Benjamin Blogged

In 2003, I lived in a little white house on a hill. I had no bed but I did have a little blue sports car, two guitars, and a dozen old computers. I also had a roomate named Rick. Rick could have been my father, but he was a swinging bachelor and we got together fantastically. In particular, we both shared a deep and abiding love for music.

We built a small recording studio in two rooms of our basement with a 4 track, a computer, and a handful of microphones. It was pretty janky but we spent many smokey nights down there, 6 or 7 people jamming in a space the size of a moderate bedroom. Drumset in the corner, amps and cables winding everywhere. Many Thursdays, we would head a few blocks down the hill to a bar that hosted an open blues night.

In July of that year, I dropped a minidisc recorder in to my guitar case and got up on stage to sing “The things that I used to do” by Guitar Slim. I had learned it by listening to a track by Buddy Guy and gotten up on that same stage to sing it in June. The June performance was passable, but the July performance was better. And so that is what I’m going to share with you here. Forgive the screaming. I got a little excited and really went all out, but at least the audience liked it. Tune in at 2:45 for my noodling guitar solo. Stevie Ray I am not.

The things that I used to do

Last Jeff Buckley song for a while, I promise. It’s just so hard not to post these. They’re easier than writing real posts, and I have an incurable urge to share this music with everyone who will listen. How did Jeff manage to inspire that in people? Crack that nut, and you’ll make millions.

I have no idea when or where this show was recorded, but Jeff ended up behind the drums and gave us a new blues standard with The White Man Troubles. It’s fantastic that this made it to tape for us today, but I’m a little sad when I think about what things never made it to tape to be passed on today. What’s the lesson to be learned? Bootleg everything? Go out and see live music before your favorite artists don’t play anymore? I’m voting for “Move to Tibet and become a chanting monk”.

Jeff on drums singing the White Man Troubles

Yet another Jeff Buckley snippet. This time from a live show. While tuning his guitar, Jeff is inspired to play the dance theme to a show he saw once when he skipped school as a boy. Jeff remembered it as “Valley of the Giants” but it was actually “Village of the Giants” made in 1965. MP3s you’ll find floating around the internet call it Land of the Giants. Go figure. You can see a trippy dance scene (complete with cowboy riding a giant pair of breasts) on YouTube and you can hear Jeff’s rendition of the song below.

Land, Valley, Village of the Giants Theme

Squeakor is another live comedy gem from Jeff Buckley. What happens when you mix Rush and basement pests? You get an epic battle with Squeakor, Prince of Vermin.

Jeff’s tale of Squeakor

This is a fantastic live bootleg cover of Catnip Dream by Jeff Buckley. Nobody could argue that Jeff wasn’t an amazing musician with an unrivaled voice. Sadly, however, too few people are sufficiently exposed to his talent as a live entertainer. Jeff displayed an uncanny ability to play with his audiences, especially in smaller venues; feeding on their participation and using that energy to create something beautiful or just to become a comedian for a moment.

Jeff Buckley’s impromptu cover of Catnip Dream