David Browne

Author of Dream Brother:
The Lives And Music Of Jeff And Tim Buckley

The greatly anticipated new book by author David Browne, entitled Dream Brother, has finally arrived. What follows is an interview that I hope you'll enjoy.

Jack Brolly

JACK: Was it Jeff’s mysterious death or your attraction to the Grace CD that inspired you to research and start the book?

DAVID: Probably a little bit of both. I had the good fortune of seeing Jeff perform at Sin-e on the Lower East Side in 1993 and then interviewing him for the New York Times--one of his very first interviews, I believe. His potential during those Sin-e shows was more than apparent, and about nine months later I received an advance tape of Grace that, after a few plays, became one of my favorite albums of 1994. Something about him--a combination of his story, voice, eclectic music, and aura--was fascinating.

Immediately after he was reported missing, I was assigned to write an article on the incident (it wasn’t an obituary yet, since his body hadn’t been found) for EW (Entertainment Weekly). After I finished it, it dawned on me that there could be a book in all this. I wasn’t sure what it would be, but all the ingredients for a good story--including, tragically, the fact of Tim’s equally early death--were there.

JACK: Was Tim Buckley’s story always a part of your story line, or did your research into Jeff’s life story motivate you to learn more about Tim’s life?

DAVID: My initial idea, back in the summer of 1997, was for a book on Jeff. I also knew I would have to lay out Tim’s story in full, especially since the two of them reunited shortly before Tim’s death and readers would want to know what happened to Tim during those preceding eight and a half years. With all that in mind, I simply threw myself into the research, tracking down anyone and everyone I could and accumulating documents, statistics, session logs, and whatever else I could find.

I already knew the basics of Tim’s life and career, but the deeper I was drawn into his story, the more fascinated I became. Coming across the never-filmed script for Fully Air Conditioned Inside and seeing an extremely rare print of the movie Why? (starring Tim and OJ Simpson) only clinched my fascination.

My research also took me deeper than I had initially expected into the family histories, back to the 19th century. It also became increasingly apparent that Jeff may not have known Tim, and that Tim had his deficiencies as a parent, but that Jeff’s knowledge of Tim’s career, music, and mistakes informed a good chunk of Jeff’s views on the music business.

When I began writing the book in the summer of 1999, I was confronted with nearly three file cabinets full of information. It was then that I sketched out a more complete outline, with the idea of alternating chapters between them. I showed the outline to my agents and publishers, and asked for their input; all thought it could work, and I began writing.

It was nerve-wracking in a way: I wouldn’t know for certain if the book would coalesce in this manner until I actually finished it. So I just started plowing away, and luckily it all worked out.

JACK: How in the world did you get a copy of the movie Why? Tell us, who has that print in their possession?

DAVID: With surprising ease, I tracked down a number for the director, Victor Stoloff, who lives in the New York area. I left him a phone message, hoping it was the same person. The next day, the phone rang, and a man with a Russian accent said he was returning my call. I told him about the book, and he said, “Ya! Tim Buckley! I made a MOVIE with him! In fact, I have a copy of it here!”

I just about fell out of my chair, since no one I interviewed seems to have ever seen it. Victor then visited me at my office at Entertainment Weekly, bringing two copies of the movie, one on VHS and one on 3/4-inch tape. We popped in the latter first, since it was better quality--and the tape promptly broke! It had been THAT long since Victor had watched it. Fortunately, the VHS was in good condition, and Victor and I sat down and watched it together. He hadn’t seen it in over twenty years and seemed as engrossed as I was, and he reminisced throughout the screening.

Afterward, I asked if I could have a copy and he said no--not because he didn’t trust me, but because he was embarrassed! Although he felt Tim was very good, he felt the film overall was so mediocre that he didn’t want the public to see it again!>

"During our first conversation, Larry Beckett warned me about this, and that I shouldn't use information in old interviews and rock encyclopedias--and boy, was he right..."

JACK: How much of your research fell by the wayside due to space constraints and manuscript editing?

DAVID: None of it. The manuscript ran way over---50,000 words, to be exact--and no one at either Harper Collins (U.S.) or Fourth Estate (the U.K.) batted an eye. The copy editors did an excellent job combing through the manuscript for grammatical and spelling errors, not to mention things I wouldn’t have thought of: One of them, for instance, suggested I specifically explain what a “barre chord” is. As a music writer, I assumed everyone would know what that was, and she made a good call.

JACK: You mention in your book that you are/were a fan of Jeff Buckley when you began. Are you now also a fan of Tim’s work as well?

DAVID: Funny story, in retrospect: I was 15 when Tim died, and I read about his death in music magazines. The descriptions of his work made me want to check out some of his records, but back in the mid to late ’70s, Tim LPs were impossible to find. Finally, I found one-- Look at the Fool, in the 99-cent cut-out bin of my local Sam Goody record store (in Wayne, NJ). I thought, “Cool--that Tim Buckley guy I heard about!” and bought it.

Thinking it would be in the folk-jazz-singer/songwriter mode I’d read about, I put it on--and heard some sort of weird R&B. Only then did I read up on his discography and realize that Look at the Fool was not considered one of his best and that I should start with Goodbye and Hello, Happy Sad, etc.

By the time I met Jeff, I had most of Tim’s records, thanks to the wonders of CDs and reissues. Some I liked; some I didn’t. I’m more of a fan these days, having immersed myself in all his music. Happy Sad, Dream Letter,and Blue Afternoon in particular are my favorites.

JACK: David, you are a serious and conscientious professional writer and a well-respected music critic for the popular Entertainment Weekly magazine. Given the wealth of Internet information on Tim and the numerous CDs in circulation (nine studio albums, five live albums , the posthumous Works In Progress CD and the Evan Cohen/Manifesto Tim Buckley tribute CD entitled Sing A Song For You), where do you feel that Tim Buckley the singer/songwriter belongs in the annals of music history?

DAVID: Tim clearly should be acknowledged as a quote unquote singer-songwriter who pushed the boundaries of that description in every way. Like Nick Drake, Tim Hardin, David Ackles, and other peers, he may not have sold many records in his lifetime, but his impact--on contemporary solo acts and bands like Elliott Smith, Badly Drawn Boy, This Mortal Coil, Duncan Sheik, and on and on--is inestimable.

JACK: Did you learn any of what you needed to know from searching the Internet?

DAVID: To some degree. The Tim Buckley Archives had some great old articles I didn’t find anywhere else, and I was able to track down a few of my interview subjects via the Net.