Peter Buck

2.1. Childhood and education

Peter Lawrence Buck was born on December 6, 1956, in Berkeley, California, to Peter and Violet Buck. His family's early years saw them reside in both Los Angeles and San Francisco before they eventually relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, passing through Roswell, Georgia. Buck completed his secondary education at Crestwood High School, graduating with honors in 1975. Following high school, he enrolled at Emory University and became a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, though he later dropped out. He subsequently moved to Athens, Georgia, and attended the University of Georgia. While living in Athens, Buck worked at the Wuxtry Records store, a crucial period where he met his future R.E.M. bandmate, Michael Stipe, as well as the band's future manager, Bertis Downs.

3.1. R.E.M. activities

As a co-founder and lead guitarist of R.E.M. from 1980 to 2011, Peter Buck was central to the band's distinctive sound and enduring success. His guitar playing was a cornerstone of R.E.M.'s music, characterized by a simple yet unique approach. He made extensive use of open strings while chording, which created the band's signature chiming and memorable pop melodies. This sound, particularly prominent on R.E.M.'s mid-period albums, helped the band achieve international popularity. Buck's distinctive tone during this era was strongly associated with Rickenbacker guitars, notably a Jetglo (black) Model 360. While Rickenbacker guitars remained a staple, Buck also incorporated a wide variety of other instruments as the band evolved and experimented. On some of R.E.M.'s later releases, prior to the 2008 album Accelerate, his guitar parts became less prominent. In addition to his guitar work, Buck contributed banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs and even provided vocals on one track, "I Walked with a Zombie," from the Roky Erickson tribute album Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye. On September 9, 2008, after a concert in Helsinki, Buck's signature Rickenbacker guitar, used live and in the studio since R.E.M.'s 1982 EP Chronic Town, was stolen from the stage. It was returned anonymously on September 18, 2008.

3.2. Solo activities

Following R.E.M.'s dissolution in September 2011, Peter Buck embarked on a solo career, signing with Mississippi Records. In March 2012, he announced his intention to release a solo album, with singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur providing backing. The first track from this self-titled debut, "10 Million BC," was released on June 21, 2012, and the full album, Peter Buck, followed later that year, released exclusively on vinyl. In late 2013, Buck announced his second solo album, I Am Back to Blow Your Mind Once Again, which was released on February 18, 2014, also solely on vinyl. His third solo album, Warzone Earth, was released in 2015 under Little Axe Records. Subsequent solo efforts include Opium Drivel (2014), Dear December (2017), Beat Poetry for Survivalists (2020), and All the Kids are Super Bummed Out (2022), the latter being a collaboration with Luke Haines.

3.3. Collaborative and side projects

Throughout his career, Peter Buck has been extensively involved in numerous collaborative and side projects beyond R.E.M., often forming supergroups or contributing to albums with fellow musicians. Each of these groups has released at least one full-length studio album. His notable affiliations include:

• Arthur Buck: A project with singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, in which Buck and Arthur share songwriting duties. Their eponymous debut album was released in June 2018.
• Hindu Love Gods: Formed with R.E.M. bandmates Mike Mills and Bill Berry along with Warren Zevon while recording Zevon's 1987 album Sentimental Hygiene. They released an album under this name in 1990.
• The Minus 5: Buck became a partner in this band alongside R.E.M. sideman Scott McCaughey, contributing to numerous albums including Old Liquidator (1995), The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy (1997), Let the War Against Music Begin (2001), Down with Wilco (2003), and The Minus 5 (2006).
• Tuatara: An instrumental band also featuring Scott McCaughey, which released albums such as Breaking the Ethers (1997) and Trading with the Enemy (1998).
• The Baseball Project: Formed in 2008 with Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, and drummer Linda Pitmon, where Buck plays bass guitar. Their albums include Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails (2008) and Volume 2: High and Inside (2011).
• Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3: Buck joined Robyn Hitchcock, Scott McCaughey, and Bill Rieflin as lead guitarist for this project, touring after their 2006 release, Olé! Tarantula.
• Tired Pony: A supergroup that released The Place We Ran From in 2010.
• The No-Ones: Formed in April 2017 with Scott McCaughey, Frode Strømstad, and Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen of I Was A King. Their album The Great Lost No Ones Album was released in 2020.
• Filthy Friends: Another supergroup featuring Scott McCaughey, Bill Rieflin, Kurt Bloch, and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney. They released their first single "Any Kind of Crowd" in April 2017, followed by albums like Invitation (2017) and Emerald Valley (2019).
• Slow Music: An experimental combo formed in October 2005 with R.E.M. studio drummer Bill Rieflin, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, Fred Chalenor, Hector Zazou, and Matt Chamberlain. They released an official live concert CD, Live at the Croc 19 Oct 2005.
• Full Time Men: Released an EP in 1985 while Buck was a member.
• Ad hoc "supergroups" like Bingo Hand Job (Billy Bragg and R.E.M.), Musical Kings (Michelle Malone, Peter Buck, John Keane), and Nigel & The Crosses (Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Buck, Glenn Tilbrook and others) have each commercially released one track.
• Richard M. Nixon: A band Buck founded in 2012 to support his solo album with live gigs, consisting of Buck, Scott McCaughey, and Bill Rieflin. This group has never issued an official recording.

3.4. Producer and session work

Beyond his direct band involvements, Peter Buck has established a notable career as a record producer for various artists. His production credits include albums for bands such as Uncle Tupelo (March 6-20, 1992), Vigilantes of Love (Killing Floor), Dreams So Real (Father's House), The Fleshtones (Beautiful Light), The Feelies (The Good Earth), and The Jayhawks (Paging Mr. Proust). He has also produced albums for Eyelids (The Accidental Falls), Alejandro Escovedo (Burn Something Beautiful), John Wesly Harding (Greatest Other People's Hits), Kevn Kinney (MacDougal Blues), Run Westy Run (Green Cat Island), and Hector Tellez Jr. (The Great Unknown).

As a prolific session musician, Buck has lent his talents to numerous other musicians' albums. He has recorded with acclaimed artists such as The Replacements, Billy Bragg, The Decemberists, Robyn Hitchcock, and several Eels albums. He also performed on Nikki Sudden's 1991 album The Jewel Thief, including the single "I Belong to You", and co-wrote, produced, and performed on Mark Eitzel's 1997 album West. Additionally, Buck has contributed liner notes to various music compilations, reissues, and special editions, including R.E.M.'s own material like Eponymous, In Time, Dead Letter Office, and a special edition of New Adventures in Hi-Fi, as well as other artists' work such as The Beach Boys' Love You.

3.5. Guitar style and influence

Peter Buck's guitar playing style is widely recognized for its distinctive blend of simplicity and character, contributing significantly to R.E.M.'s unique sound. He is known for his extensive use of open strings while chording, which generates a characteristic chiming quality and contributes to memorable pop melodies. His sound, particularly evident on R.E.M.'s albums that achieved international popularity, became strongly associated with Rickenbacker guitars, specifically a black Jetglo Model 360. This playing style, combining jangling arpeggios with concise melodic lines, became a hallmark of the alternative rock genre.



The influential lead singer of U2, Bono, commented on Buck's stage presence and musical approach in 2003, stating, "When Peter plays guitar, there's a strong sense of fuck off that 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. 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." This quote highlights Buck's independent and seemingly unaffected demeanor, which paradoxically added to the band's dynamic and edgy appeal.

4.1. Family and relationships

Peter Buck has been married three times and is twice divorced. His first marriage was to Barrie Greene, who was the owner of the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. They married in 1987 and divorced in 1994.

He later married Stephanie Dorgan, the owner of the Crocodile Cafe music club in Seattle, Washington. They married in January 1995 while in Perth, Australia, during R.E.M.'s Monster World Tour. With Dorgan, Buck has twin daughters, who were born in May 1994. During their marriage, Buck also became a partner in the Crocodile Cafe and frequently performed there with his side project band, The Minus 5. The couple separated in 2006, and Dorgan filed for divorce in 2007.

On June 1, 2013, Buck married his third wife, Chloe Johnson, in Portland, Oregon. All three of his other original R.E.M. bandmates attended the ceremony and performed, marking a rare public gathering of the full band after their official dissolution.

4.2. Other personal details

Beyond his musical endeavors, Peter Buck is widely recognized for his encyclopedic knowledge of music. He possesses an extensive personal record collection, which he estimated to be around 25,000 items in the late 1990s. This impressive collection included approximately 10,000 vinyl singles, 6,000 LPs, and 4,000 CDs. Buck is also openly atheist, a stance he publicly affirmed in a 1985 R.E.M. interview. In the 1990s, he relocated to the Pacific Northwest, dividing his time between Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington. He has also resided in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

4.3. Controversies and incidents

On April 21, 2001, Peter Buck was involved in a notable incident aboard British Airways flight #48, a transatlantic flight from Seattle to London, where he was en route to perform a concert in Trafalgar Square. Witnesses on the flight reported that Buck exhibited various unusual behaviors. These included attempting to insert a compact disc into a drinks trolley, mistakenly believing it was a CD player, and tearing up a "yellow card" warning notice issued by the flight crew. He also reportedly declared, "I am R.E.M." A struggle over a yogurt cup with two flight attendants ensued, which resulted in the cup exploding.

As a consequence of these actions, Buck faced charges including two counts of common assault on the flight attendants, one charge of being drunk on a plane, and one charge of damaging British Airways cutlery and crockery. During the subsequent trial in London, Buck's defense argued that a moderate amount of wine he had consumed had reacted adversely with a brand of sleeping pill he was taking, rendering him unable to control his actions. The prosecution, however, contended that he was simply intoxicated from reportedly consuming 15 glasses of wine. The trial notably featured testimony from Bono, the lead singer of the Irish rock band U2. On April 5, 2002, Buck was cleared of all charges on the grounds of non-insane automatism, indicating the court accepted that his actions were involuntary due to the adverse reaction between alcohol and medication.

5.1. With R.E.M.

• Chronic Town EP (I.R.S. Records) (1982)
• Murmur (I.R.S. Records) (1983)
• Reckoning (I.R.S. Records) (1984)
• Fables of the Reconstruction (I.R.S. Records) (1985)
• Lifes Rich Pageant (I.R.S. Records) (1986)
• Document (I.R.S. Records) (1987)
• Green (Warner Bros. Records) (1988)
• Out of Time (Warner Bros. Records) (1991)
• Automatic for the People (Warner Bros. Records) (1992)
• Monster (Warner Bros. Records) (1994)
• New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Warner Bros. Records) (1996)
• Up (Warner Bros. Records) (1998)
• Reveal (Warner Bros. Records) (2001)
• Around the Sun (Warner Bros. Records) (2004)
• Accelerate (Warner Bros. Records) (2008)
• Collapse into Now (Warner Bros. Records) (2011)

5.2. Solo albums

• Peter Buck (Mississippi Records) (2012)
• I Am Back to Blow Your Mind Once Again (Mississippi Records) (2014)
• Opium Drivel (Mississippi Records) (2014)
• Warzone Earth (Mississippi Records) (2015)
• Dear December (Yep Rock Records) (2017)
• Beat Poetry for Survivalists (Omnivore Recordings) (2020)
• All the Kids are Super Bummed Out (Cherry Red Records, with Luke Haines) (2022)

5.3. Produced albums

• Eyelids: The Accidental Falls (Jealous Butcher Records) (2020)
• Dreams So Real: Father's House (Coyote) (1986)
• Alejandro Escovedo: Burn Something Beautiful (Fantasy Records) (2016)
• The Feelies: The Good Earth (Twin/Tone) (1986)
• The Fleshtones: Beautiful Light (Naked Language) (1993)
• John Wesly Harding: Greatest Other People's Hits (Omnivore Recordings) (2018)
• The Jayhawks: Paging Mr. Proust (Thirty Tigers/Sham) (2016)
• Kevn Kinney: MacDougal Blues (Island Records) (1990)
• Run Westy Run: Green Cat Island (Twin/Tone) (1990)
• Hector Tellez Jr.: The Great Unknown (2023)
• Uncle Tupelo: March 6-20, 1992 (Rockville) (1992)
• Vigilantes of Love: Killing Floor (Fingerprint/Sky) (1992)

5.4. Recorded with other artists

• Arthur Buck: Arthur Buck (New West Records) (2018)
• The Baseball Project
  • Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails (Yep Rock Records) (2008)
  • Volume 2: High and Inside (Yep Rock Records) (2011)
  • 3rd (Yep Rock Records) (2014)
  • Grand Salami Time! (Yep Rock Records) (2023)
• Mark Eitzel: West (Warner Bros. Records) (1997)
• Filthy Friends
  • Invitation (Kill Rock Stars) (2017)
  • Emerald Valley (Kill Rock Stars) (2019)
• Hindu Love Gods: Hindu Love Gods (Reprise Records) (1990)
• The Minus 5
  • Old Liquidator (Glitterhouse Records) (1995)
  • The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy (Hollywood Records/Malt) (1997)
  • Let the War Against Music Begin (Mammoth Records/Malt) (2001)
  • I Don't Know Who I Am (Let the War Against Music Begin, Vol. 2) (Return to Sender) (2003)
  • Down with Wilco (Yep Rock Records) (2003)
  • In Rock (The Minus 5 album) (Yep Rock Records) (2004)
  • Gun Album (Yep Rock Records) (2006)
  • The Minus 5 (Yep Rock Records) (2006)
  • Killingsworth (Yep Rock Records) (2009)
  • Of Monkees and Men (Yep Rock Records) (2010)
  • Dear December (Yep Rock Records) (2017)
  • Stroke Manor (Yep Rock Records) (2019)
• Tuatara
  • Breaking the Ethers (Epic Records) (1997)
  • Trading with the Enemy (Fast Horse) (1998)
  • Cinemathique (Fast Horse) (2002)
  • The Loading Program (Fast Horse) (2003)
  • East of the Sun (Fast Horse) (2007)
  • West of the Moon (Fast Horse) (2007)
  • The Here and the Gone (Fast Horse) (2008)
  • Underworld (Sunyata) (2014)
  • Shamanic Nights (Sunyata) (2016)
• Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus Three
  • Olé! Tarantula (Yep Rock Records) (2006)
  • Goodnight Oslo (Yep Rock Records) (2009)
  • Propellor Time (Yep Rock Records) (2010)
• Tired Pony
  • The Place We Ran From (Fiction Records/Polydor Records) (2010)
  • The Ghost of the Mountain (Fiction Records/Polydor Records) (2013)
• The No Ones: The Great Lost No Ones Album (Yep Rock Records) (2020)
• The No Ones: My Best Evil Friend (Yep Rock Records) (2023)
• Slow Music Project: Live at the Croc 19 Oct 2005 (Slow Music) (2005)
• Full Time Men: Full Time Men EP (Coyote) (1985)