Wikipedia

Peter Buck

For other people named Peter Buck, seePeter Buck (disambiguation).

Peter Lawrence Buck(born December 6, 1956) is an Americanmusicianand songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of thealternative rockbandR.E.M.He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his career with R.E.M. (1980–2011), as well as during his subsequent solo career, Buck has also been at various times an official member of numerous 'side project' groups. These groups included Arthur Buck (withJoseph Arthur),Hindu Love Gods,The Minus 5,Tuatara,The Baseball Project,Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3,Tired Pony,The No-Ones, andFilthy Friends,each of which have released at least one full-length studio album. Additionally, the experimental combo Slow Music (which also features Fred Chalenor,Hector Zazou,Matt Chamberlain,Robert Fripp,andBill Rieflin) have released an official live concert CD. Another side project group called Full Time Men released an EP while Buck was a member. As well, ad hoc "supergroups"Bingo Hand Job(Billy Braggand R.E.M.), Musical Kings (Michelle Malone, Peter Buck, John Keane) and Nigel & The Crosses (Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Buck,Glenn Tilbrookand others) have each commercially released one track.

Peter Buck
Buck in 2022
Buck in 2022
Background information
Birth namePeter Lawrence Buck
Born(1956-12-06)December 6, 1956(age 68)
Berkeley, California,U.S.
GenresAlternative rock,folk rock,[1]punk rock
OccupationsMusician, songwriter
InstrumentsGuitar, mandolin, banjo, bass guitar
Years active1976–present
LabelsMississippi

Richard M. Nixon, a band Buck founded in 2012 to support the release of his solo album with live gigs, has never issued an official recording. Richard M. Nixon consisted of Buck,Scott McCaugheyandBill Rieflin,the same three musicians who comprise The Venus 3.[2]

Buck also has a career as a record producer including releases byUncle Tupelo,Vigilantes of Love,Dreams So Real,The Fleshtones,The Feelies,andThe Jayhawks,as well as asession musician(for the likes ofThe Replacements,Billy Bragg,DecemberistsandEels).

Early life

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Peter Lawrence Buck was born on December 6, 1956, inBerkeley, California,to Peter and Violet Buck. After spending time in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Buck family moved, viaRoswell, Georgia,[3]toAtlanta.After graduating with honors fromCrestwood High Schoolin 1975, Buck attendedEmory Universityand joinedDelta Tau Deltafraternity. He eventually dropped out of Emory. Buck moved toAthens, Georgia,and attended theUniversity of Georgiaas well. While in Athens, Buck worked at theWuxtry Recordsstore,[4]where he met future bandmateMichael Stipeas well as R.E.M.'s future manager,Bertis Downs.[5][6]

Music

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Buck on stage inNaples,Italy, in 2008
Buck interviewed in 1988, shortly after the release of R.E.M.'sGreen
Buck with Arthur Buck in 2018

Buck's style of guitar playing is simple and yet distinctive. He makes wide use of open strings while chording to create chiming and memorable pop melodies. His sound, especially on mid-period R.E.M. albums that saw the band break through to international popularity, has been associated withRickenbackerguitars, particularly a Jetglo (black) model 360.[7]He has also used a wide variety of other instruments as the group continued to experiment and develop. On some more recent R.E.M. releases prior toAccelerate(2008), his guitar parts have been less prominent.

"When Peter plays guitar, there's a strong sense offuck offthat comes from his side of the stage. And you feel that he wants to be in a band because he likes what they do... but that's all, "explainedU2's lead singerBonoin 2003.[8]"And it's almost like performing and having to deal with all of that is a bit of a compromise for him, so just fuck off. And I like that energy a little bit, and that gives them their aggression."

Buck has produced many bands, includingUncle Tupelo,Dreams So Real,Drivin N Cryin,The Fleshtones,Charlie Pickett,andThe Feelies.Buck also has made contributions on many other musicians' albums, includingThe Replacements,Billy Bragg,The Decemberists,[9]Robyn Hitchcock,and severalEelsalbums.

Peter, Mike Mills, Bill Berry andWarren Zevonrecorded an album under the band nameHindu Love Gods,while the R.E.M. bandmates and Zevon were recording tracks for Zevon's 1987 albumSentimental Hygiene.[4]Hindu Love Gods is one of many names the members of R.E.M. have used performing around the Athens area. Buck also continued to play live locally with the Normaltown Flyers, performing country and rock standards in local bars.[4]

The three instrumentalists from R.E.M. all performed onNikki Sudden's 1991 albumThe Jewel Thief,including the single "I Belong to You".

Buck also coproduced the 1992Vigilantes of Lovealbum,Killing Floor,with songwriterMark Heard.He co-wrote, produced, and performed onMark Eitzel's 1997 albumWest.He recorded an EP with Keith Streng ofThe Fleshtonesas Full Time Men in 1985, and along with R.E.M. sidemanScott McCaugheyhas been a partner inThe Minus 5and a member of the instrumental bandTuatara.Additionally, In October 2005, he joined R.E.M. studio drummerBill Rieflin,King CrimsonguitaristRobert Frippand three others in forming an improvisational performance band called Slow Music. His voice can be heard on one R.E.M. song: "I Walked with a Zombie" from theRoky Ericksontribute albumWhere the Pyramid Meets the Eye.In 2006, Buck toured withRobyn Hitchcock,McCaughey, and Rieflin as lead guitarist for Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 in the wake of the band's first release,Olé! Tarantula.In 2008, after McCaughey andSteve Wynndecided to work together, the duo asked Buck to be the bass player in their new band,The Baseball Project,along with drummer Linda Pitmon.

Buck has contributed liner notes to compilations, reissues, and special editions, both of R.E.M.'s own material (the best-of compilationsEponymousandIn Time,the rarities, B-sides and out-takes collectionDead Letter Office,and the special edition ofNew Adventures in Hi-Fi) and of other artists' work (such asThe Beach Boys'Love You). On September 9, 2008, immediately following the band's concert inHelsinki,Buck's signatureRickenbackerguitar, used live and in the studio sinceChronic Townin 1982, was stolen from the stage. It was returned on September 18, 2008, by an anonymous source.[10]

In March 2012, six months after R.E.M.'s September 2011 dissolution, Buck, now signed to Mississippi Records,[11]announced intentions of workingon a solo album,backed by singer-songwriterJoseph Arthur.[12]The first track from the self-titled solo album, "10 Million BC," was released viaSoundCloudon June 21, 2012.[13]His eponymousfirst albumwas released later that same year.

In the final days of 2013, Buck announced he would be releasing his second solo album soon. The new project, titledI Am Back to Blow Your Mind Once Again,was released on February 18, 2014, again on vinyl only.

In 2015, Buck released his third solo album,Warzone Earth,under Little Axe Records.

In April 2017, Buck released the first single "Any Kind of Crowd" from his latest collaborative project withFilthy Friends,a super group with long time associatesScott McCaughey,Bill Rieflin,Kurt BlochandCorin TuckerofSleater-Kinney.The same month also saw another new release with Buck and McCaughey teaming up with Frode Strømstad and Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen of Norwegian band I Was A King to form the group The No Ones. The first song from their Sun Station EP was released, with the EP set to follow later in the year.[14]

Arthur Buck, a side project with singer-songwriterJoseph Arthurin which Buck and Arthur share songwriting duties, released their eponymous debut album in June 2018.[15]The following year, theLuke HainescollaborationBeat Poetry for Survivalistswas released.

Personal life

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Buck has been married three times and is twice divorced. He was first married toBarrie Greene,the owner of Athens'40 Watt Club.[4]He and Greene married in 1987 and divorced in 1994.[16]

He has twin daughters, born in May 1994,[17]withStephanie Dorgan,the owner of Seattle'sCrocodile Cafemusic club.[18]Buck and Dorgan married in January 1995 while in Perth, Australia, during R.E.M.'s Monster World Tour.[17]The couple separated in 2006, and Dorgan sued Buck for divorce in 2007.[19][17]During his marriage to Dorgan, Buck became a partner in Crocodile Cafe and often played there with his other band,The Minus 5.[20]

Buck married his third wife, Chloe Johnson, on June 1, 2013, in Portland, Oregon.[21]The three other original bandmates of R.E.M. were all in attendance and performed at the ceremony.[22]

He is known for his encyclopedic knowledge of music, as well as his extensive personal record collection. Buck estimated his record collection to be around 25,000 in the late 1990s (he estimated he had 10,000 vinyl singles, 6,000 LPs and 4,000 CDs).[23]

Buck is an atheist.[24]

In the 1990s, Buck relocated to thePacific Northwestand divided time between Portland, Oregon,[25]and Seattle, Washington. He has also lived inTodos Santos,Baja California Sur,Mexico.[26]

Airline incident

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On April 21, 2001, Buck was aboard a transatlantic flight (British Airways #48) from Seattle to London to play a concert atTrafalgar Square.Witnesses alleged that Buck exhibited various bizarre behaviors on the flight, including shoving a compact disc into a drinks trolley thinking it was a CD player, tearing up the "yellow card" warning notice handed to him by the flight crew, claiming "I am R.E.M." and being involved in a struggle over a yogurt cup with two flight attendants, which resulted in the cup exploding. Buck's actions led to two charges of common assault on the flight attendants, one charge of being drunk on a plane and one charge of damagingBritish Airwayscutlery and crockery.

At the ensuing trial in London, Buck's defense claimed that the moderate amount of wine he had drunk had reacted adversely with the brand of sleeping pill he was taking and rendered him unable to control his actions. The prosecution argued that he was simply intoxicated from supposedly consuming 15 glasses of wine. After the trial, which included testimony fromBono,the lead singer of the Irish rock bandU2,Buck was cleared on the grounds of non-insaneautomatism.[27][28]

Discography

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With R.E.M.

Solo

Produced

Recorded with

Arthur Buck

The Baseball Project

Mark Eitzel

  • West(Warner Bros.) 1997

Filthy Friends

Hindu Love Gods

The Minus 5

Tuatara

Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus Three

Tired Pony

The No Ones

  • The Great Lost No Ones Album(Yep Rock) 2020
  • My Best Evil Friend(Yep Rock) 2023

Slow Music Project

  • Live at the Croc 19 Oct 2005(Slow Music) 2005

Full Time Men

  • Full Time MenEP (Coyote) 1985

References

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  1. ^"Stipe, Carrey Duet On R.E.M. – Penned Soundtrack".MTV.Archived fromthe originalon June 30, 2016.RetrievedJune 20,2016.
  2. ^Kornelis, Chris (August 14, 2012)."Peter Buck's First Post-R.E.M. Solo Record as Richard M. Nixon Features Vocals From Mike Mills, Corin Tucker, and... Peter Buck".Seattle Weekly.Village Voice Media.Archived fromthe originalon August 16, 2012.RetrievedAugust 14,2012.
  3. ^Forman, Bill (November 9, 1986)."R.E.M.'s Song of the South".The Washington Post.
  4. ^abcdGill, Andy (March 5, 1991)."The Home Guard".Q.No. 55. pp.56–61 – viaRock's Backpages.
  5. ^Waldman, Matt (December 2002)."Bertis Downs... in his own words".Georgia Magazine.82(1). University of Georgia. Archived fromthe originalon March 28, 2003.RetrievedMarch 13,2007.
  6. ^"Entry for R.E.M.".New Georgia Encyclopedia.The Georgia Humanities Council & the University of Georgia Press.RetrievedJuly 8,2024.
  7. ^"RIC makes the list with REM – 8/7/2005".www.rickenbacker.com.RetrievedMarch 13,2007.
  8. ^The South Bank Show,May 12, 2003.
  9. ^Douglas Wolk (November 4, 2010)."Colin Meloy Reveals Details of New Decemberists Album | Music News".Rolling Stone.Archived fromthe originalon November 7, 2010.RetrievedFebruary 29,2012.
  10. ^"Peter Buck's Rickenbacker Returned!".R.E.M. HQ.September 19, 2008.RetrievedJuly 8,2024.
  11. ^"R.E.M.'s Peter Buck on Music and Travel"–Wall Street Journal,January 3, 2014
  12. ^"Joseph Arthur Back Peter Buck's Singing Debut".Paste magazine.June 4, 2012.RetrievedJuly 12,2012.
  13. ^"Studio Version of 10 Million BC".R.E.M. HQ.June 21, 2012.RetrievedJuly 8,2024.
  14. ^"Stream The Debut Single From Jangle Pop Supergroup The No Ones".Stereogum.April 25, 2017.RetrievedApril 5,2017.
  15. ^"Joseph Arthur, Peter Buck Wander Through Oregon in Vivid New Video".Rolling Stone.RetrievedMay 4,2018.
  16. ^Dunn, Bill (December 6, 1980)."Peter Buck – Freedom From Religion Foundation".ffrf.org.RetrievedApril 18,2024.
  17. ^abc"Motion for Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in DORGAN VS BUCK".Trellis.Law.February 7, 2007.RetrievedJuly 8,2024.
  18. ^Marshall, John."Seattle's Crocodile Cafe closes".Seattle Post-Intelligencer.Archivedfrom the original on April 18, 2024.RetrievedApril 18,2024.
  19. ^"The Crocodile".AFAR Media.RetrievedApril 18,2024.
  20. ^Tom Scanlon (December 17, 2007)."Crocodile Cafe abruptly closes its doors".The Seattle Times.
  21. ^"Scoop: Gossip Makin' It Here or Nowhere at All".Willamette Week.RetrievedOctober 6,2017.
  22. ^"R.E.M. carefully avoids actual reunion as all 4 members play Peter Buck's wedding – Slicing Up Eyeballs".RetrievedApril 18,2024.
  23. ^"Murmurs.com".Murmurs.com. Archived fromthe originalon February 7, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 29,2012.
  24. ^R.E.M. interview disc, "Shiny Chatty People" conducted on June 23, 1985, for England's Piccadilly Radio "If we all found God tomorrow and wanted to do a gospel show, we would do it. I never will – I'm an atheist"
  25. ^Fricke, David(February 7, 2011)."R.E.M. Roar Back withCollapse into Now".Rolling Stone.RetrievedFebruary 6,2012.
  26. ^Korrs, Ivan (December 6, 2022)."Peter Buck Now 2022: Age, Birthday, Net Worth, REM Reunion Not Possible".Music Times.RetrievedApril 17,2024.
  27. ^"R.E.M. star cleared of air rage attack. April 5, 2002".BBC News. April 5, 2002.RetrievedAugust 1,2006.
  28. ^Vasagar, Jeevan (April 6, 2002)."R.E.M. guitarist cleared of air rage".The Guardian.London.RetrievedAugust 1,2006.
  29. ^"Eyelids" The Accidental Falls "(The Lyrics of Larry Beckett) (Jealous Butcher Records)".February 26, 2020.
  30. ^"New Music from Hector Tellez Jr (with Peter Buck & Barrett Martin)".R.E.M. HQ.December 3, 2023.RetrievedDecember 3,2023.

Further reading

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