Store
New [Limited] Items Available!
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In case you haven’t had a chance to visit, we’ve launched a brand new online store at www.jeffbuckley.com !
The store has a new format shopping cart and makes international shopping a breeze.
We now offer gift certificates to make those special birthday and holiday purchases a lot easier. Your friends & family can have fun shopping online and pick out their own goodies !
Currently, we’re featuring a new medium 16×20 size of the B&W David Gahr poster. We’re not sure how long this will be available as it’s a limited edition, so grab yours now ! The previous size is completely sold out and will not be offered again.
We also have a limited edition sale of the double-sided “Grace Legacy Edition” Poster and “So Real” Poster. These two exclusive items will not be offered for long.
Special thanks goes to Anthony of Fun Palace Entertainment for creation of the new online store. We can’t thank you enough for all you do, Ant !!!! Anthony is also currently working with Ben Folds, The Strokes and the upcoming California based band ‘The Michetons’.
Anthony shared a unique story with us as to how he discovered Jeff’s music. “I always new about Jeff and his music, I liked it but never really took the time to fully listen to Grace until 2000-2001. A friend gave
me “Grace” and “Sketches”.
I gave both albums a full listen … The music was just amazing ! I didn’t stop listening to them for months upon months. Like any other of the timeless GREAT albums that I have been exposed to in my life, I just got consumed by it.
About a year and a half later, I started interning for Fun Palace and found out that not only did I now work for Jeff’s old manager and tour manager, but they still work with Mary and the Estate. This just seemed really ironic to me at the time. Ever since then, my love and respect for Jeff, the music, and everything he stood for just continues to grow.
I feel privileged to be surrounded by and work with everyone involved in keeping the Legacy of Jeff Buckley alive.” And, thank YOU, Anthony – we couldn’t be more proud to have you with us and as part of our team and thank you for the amazing new store ! Check out Anthony’s handy work at http://www.jeffbuckley.com/store.asp
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SCENE & HEARD
[Jeff Mentions From Around The World]
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In a recent New York Times movie review by Stephen Holden, Jeff Buckley is mentioned in the article “Serious Pleasures: Season’s Sweet Spots” in regard to the film, “Tell No One”, a French thriller described as having “everything you would want in a 21st-century version of a Hitchcock mystery”. Holden says, ‘Jeff Buckley’s heartrending version of “Lilac Wine” on the soundtrack gives the film a wrenching emotional tug.’ More Online at: New York Times – Movie Reviews http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/movies/22slee.html
Chris Martin from Coldplay mentioned Jeff in the latest issue of Rolling Stone. Under a section titled “Martin’s Musical Roots” he spoke of Jeff. Also, in the interview, the reporter says, “In Coldplay’s early music, there was a lot of soul singing in your voice.” Chris responds, “That was probably soul, but through Jeff Buckley’s filter, to be ruthlessly honest.” Interview Online at: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/21185368/
The August edition of The Australian Stage (Australian performing arts news, reviews & interviews) , reports that during the Ballet at the Regal / West Australian Ballet performance at The Regal Theatre, Britten’s Corpus Christi Carol (sung here by Jeff Buckley) was used in a performance piece featuring Tim O’Donnell and principle artist Jayne Smeulders about loss and grief. Article and photos online at: http://www.australianstage.com.au/reviews/perth/ballet-at-the-regal–wes…
In the August 17 “Sunday Times In Gear Interview” section, veteran actor Terence Stamp (General Zod – intergalactic nemesis of Superman and Valkyrie with Tom Cruise) says: ” On my CD changer, I have Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah and The Who’s The Seeker. My brother Chris managed The Who in the 1960s, and this song was later used on The Limey, one of my favourite films in my career.” The whole interview
(full page) may be accessed via: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article4538165.ece Additionally, Stamp was featured on the BBC Radio Program “Desert Island Discs” and listed Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” as a disc he’d take if on a deserted island. Story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20060312.shtml
American idol winner, David Cook was recently interviewed for the CNS/ All Headline News. In the interview, Cook said that his aspirations are to “just be somebody that people look to and respect and maybe not go nuts over,” he says. “Somebody who really encapsulates a movement in music, I think, would be amazing.”
He adds that if he could collaborate with any musician, living or dead, it’d be Jeff Buckley. “I would have loved to sit down with Jeff Buckley and written, I think. One of my favorite songs of all time is ‘Eternal Life.’ To be able to, I guess, pick such a musical mind’s brain, you know, would be amazingly educational.”
He says, “I think I would love to be somebody that ten years down the road, you ask somebody else that question and then they say me. I think that’d be a huge compliment.” Complete interview online at: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012061365
Thanks To: Jessica Baird, Nicole Coates, Sandra Battles, Bert and Adam Bretherton
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MARY’S MAILBAG
…with love from M. G.
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If you have a question for Mary, please tell us what City/Country you are writing from and send them to: [email protected] Letters reprinted by permission
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In the previous edition of JBIN [Vol.10:03 06/26/08], we featured a mailbag letter from Jamie in the USA. Jamie asked if there would ever be a collection of rarities of some of Jeff’s music put into an album, suggesting some covers Jeff has recorded or some of Jeff’s WFMU performances. As a follow-up, we have this info from Jack Bookbinder/Fun Palace Entertainment:
WFMU-FM did indeed approve the commercial release (2007) of a previously unreleased recording of Jeff Buckley’s performance of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” for the For New Orleans 2-CD (A Benefit for the Musicians’ Village Habitat for Humanity).
The CD is available online at www.sugarfootmusic.com, Amazon.com, iTunes and in retail stores nationally through Navarre Distribution. More information and press releases from Sugarfoot Music, go to: http://www.sugarfootmusic.com/pr.html
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Dear Mary,
Jeff never came to my country Greece and I hadn’t seen him on TV here. He came all his way down to Italy but never to my poor little Greece. I didn’t hear of Jeff until I saw the German film called “Die Fetten Jahren Sind Vorbei”. I thought to pass that on incase you didn’t know. Thank God there are some film companies with some good taste in music.
Greetings from Thessaloniki, Greece and thank you for all you do !
Dina
Dear Dina:
I’m sure Jeff would have planned to visit your country, eventually. His maternal grandmother is 100% Greek and I have always promised myself to go there, one day. Thanks for telling us about the film. Film makers are supposed to ask permission to use artists’ songs or recorded performances in their movies. That’s one group that I think may have “forgotten” to ask.
All the best,
Mary
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Hi Mary,
I just wanted to drop a line to mention that I was watching a movie called “Elizabethtown” a couple of days ago. The film stars Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom. Near the end of the movie, during a
narration part by Kirsten Dunst’s character there is a mention of Jeff. When I heard Jeff’s name, my mind went back in time flashing a blur of the many times I chatted with Jeff in high school, including some fun jam times in the band room at Loara high school.
Lastly, again regarding movies, I saw “Four brothers”, starring Marc Walburg and when the end credits were rolling, I hear a song playing and the most wonderful voice singing which I identified out loud to
my wife, as I looked up to the ceiling, joyfully saying loudly “Hey, honey, I know that singers voice … it’s Jeff Buckley”.
I got this feeling that swooped through my heart as if it’s a quick note from Jeff to let me know he has not forgotten in return. My eyes teared up and yet, just as quick I smiled, knowing everything is ok.
I just thought I should mention this incase you aren’t aware of the movies I mentioned above. Thank you for your time. You folks at the newsletter of Jeff Buckley fan base are wonderful.
With that, much love to Ms.Mary, a woman I admire for all her heart and soul.
Although, my bit in high school with Jeff was short ….
Jeff, my friend, I miss you ….
Respectfully,
Robert Mounts
(Anaheim, California)
Thanks for that, Robert. Go Saxons! xo MG