From the Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2002 issue

Columns

It's My Party

by Kathleen Wilson

Poor Peter Buck. His trial for what British prosecutors are calling a "drunken rampage" upon a transatlantic flight last spring continues. Now that the R.E.M. guitarist is facing slammer time, the once-hilarious story of drunken mayhem has become less so. But I can't resist revealing just a couple more details about what must have been a difficult flight for all on board. Allegedly, Buck (whose defense team claims their client's bizarre behavior was the result of "non-insane automatism" brought on by mixing Ambien with 15 glasses of wine) had to be pulled away from the plane's exit door after announcing he wanted to "go home." Prosecutors also say that Buck "sidled up to a woman passenger and declared, 'I want to sit next to my wife' before being ordered to return to his seat." When asked what he thought upon waking up in a police cell at London's Heathrow Airport, Buck told BBC News that he was convinced the bright lights overhead in his cell meant that he was recovering from a heart attack in a "weird Disneyland hotel."

Now, the bartenders at several Capitol Hill and Belltown drinking establishments have witnessed my own "non-insane automatism" brought on by mixing pills and booze (anyone remember the incident with a bullwhip at the Breakroom a few years back? How that got into my purse I'll never know, but I'm told it came in handy when I needed to get the bartender's attention), so I do feel for ol' Pete, and I know he has got to be mighty embarrassed as the details continue to be revealed. I never woke up in a cell with fingerprinting ink on my hands, but shame is shame.

***

The god-awful pairing of Rage Against the Machine and former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell is said to have gone in the shitter. Only days after it was announced that the hotly debated partnership was to debut as part of the Ozzfest bill this summer, Cornell apparently caught on that a rant and a wail are two very different things.

***

Say what you will about the Grammy association and No Doubt, but I experienced a new respect for both when the band sat down for a mentoring session with some high-school students (all budding musicians) during No Doubt's sound check at the Paramount on March 20. Gwen Stefani was anything but a diva when it came to talking about her success and the group's struggles. Later that night, Stefani was spotted on the dance floor at the Baltic Room.

And speaking of the Baltic Room and its owner Linda Derschang, her new club Chop Suey, which was scheduled to open on April 2, will now open its doors to the public on Wednesday, April 3, with Fila Brazillia providing the entertainment.

kathleen@thestranger.com