Jeff Buckley Band Members
Matt Johnson:
Matt reflects on Jeff and the making of Grace in a recent sit down with VADER. Watch the video.
In the years since Jeff Buckley, Matt Johnson has performed and recorded with Duncan Sheik, Elysian Fields, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Gabriel Kahane, Dean Wareham, Britta Phillips, Beth Orton, David Poe, and Theo Eastwind. Johnson is currently collaborating with Sheik and fellow musician/songwriters David Poe, Morgan Taylor and Fil Krohnengold on an as-yet unnamed band project. Matt has also stepped away from the drum lift to record and release the solo project “Cagefighter,” a moody and graceful collection of Matt Johnson original music, including the piece “Together We Say.”
The authentic styled drummer was also a member of the Australian singer-songwriter duo Angus & Julia Stone, with which he performed around the year 2011. When the duo split apart for a time to work on solo-projects, Matt Johnson accompanied Angus Stone on his solo-tour.
Recently, Matt has appeared in many live performances and toured with American indie musician St. Vincent from 2011 to 2015.
Matt Johnson has released his second solo album, titled Law of the Land. Here is a multi-faceted artist with a unique voice as can be heard in the well-rounded emotion of “Dying Breed” and the kicking tempo of “Break You Down”. The smiling chagrin of “Those Shoes” is nicely counter-balanced by the resigned sorrow of “Low Soft Refrain.” Again, Johnson is expected to release more solo material.
From Modern Drummer:
“Brooklyn-based drummer Matt Johnson has kept busy the past fifteen years with a succession of fulfilling gigs that have seen him playing European stadiums, Lower East Side bars, and every kind of venue in between…The years since Buckley’s untimely 1997 death have found Johnson backing John Mayer, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Duncan Sheik, Beth Orton, and others in the studio and on stage, as well as moving forward with his own projects, like his new solo album Cagefighter.” – Patrick Berkery (January 2010)
In 2016, Matt’s son Jasper suffered a severe seizure, which led to a catastrophic brain injury. If you’d like to read more and share your support please click here. Thank you.
Michael Tighe:
In the early 2000’s, Michael Tighe played with the bands Those Bastard Souls, Black Beetle and The A.M. In the late 2000’s, Michael toured with Grammy award winner Mark Ronson and was a guest singer (under the alias Tiggers) on his 2007 release Version. Michael just completed a new EP. Read more about him in this Beatweek article.
Mick Grondahl:
Mick lives in Copenhagen with his wife and daughter. He has been recording music with his band Tongue. Preview songs and photos at www.myspace.com/tonguelicks. Mick and his drummer performed at Amazing Grace – A Tribute to Jeff Buckley, on June 3, 2008 in Paris, France.
Parker Kindred
Parker continues to play music, and for the past several years has been working with numerous artists including Those Bastard Souls, Black Beetle, The A.M., Adam Green, Grand Mal, Luke Temple, Antony and the Johnsons, and Paleface.
Parker has spent the last few years battling debilitating Lyme disease. Read his story below, and if you wish to help, visit his Go Fund Me account.
“For the past 18 years, I have supported myself by playing, performing and touring as a drummer. I have been fortunate to work with many of NYC’s finest and most gifted musicians over the years: Jeff Buckley, Antony and the Johnsons, Joan As Police Woman, Adam Green, Cass McCombs, Luke Temple and Amen Dunes.
For this, I am grateful.
However, in November of 2014, I was diagnosed with Late Stage Chronic Lyme Disease and, as a result, I can no longer keep up the path that has sustained me and my livelihood until now. I am unsure of when my body will allow me to work in this way again. For those of you who don’t know, here is a little bit of my story.
For years, I experienced the symptoms of Lyme Disease: spinning, dizziness, body tremors, blazing headaches, chronic fatigue. I was under the impression that it was from my rigorous touring schedule, but even after resting and taking breaks, the symptoms persisted. My quality of life diminished quickly. I had extensive testing done, and my results read as “normal.” A chiropractor who I’ve seen for a long time suggested I may have Lyme disease. I took his advice and got tested. The blood test came back negative. Many people who, like me, are tested for Lyme disease are falsely diagnosed. I was diagnosed with a false negative and, for years, didn’t believe I had Lyme. I spent most of my earnings on doctors trying to figure out what was going on with my body.
Over the past 5 years, I have had distressing health problems: chronic fatigue, vertigo, numbness in my limbs, joint pain. I have had temporal arteries removed from my head. I have been through many oral antibiotic therapies that have garnered worse results. I have been hospitalized due to a blood clot in my left arm, which doctors have been treating with blood thinners and ultrasounds. I have had procedures such as a colonoscopy and endoscopy to try and address my abdominal spasming and organ pain, all of which are symtoms of Lyme and Bartonella (a co-infection that accompanies Lyme).
Then, I started to lose feeling in my hands and elbows in October of 2014. As a drummer, this is especially terrifying. I finally went to a doctor who used a good Lyme blood testing lab and I got back a positive on having Lyme.
When I got the results, I was relieved to know what was happening to my body all those years. However, the trickiest part of Lyme is that every case is different and insurance doesn’t cover most of the treatment since they do not categorize Lyme as a real disease. Even though hundreds of Lyme disease sufferers and Lyme-literate physicians claim Lyme bacteria survive in the body long after treatment is completed. This results in what is known as persistent Lyme disease, or Lyme disease treatment syndrome.
For the past 8 months, I have been forced to drop the narrative of who I have been, what I do, and what I love. I am distraught with the loss of what has enabled me to survive in NYC until now. The process has been painful in every aspect of life and affects me physically, emotionally and spiritually. I have never felt so compromised and I hope no one ever has to go through what I am going through. I have been humbled by this disease but the humility needed to accept this has been challenging. I am preparing to lose everything I have because I cannot earn right now.
On the other hand, I am also grateful for this disease because it shows me that the human will to live is strong and that I need to ask for help. The amount I am asking for represents only a fraction of what I have spent on treatments since having Lyme. Because I am unable to work, I am asking for your help to move forward in my recovery. I cannot do this alone. I don’t have any family to help me.
I am desperate to get better and get back to living a life again. I would like to thank you all for your love, support and prayers over this time. It means the world to me.
I just wanna get better – so I can love you all, the way I want and need to.
Love,
Parker
Note: I strongly encourage anyone who is interested to learn more about Lyme. It is a misunderstood disease that affects 300,000 Americans each year. Here are some helpful sites:”
How Lyme Disease Affects the Immune System
Bartonella Species
Lyme Disease and the Nervous System