ROY BUCHANAN

[NY Chief]

[
He hanged himself in a prison cell:

geezus...

[yngwie308]

Roy always kinda did that jaw thing through the years. He was an addict as are many of us, it's just coming to deal with all these forces.
I lived in Fairfax and Vienna, Virginia and actualy spent the night in a drunk tank, in the same jail Roy died in, albiet in 1983 or so. I was looking for a job, had borrowed my dad's car, met him and some of his work connections, had a few drinks, wanted to leave, tried to give my dad the keys, he said go home, got lost, stopped by cops, DUI.
Roy, brilliant as he was, is painful to watch, as he is always on the edge,it is coming directly from him, what he plays, so what you get, good or bad, is raw Roy.
I read the book about him and closely identified with a lot of his experiences, I have never been diagnosed with depression, my self medicating was not of a dual-diagnosis basis, thank God I was spared all that, although the pain of hell on earth, I have experienced all too familiarly. Such a brilliant player as Roy, it seemed he would never be fulfilled in the music business. Guys like Jeff Beck were lucky to have a hobby, like hot rods, to keep them sane. Jeff said he had to leave the hotel rooms on tours as he was sick of watching people trying to kill themselves for recreation.
I strongly do not believe all the 'facts' in Roys alleged suicide and after reading that book, I even have greater doubt.
A lot of SRV fans won't admit it, but they like his drugged up performances better than his clean playing, sorry to say, I may be in that category. There is no doubt that SRV was in a better place, I know and am sure he would have gone on to many more brilliant things.
I don't really watch Hendrix live and think all the time how wasted he is, the music is too powerful, he may be the exception as no one else was playing anywhere near what Jimi did.
Not really being a professional musician myself, I found that under the influence of cocaine, without alcohol I might add, and that's why I'm still alive today, I found my playing to be in 3rd person, I would just mechanically play licks, without feeling what I was playing. I was afraid of the power of the notes. The part of my brain that felt emotions for real was polluted, so for me, drugs and playing did not mix.
I know this is about Roy, not me, and I know we all have had our experiences, I just wanted to share my experiences, as it shapes my interpretation of listening to troubled players.
Look at Danny Gatton, no real outward signs, seems happy when he played and then, bang, it's all over.
The late great Tommy Bolin, he had such a great career and the drugs majorly F$%$#d up his life ultimately, it is very easy being creative, to just get beyond wasted all the time, as you try and cover up the dissapointment and frustration, the downside of creativity, with drugs and alcohol, never enough either.
So wearing his heart on his sleeve was part of Roy's style, what made him so real, I think in his case, his playing was impaired, as he was such a great player and am sorry he didn't make it through.
yngwie308

[NY Chief]

Roy had some friends....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCorBLAl ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fcWcg_g ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp4BlGXw ... re=related

[yngwie308]

I love Albert Collins, The Ice Man, Master of The Telecaster, he played almost Jimmy Smith style licks on the guitar.
Speaking of Jimmy Smith, he was my patient a few years back and I got his autograph, he was certainly a character and had some great stories, not all so happy, but a great musician.
yngwie308

[electricskychurch]

yes, great blues player , i didn't know he commited suicide nor that he was so much addicted !
the problems with drugs are when you don't have enough or when you have too much !
each person reacts differently to different substances and so is prone to become addicted to one drug or another depending on his state of mind and physiological constitution (especialy those receptors or receivers we have in the brain , that are reacting differently in everybody's brain ) ...
speed guys would tend to get prefer heroin to cool down but other persons might need more speed or to get out of themselves and feel more confident , so they take cocaine ... etc
i think most of the guitar players would play better without drugs if they were able to do not get hooked on them but most of the time it makes them feel good enough to work; much better than if they had none unfortunately !

[tubetek]

I grew up in DC in the 70s; saw Roy many times. He did have multiple demons manifested in drinking AND drugs...Legend has it he was invited into the studio to record with John Lennon but ate too many 'ludes and passed out on the board. What I do know for sure (having known Gatton) is that Roy always felt he was in some kind of GuitarSlinger competition with Danny; He'd be friendly one day and aloof the next, much to Danny's bewilderment. Danny credited Roy with turning him on to the Telecaster. Anyway, two of the biggest tragedies in music IMHO
Tom