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Young inspires band name
JACK WALTON Tribune Correspondent
Jeff Tucker loves Neil Young so much that he named his band after the Young song and album titled "On the Beach." There were, however, other reasons as well. "My educational background is in communications, radio and TV," Tucker says by telephone from his home in Toledo, Ohio. "In the radio business, it means being out of work, specifically being fired. If you come in and there's a different afternoon DJ and you ask, 'Where's Joe?' they'll say, 'Oh, he's out on the beach.' It's a nice way of saying that ratings were bad and he got canned." The On the Beach name has another level of meaning, too. "I'm also a hack golfer," Tucker says. "And on the beach means being in a sand trap." The name, however, doesn't refer to beach music. "People will want to hire us to play beach music and ask, 'Can you wear Hawaiian shirts?' This is a different thing altogether," he says. "This is more about the apocalypse than it is about beach music."
On the Beach plays in a self-described "middle of the road" style, with political and personal lyrics and a few simple chords. Before he moved to Ohio, Tucker was a Louisiana Tech student and had grown up in the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. One of his newest songs, "Deeper Than Ponchartrain," addresses the story of the city of New Orleans and its vulnerability to such a disaster. "I got the idea for that song in high school," Tucker says. "In 1978, there was a Labor Day hurricane that came through. Randy Newman's song 'Louisiana 1927' is like the 'Margaritaville' of South Louisiana. You just have to play it, but somebody needs to write an update." With the recent storm looming, Tucker did just that. "I finished it when Katrina was approaching the shores of Florida," he says. "We waited to record it until about a month after it hit because I didn't want to seem opportunistic. But you have to write about what you know." The song still exists only in the form of a demo on the band's Web site, but it will be featured on the next On the Beach album. It marries solemn lyrics about the tragedy to a melody and chord progression reminiscent of Neil Young's "Helpless."
After Sept. 11, Tucker wrote a song called "Freedom (Is Not Free)" and donated all the proceeds to the USO. Unlike U2, who will send only a small portion of the funds raised from its new Red clothing line to AIDS foundations, Tucker sends all monies raised from his record to the USO. "It's not just U2," Tucker says. "Even local acts around Toledo will send 'a certain percentage.' You'll see that line used. I was very vocal in criticizing that. I said, 'The heck with it. We'll do 100 percent.' I print the sleeves myself, dupe the CDs here and donate that part, too."
Another original Tucker composition is "Dear Emily." "It's the only rock song in the history of mankind inspired by Emily Dickinson," Tucker says. The song was also partially inspired by a girl Tucker knew in high school. "Her specialty was Emily Dickinson," Tucker says. "She would do the most sexy Emily Dickinson readings you could imagine. It was over the top."
On the Beach usually includes several cover songs in live sets. Favorites include Indigo Girls, Rolling Stones and several Neil Young tunes. The band often opens sets with "50/50," a track by Young's friend Stephen Stills. "We've been doing that song for a long time," Tucker says. The original was marred by cheesy '80s production, but the quality of the song has always stuck with Tucker, who has given it a new arrangement. "It had electronic drums, but then it had Graham Nash's harmonies," he says. "It's my favorite Stephen Stills tune."
The band has played more than 200 shows a year several times and has seen lineups fluctuate, with Tucker always at the core. "I've never asked anybody in our group to make a lifelong commitment," he says. "Get the gigs, and the players will come."
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