Guru T-Lu hates Tim Buckley and the Hated Uncles drop by

Tim Buckley: Blue Afternoon (1969) **** Tim Buckley: Starsailor (1970) ***** By the time "Chase the Blues Away" barely had a chance to breathe, Guru T-Lu said: "This guy is bringing me down." I replied: "He always brings you down." Later on, I remarked: "I find his music beautiful and majestic." Guru T-Lu said something like, "beautiful and majestic...good for you." Maybe his music just hits me right during my "stones". I love his voice and the control he has over it. You can feel him exploring every note. I've read of comparisons of his voice with Coltrane, and that's not too far off. Even though Buckley wasn't as brilliant as Coltrane. Not too many were.

Oh yeh, I also love the subtle musicianship, which accentuates his voice beatifully. I read Lee Underwood's bio of Tim Buckley, and it's obvious Lee loved Tim, but Tim could also be a prick. Typical musical genius. It's a good read as well. If you're interested in Tim's music definitely check it out. I think I read my copy from the Oakville Public Library. Great library.

I'm really digging on "Jungle Fire" right now. I so disagree with Guru T-Lu....Good Lord, is "Starsailor" ever freaky. I started hallucianating that I was listening to Amon Duul or something! Tim Buckley's official site.
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I'm so far behind in my magazine reading. I read MOJO, Uncut and Record Collector cover to cover, but lately, I'm getting so far behind I'm having to skip some reviews and stuff that's not really my cup of tea. Example: The value of The Smiths rarities. So, it may be awhile for me to finish the Julian Cope.
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Hated Uncles story #1

OK. A new feature. Old Hated Uncle stories. We opened up for The Forgotten Rebels in Hamilton, Ontario at Willy Woggs, and played probably our best show up to that point. It was a tough, biker kind of crowd (obviously, with The Rebels being punk heroes) and our weird original music with a trumpet, guitar, bass and me yelling out my lyrics while rolling around on the stage and then walking out into the crowd confronting people got quite a mixed reaction. In other words, we were lucky we didn't get the shit kicked out of us. Micky DeSaidst (who even became somewhat of a friend), however really liked us. Maybe because people didn't like us. Whatever. We all became friends. He actually told the crowd they were doing their version of The Hated Uncles and then they did some song similar to our "big" song "Name on a Gravestone". Of course, with our egos fuelled by alcohol we were pretty hot shit that night. [Aside: That was also the night I first met my friend of many years, Vikram] Mickey told us we could open for The Forgotten Rebels in London, Ontario.

Wow! The Hated Uncles on the road. So, we do what all touring bands do. We rented a van for too much money, packed up the equipment and headed out to the show. The big time! This could lead to something! Maybe we could open up for The Forgotten Rebels when they went on tour! Oh God! The possibities!

I'm usually a pretty good driver, but I remember missing a stop sign and just driving right through a pretty busy intersection. I'm sure the other guys were distracting me or whatever, but we were lucky we got through it alive because it was close. Definitely a bad omen.

So...we get to the show way too early, like the eager losers we were, and wait around drinking beer and playing pool. Finally, Mickey shows up and the first thing he says is: "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Um.....well, you remember that show in Hamilton...oh you forget...it's ok I'll get you on. Mickey's a good guy. He comes back and says, "You're on at 10." Great. No problem.

It's about 7:30 and I go out with Tanya (guitar player's girlfriend) for dinner and a drink. Being a single horny man who masterbated too much and never got laid, of course I had a thing for Tanya, but then again, I think we all did. The other guys stayed behind, but I liked to get away from the place for a break and come back closer to showtime. Our shows were pretty intense, and we definitely worked up to them with a lot of beer and attitude. So, I liked to come back about 1/2 hour before we went on. Made it seem fresher to me.

We have a pleasant dinner and we head back. It's about 8:45. Mickey comes running up: "Where the fuck have you been?! They've been waiting for you on stage for about 5 minutes. I rush up, we start off, but everything was off. The sound was shit, we were shit. So, we get the plug after 3 songs. Surprisingly, the only time that ever happened. I could think of a couple of shows we should have had the plug pulled, but that'll be for later stories.

Of course, we all got shitfaced, smoked shitloads of pot outside, bickered and were quite nasty with each other. We were all tired and wasted. Somehow we get back home, and amazingly keep the band going. I remember some kind of weird feeling that came over me on the ride back, but to this day, I'm still not quite sure what that feeling was.

What a great experience.
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