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11-07-2002, 08:47 PM | #31 | |
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Location: Goin' out West where they'll appreciate me
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As you know, I'm a huge Jeff fan and respect him both personally and musically. And from what I've noticed of Jimmy Gnecco in interviews and upon meeting him personally, he has the same sort of respect for Jeff. Not any kind of reverence, not some sort of sick obsession, and in fact there are several musicians that he considers much stronger influences than Jeff, like Marvin Gaye, PJ Harvey, U2, and others. Musically, I don't think Ours is all that similar to Jeff. Vocally, the similarity is very obvious, but he can't help that. Having that voice is sort of a blessing and a curse at the same time, and he's aware of it and I would even go so far as to say that he's not exactly proud of it, but wants to do what is best suited to him musically, and not shortchange himself or the band just to keep from upsetting people. He did, say, though, that Jeff's death affected him a lot emotionally and that some of the songs on Distorted Lullabies were written for him...which is something he didn't come out with right away, probably because he was afraid people would hear his voice and then what he said about Jeff, put two and two together and say that = SICKO. I feel bad for him. He's in a bad place. His relationship with Jeff was more personal than professional, and yet he has this uncanny similarity to him in terms of voice. And he's aware of it, which is why I think he's so cautious in interviews. He never said anything specifically about "Drowning," but if it was an allusion to Jeff, it was nothing more than him writing a song from the pespective of a friend who died...and possibly "drowning" was meant as a metaphor that applied to his own life as well. People do that all the time and there's nothing sick or offensive about it. He's not trying to BE Jeff. In fact, he'd probably like to be free of that more than anything, which is part of the reason, I think, why this new album has taken on so much more of a different direction. The other influences and basic rock n' roll vibe that was always there is more apparant on this album, but it's easy to hear that it was there on Distorted Lullabies, but just not as obviously. In other words, if listening to the album makes you feel sick because it seems like Jimmy is trying to pose as Jeff, I can assure you that there's no reason to. If it's just the actual similarity that makes you feel that way, I can understand, but it's still no reason to call the band disgusting. I think they're honestly (and I'm going to get so much shit for this) one of the best live bands I've ever seen. They take requests, even for covers of songs they've never played before, they're extremely good to their fans, they're just nice people in general, and you can tell that they have a genuine love of good music. I have no problem with people making fun of Ours, and understand why they do, but to call them sick and digusting seems particularly judgmental to me, especially when that's not the kind of voice that anyone could just foster in themselves through practice. As for what I believe about the whole thing, it's too much to really explain here, but I'll tell you about it sometime if you like. It's sort of like a transference of energy thing, yeah, though not exactly. |
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11-07-2002, 10:01 PM | #32 | |
Socialphobic
Location: Goin' out West where they'll appreciate me
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*pats you on the head* |
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11-07-2002, 10:26 PM | #33 |
Apocalyptic Poster
Location: Atlanta, GA
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Ah, now you're making me feel guilty. Thanks for the insight. I never had the urge to read interviews with Jimmy, and I didn't know he had any link to Jeff at all. Or maybe I did at one point and promptly shoved it down my usual mental garbage disposal. Musically, I think the band is very talented, and Jimmy does have a lovely voice. When he is singing lower, he sounds more like Manson than Jeff; quite a crazy difference to me. Some of the songwriting can be improved upon. So coming from a perspective of hearing the album and not having any other reference, it did seem sorta messed up that he was taking on a resurrection role. When maybe it wasn't intentional. I don't know. Maybe I'll shift down my view to "agnostic" on this one. Gah. But I saw this photo that was SO much like the JEFF RECLINED SEXILY ON COUCH picture, and that subtle thing made it even worse. So while I could feel sorry for him for accidentally being a certain way, I think Jimmy perpetuates it a little.
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11-07-2002, 10:46 PM | #34 | |
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Location: Goin' out West where they'll appreciate me
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And interestingly enough, I think I know the picture you're talking about, and I probably shouldn't know this much, but I do, and all those pictures of him actually posing were taken when the band had just gotten a record deal, or there was talk of a record deal, and at the time he was asked to model for some photos (I'm not sure if they were promo shots or exactly what they were for), but he was broke at the time and they paid him for it, so I'm sure they told him exactly how to pose and stand, etc., and were already playing off the whole Jeff thing. I've also seen random pics of him in which he looks very much like Bono and Perry Ferrall, so maybe he just has one of those faces. |
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11-07-2002, 11:19 PM | #35 |
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Here's part of an interview he did. The site is one of those where you can't link directly, but you can find the full thing under "press."
http://come.to/thispassionofours "You mentioned Jeff Buckley. Are you ready for the comparisons? Plus, you did have an association with him." "Yeah, I talk about that a lot. (Sighs) I will say this. We started this thing so long ago. You know, this is the way that I sing. I can play you tapes from that time, and you'll see. Jeff and I as singers had the same influences. I think what I liked the most about Jeff were the things that he brought out were basically the same things as my original influences. He did his own thing, but you can't fake what that is. That's why I fell in love with Jeff. He became a close friend. I was influenced by him as well to an extent. But we were also influenced by K.D. Lang, Freddy Mercury, Elvis, Ray Orbison, it just goes on. Part of the problem is that unfortunately right now nobody wants to step up and sing anymore. So when an in-depth singer comes along who really likes to put it all on the line, it's easy to compare him to someone else because there are so few of us. You've got Thom Yorke, Bono, PJ Harvey, and Chris Cornell. There's a few others, but no one really wants to write great songs and sing in key anymore. The times are gone, sometimes I think, where you can do something really pretty and then really explosive. Jeff was really good at that. I'm going to clear something up that has turned into this big old rumor that follows me around. Like I said, Jeff and I became friends, and one night he was running late to a show. He asked me to take his guitar in a cab to a show for him. Somewhere it started getting around that I was his roadie. How ridiculous is that? I took a guitar to one show one time for the guy. I don't know...I guess I just try and write good songs." |
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11-07-2002, 11:48 PM | #36 | |
Socialphobic
Location: Goin' out West where they'll appreciate me
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11-08-2002, 12:20 AM | #37 |
Amish Rake Fighter
Posts: 6
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Why didn't you people tell me there was a party?
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11-08-2002, 07:43 PM | #38 | |
Apocalyptic Poster
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 1,335
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