Wall Of Sound
June 12, 1997
Robyn Hitchcock Next To Board Peter Buck's Hit Express
Off-kilter singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock is following in Mark Eitzel's footsteps by teaming up with his longtime friend Peter Buck for some recording sessions this week in Seattle. Buck and Eitzel collaborated on the latter's recent album West, which was recorded in the city in less than a week's time last December. Now Hitchcock (who shares Eitzel and Buck's Warner Bros. affiliation) is briskly cutting songs with the R.E.M. guitarist for a future solo record. The new album is expected to follow the release next February of the soundtrack to Jonathan Demme's film Storefront Hitchcock, a live documentary shot at performances in New York last year. Unlike the Eitzel record, which involved musicians from Buck's free-jazz side project, Tuatara, Buck and Hitchcock have tapped Scott McCaughey (who collaborated with Buck on the recent Minus 5 album The Lonesome Death Of Buck McCoy) and members of the Young Fresh Fellows to join them in the studio. Tim Keegan of Hitchcock's sometime backing band Homer is also in town for the recording session. Some tracks from the sessions could also be destined for an album McCaughey is putting together for his own label, Malt Records.
The collaboration will culminate with the Popsicle Shop Incident: Viva Sea-Tac II concert on Friday, June 13, at the Crocodile Cafe, which is owned by Buck's wife, Stephanie Dorgan. The gig is something of a sequel to a 1994 visit to the Croc by Hitchcock, when he was backed by the Young Fresh Fellows for a set of tunes by his legendary former band, The Soft Boys. More of the same is expected Friday night, as well as the premiere of several compositions recorded during the week. One sure highlight will be "Viva Sea-Tac", Hitchcock's newly written ode to the Emerald City.
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