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Peter Buck
Filthy Friends - Peter Buck - 52512031982.jpg
Buck in 2022
Background information
Birth name Peter Lawrence Buck
Born (1956-12-06) December 6, 1956 (age 68)
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Genres Alternative rock, folk rock, punk rock
Occupations Musician, songwriter
Instruments Guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass guitar
Years active 1976–present
Labels Mississippi
Associated acts
  • R.E.M.
  • Hindu Love Gods
  • The Minus 5
  • Tuatara
  • The Baseball Project
  • The Venus 3
  • Eels
  • Mark Eitzel
  • The Replacements
  • Tired Pony
  • Saint John and the Revelations
  • Filthy Friends
  • Corin Tucker
  • The Decemberists
  • Amaral

Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the famous rock band R.E.M.. Peter also plays other instruments like the banjo and mandolin on some R.E.M. songs.

Besides his work with R.E.M. from 1980 to 2011, Peter Buck has been part of many other music groups. These are often called 'side projects'. Some of these groups include Arthur Buck, Hindu Love Gods, The Minus 5, and Filthy Friends. He has also helped produce albums for other bands. These include Uncle Tupelo and The Feelies. Peter has also played as a session musician for artists like The Replacements and The Decemberists.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Peter Lawrence Buck was born on December 6, 1956. His parents were Peter and Violet Buck. He was born in Berkeley, California. His family lived in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They later moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

Peter finished high school in 1975. He then went to Emory University. Later, he moved to Athens, Georgia. While in Athens, Peter worked at a record store called Wuxtry Records. There, he met Michael Stipe, who would become R.E.M.'s lead singer. He also met Bertis Downs, who became R.E.M.'s manager.

Peter Buck's Music Style

R.E.M. (65)
Buck on stage in Naples, Italy, in 2008

Peter Buck's guitar playing style is unique and easy to recognize. He often uses open strings when playing chords. This creates a special ringing sound. This sound became a key part of R.E.M.'s music.

He is often linked with Rickenbacker guitars. He used a black Rickenbacker 360 model a lot. As R.E.M. grew, Peter used many different instruments. This helped the band try new sounds.

Working with Other Artists

Peter Buck in Arthur Buck A
Buck with Arthur Buck in 2018

Peter Buck has produced music for many bands. These include Uncle Tupelo and The Fleshtones. He has also played on albums for other musicians. Some of these artists are Billy Bragg and Eels.

In 1987, Peter, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry from R.E.M. formed a band with Warren Zevon. They called themselves Hindu Love Gods. They recorded an album together. Peter also played country and rock songs with a local band called the Normaltown Flyers.

Peter has been part of other groups too. He joined The Minus 5 and the instrumental band Tuatara. In 2005, he formed an improvisational band called Slow Music. This group included Bill Rieflin and Robert Fripp.

In 2006, Peter toured with Robyn Hitchcock and others. They were called Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3. In 2008, Peter became the bass player for a new band called The Baseball Project.

Solo Music and Later Projects

After R.E.M. stopped playing together in 2011, Peter Buck started his solo career. He released his first solo album in 2012. It was simply called Peter Buck. He released his second solo album in 2014. It was titled I Am Back to Blow Your Mind Once Again. His third solo album, Warzone Earth, came out in 2015.

In 2017, Peter started a new project called Filthy Friends. This group includes other musicians he has worked with for a long time. The same year, he also formed The No Ones. In 2018, he released an album with Joseph Arthur as Arthur Buck.

Peter Buck's Personal Life

Peter Buck has been married three times. He has twin daughters, born in 1994. He is known for knowing a lot about music. He also has a very large collection of records. In the late 1990s, he thought he had about 25,000 records.

Peter has lived in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. He has also lived in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Discography

With R.E.M.

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

Solo

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

Produced

  • Eyelids: The Accidental Falls (Jealous Butcher Records) 2020
  • Dreams So Real: Father's House (Coyote) 1986
  • Alejandro Escovedo: Burn Something Beautiful (Fantasy) 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) 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

Recorded with

Arthur Buck

  • Arthur Buck (New West) 2018

The Baseball Project

  • Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails (Yep Rock) 2008
  • Volume 2: High and Inside (Yep Rock) 2011
  • 3rd (Yep Rock) 2014
  • Grand Salami Time! (Yep Rock) 2023

Mark Eitzel

  • West (Warner Bros.) 1997

Filthy Friends

  • Invitation (Kill Rock Stars) 2017
  • Emerald Valley (Kill Rock Stars) 2019

Hindu Love Gods

The Minus 5

  • Old Liquidator (Glitterhouse Records) 1995
  • The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy (Hollywood/Malt) 1997
  • Let the War Against Music Begin (Mammoth/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) 2003
  • In Rock (The Minus 5 album) (Yep Rock) 2004
  • Gun Album (Yep Rock) 2006
  • The Minus 5 (Yep Rock) 2006
  • Killingsworth (Yep Rock) 2009
  • Of Monkees and Men (Yep Rock) 2010
  • Dear December (Yep Rock) 2017
  • Stroke Manor (Yep Rock) 2019

Tuatara

  • Breaking the Ethers (Epic) 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) 2006
  • Goodnight Oslo (Yep Rock) 2009
  • Propellor Time (Yep Rock) 2010

Tired Pony

  • The Place We Ran From (Fiction/Polydor) 2010
  • The Ghost of the Mountain (Fiction Records|Fiction/Polydor) 2013

The No Ones

  • The Great Lost No Ones Album (Yep Rock) 2020
  • My Best Evil Friend (Yep Rock) 2023

Slow Music Project

  • Live at the Croc 19 Oct 2005 (Slow Music) 2005

Full Time Men

  • Full Time Men EP (Coyote) 1985

See also

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