He came along at the right time, when the L.A. punk scene desperately needed to get past it's predominantly one dimensional scenester thing. Despite being untrained and primarily a musicologist and fan, in a most punk way, Jeffrey Lee Pierce just got up there and did it. He immersed himself in the music and imagery of the rural South, and he bucked the methodology of his peers. Instead of going all out to seem irreverent, he changed the way reverence sounds.
Pierce always took the leap. When he liked a band, he became the president of their fan club. When he became enamored with reggae, he spent a year in Jamaica. And when he thought a friend should front a band, he assembled members beforehand. By example, he encouraged others to take leaps, both figuratively and literally.
In the documentary, Ghost on the Highway, Henry Rollins describes the type of person that Pierce was. "Don't give them a real job. They can't even balance a check book, they can't do anything. But they can do that thing. Jeffrey was one of those guys." His passions were uniquely suited for doing what he did, regular day-to-day life be damned. When that meant touring, recording, and living and breathing music, it's no surprise that drugs and alcohol crept in. After bouts with hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver, Pierce died from a brain hemorrhage in 1996, at the relatively young age of 37. We'll never know if he was predisposed to wrecking himself with or without music. All we can take is the music itself, as a gift, and testament to someone whose entire adult life was spent consumed in what he loved.
In interviews, one thing that rock n' roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis is always quick to point out is the rarity of true song stylists, a performer who can really make any song their own. Lewis, humble as he is, points to himself, Hank Williams, Al Jolson and Jimmy Rodgers as the only real song stylists. With all due respect (which, for the Killer, is something I truly mean), I think it would be hard to deny that Jeffrey Lee Pierce was more than a singer. Listen to both his and Robert Johnson's versions of "Preaching the Blues" (below). Give it up, he was a bona fide song stylist.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~ The Gun Club - Sex Beat mp3 at Eat This Grenade!The Gun Club - Cool Drink of Water mp3 at Sous les pavés, la plageThe Gun Club - Preaching the Blues mp3 at Sous les pavés, la plageRobert Johnson - Preaching Blues mp3 at More ThingsThe Gun Club - Jack On Fire video at YouTubeThe Gun Club - Preaching the Blues video at YouTubeThe Gun Club - Fire of Love video at YouTubeThe Gun Club (Official?) siteGhost On the Highway documentary (clips and such)The Gun Club Discography
