Playing at Barristers’ in Memphis

Buckley became interested in recording at Easley McCain Recording in Memphis, at the suggestion of friend Dave Shouse from the Grifters . He rented a shotgun house there, of which he was so fond he contacted the owner about purchasing it. From February 12 to May 26, 1997, Buckley played at Barristers’, a bar located in downtown Memphis , underneath a parking garage. He played there numerous times in order to work through the new material in a live atmosphere, at first with the band, then solo as part of a Monday night residency. In early February, Buckley and the band did a third recording session with Verlaine in Memphis, where they recorded “Everybody Here Wants You”, “Nightmares by the Sea”, “Witches’ Rave” and “Opened Once”, but Buckley expressed his dissatisfaction with the sessions and contacted Grace producer Andy Wallace to step in as Verlaine’s replacement. Buckley started recording demos on his own 4-track recorder in preparation for a forthcoming session with Wallace; some of the demos were sent to his band in New York, who listened to them enthusiastically and were excited to resume work on the album. However, Buckley was not entirely happy with the results and sent his band back to New York while he stayed behind to work on the songs. The band was scheduled to return to Memphis for rehearsals and recording on May 29. After Buckley’s death, the Verlaine-produced recordings and Buckley’s demos were released as Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk in May 1998.