David Browne - Part Two

JACK: While weaving your way through all the geographical moves and all the people involved in Jeff’s life were you at times shocked and upset by what you uncovered?

DAVID: “Shocked” and “upset” are probably too strong; more like “riveted” and “constantly fascinated.” Jeff didn’t like to talk about himself and his background much to interviewers, so piecing together his story--whether it was his mysterious seven years in Los Angeles or his final days--was constantly illuminating, filled with surprises and information I never expected to find. Some of the news was amusing, some was enlightening, some disturbing or foreboding, but that’s probably par for the course in terms of writing a biography.

JACK: Did you spend a lot of sleepless nights agonizing over how you should interpret the conflicting and at times confusing spins that you were getting from different people in both Jeff and Tim’s lives?

DAVID: Yes, to put it mildly. One of the biggest challenges of this project was simply getting at the truth, or some semblance of it. Jeff in particular had many different circles of friend with many differing opinions of him: Was he weak, powerful, in control, out of control? And as Tim fans probably know, Tim didn’t mind talking about his life to the press, but he wasn’t always, shall we say, truthful.

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. So the book tries to dispel some myths and correct some misinformation. (Sorry, folks!) Also, the passage of time didn’t help. Never before have I heard the phrase “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember that period--I was doing too many drugs” more than when I interviewed old acquaintances of Tim’s. During my waking hours, I did my best to double- and triple-check sources.

JACK: Were you as surprised, as most readers will be, by the way Jeff’s life took that incredible turn during his final days?

DAVID: Jeff’s hectic, mysterious, and manic-depressive final days were indeed a surprise to me. But was his state of mind a nervous breakdown, or an extreme manifestation of his tendency to overthink events of his life? Was he simply freaking out that he finally had to start making his long, long-overdue second album? What was he thinking when he waded into the river and started swimming in his clothes and boots? Was he worried about what could happen? Was he thinking about fate or destiny? Was he aware that he was risking his life, or was he just being reckless, as he could be from time to time?

I wish I could have answered all those questions with finality, but I wasn’t always able to do so. We may never know all the answers. In life and death, he remains something of an enigma.

JACK:When Mary Guibert gave you access to Jeff”s journals, how many pages were there and how many years did they encompass?

DAVID: She lent me several spiral-bound notebooks dating from between 1993 and 1996. Can’t say the exact number of pages, but as many as you’d expect to find in such notebooks.

JACK: Did Mary edit the journals before she handed them over to you?

DAVID: No, nor did she ask to see beforehand what I was excerpting. It was uncommonly generous of her, and I will always appreciate it.

JACK: Would you describe their overall content?

DAVID: Quite varied: early versions of song lyrics; diary entries about events of the time and the past; lists of things to do; drawings and cartoons. The moods ranged from upbeat and positive to troubled and
distracted.

JACK: Were there a lot more of Jeff’s personal revelations that your conscience (or better judgment shall we say) would not allow you to disclose in public?

DAVID: Of course. As I was reading the journals, I was very aware that these were private and not meant for publication, and I did my best to be sensitive in terms of what I extracted and what I didn’t. It was a sometimes difficult and conflicting position to be in, but I felt it was ultimately important for the reader to read how Jeff felt about certain situations and people, rather than have others put words in his mouth. Plus, he was a very good writer--vivid and emotional.

JACK: Many people considered Jeff to be a brilliant individual. Were all of his journal entries written in a "stream of consciousness" format? Or, were there sections or paragraphs in the journals that were brilliantly coherent and concise?

DAVID: Both. The sections on Tim, for instance, were very together, as people will see when they read those excerpts in the book. The stream-of-consciousness parts were clearly part of Jeff’s creative
process--to just splatter himself across the page and, in doing so, spark a lyric or a thought. It was fascinating (and a rare treat) to see song lyrics, particularly those that wound up on the Sketches album, take shape with each passing page. He was clearly very smart-- well-read, intelligent, perceptive.

JACK: Was there any one person in particular (other than Mary Guibert) that helped you with Jeff’s story a lot more than others?

DAVID: Jeff’s life had many different periods, and different people helped with each. During his years in New York (1992-97), close friends Michael Tighe, Joan Wasser, and Rebecca Moore were hugely helpful, along with Columbia’s Steve Berkowitz, co-manager George Stein, and others. It’s hard to pin it down to just one or two other people; Jeff had many friends from many sectors.

JACK: Were you able to find out much about Jeff’s last stay in Memphis by visiting Barristers where he performed on a regular basis? How helpful were Jeff’s friends and neighbors in Memphis?

DAVID: I did visit Barrister’s (saw a really bad rap-metal band that 1998 night, in fact), but most of the information about Jeff’s nearly four-month stay in Memphis came from his friends and neighbors, who were by and large extremely welcoming and helpful to me. Dave and Tammy Shouse, on my second trip (1999), graciously let me into their home for an extended interview; Jeff’s landlady offered to cook me ribs.

Most remarkably Keith Foti, who was with Jeff the night he drowned, recreated the route he and Jeff took that evening. Using my rental car, we drove from Barrister’s over to the Welcome Center, parked in the same spot they did, climbed over the railing, walked down to the riverbank to the same spot, everything. It was incredibly magnanimous for Foti to do that; I’m sure it was not an easy trip for him, and I’m grateful to him as well.

JACK: Do you know what personal affects Jeff left behind in his house?

DAVID: It was all long gone by the time I was there. Clothing, guitars, tape recorder--those were the basics I heard about. The house was sparsely furnished during his time there.

JACK: Did you get to see any of the other photos on the roll of film taken by Keith Foti during Jeff’s last day in Memphis? If so, were there any pictures that might have had a particular story behind them?

DAVID: Foti gave me a copy of the photo of the orange diner chair he and Jeff hoisted into the van before they headed for the river, but that was it.

JACK: One of our forum members (Julie) thought it was interesting that you brought up "Borderline Personality Disorder" in relation to Tim. She looked up the DSM IV diagnostic criteria for borderline personality and sent the whole document to me.

She says that basically it’s a "pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships and self image that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts. It is often associated with substance abuse, suicidal behavior, and chronic feelings of emptiness." My question to you David is, "how did you ascertain that this might be Tim’s problem"?

DAVID: To try to understand these two men as much a I could, I spoke at length with a psychologist as part of my research. During our meeting, went into great length about their family histories and life patterns, and after a while, she mentioned “Borderline Personality Disorder”, pulled out her big reference book, and rattled off a list of symptoms. It seemed to match, and we talked about it further.

I can’t say for sure that Tim suffered from that, and the book doesn’t state this as fact, but as a biographer, I felt part of my job was to at least make a few educated guesses about my subject’s mental state. Judging from Tim’s actions over the years, and his own upbringing, I determined that that diagnosis was fairly accurate.

JACK: It was nice to read quotes from Carter C.C. Collins in your book. What’s he up to these days?

DAVID: Carter’s a sweet guy. It was genuinely exciting when I received a return email from him saying he would gladly speak with me, since no one from Tim’s crowd has seen him in years and I’ve never seen Carter interviewed anywhere before. He’s living in northern California and working on a plan for an arts awards program. Unfortunately, he suffered from glaucoma and lost his eyesight a number of years ago, and hasn’t played percussion professionally in years. But despite that, he seems in good spirits.

JACK: Have you heard from any of Tim’s family, friends, or associates who have read your book?

DAVID: Just a few so far. His girlfriend Jane Goldstein and Lee Underwood’s ex, Jennifer Stace, have both written me very positive letters telling me how much they enjoyed it, and that they felt I got it right. Needless to say, I felt very good about that.

JACK: After all you did to bring this marvelous manuscript to fruition, do you have any regrets to speak of?

DAVID: I had so much research that I wish the book could’ve been longer!

JACK: As an objective biographer, you left it up to the readers to draw
their own conclusions as to what made the Buckley’s tick. Now that your book is out there, would you like to capsulate your own astute and
sufficiently qualified opinion of the whole father/son situation that
existed for both men?

DAVID: It seems absurdly obvious to say, but the book was just another reminder to me on the impacts of parenting (or lack of it). Tim’s father
abused him verbally and physically, leaving Tim with diminished self-worth and a gnawing sense that he might not be a good father himself.

Jeff was clearly resentful of and hurt by Tim’s abandonment of him, which also left Jeff feeling at times unworthy of love. It was sad and tragic to see how certain traits are passed down from generation to generation, which, I think, adds a human-interest element to this book I hadn’t counted on at the beginning.

Jeff resisted any comparisons with Tim, but he also clearly was aware of his father’s music and career arc--of the highs and lows, the record company interference, the walls Tim hit when he was experimenting, the compromises Tim made. (It’s revealing, for instance, that “Starsailor” and “Lorca” were Jeff’s two favorite Tim albums.)

And those perceptions and that knowledge informed Jeff’s view of the music business, managers, record companies and so forth. Tim became, in essence, a teacher by default.

And talk about “nature vs. nurture”! Both men had similar strong, willful stubborn streaks when it came to their music--and yet they never ever sat down and talked about it, and Tim never passed anything on other than by example. Wherever they are, maybe they’re sharing those tales now--and, with any luck, having a few laughs. Let’s hope so, right?

JACK: I couldn't agree more.

© 2001 Jack Brolly/Room 109

Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley by David Browne

US Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: HarperEntertainment; 1st edition (January 23, 2001)

US Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (January 8, 2002)

UK Hardcover: 372 pages
Publisher: Fourth Estate (November 2, 2000)

UK Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Fourth Estate (October 1, 2001)