Peter Buck hasn't committed himself to just one group since R.E.M. closed up shot. But he says that in no way diminishes his commitment to whatever group he plays in.
The guitarist's projects outside of R.E.M. have includedThe Minus 5, Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus Three, Arthur Buck, The Baseball Project and Filthy Friends, who released a second album, Emerald Valley, on Friday and will tour behind it in May.
Speaking to Billboard, Buck stresses that they want Filthy Friends to be an "ongoing real band just like every other band." He says that when they "work together, it's not a side project."
Buck says that kind of dedication to the bands he plays with "saved my life when I was a kid, saved my life when I was in my 40s and saves my life right now."
InSalon, Buck says he just finished tracking the second Arthur Buck album, is talking about doing an album with his Baseball Project bandmate Steve Wynn (ofThe Dream Syndicate) and that he recently recorded an album in England with an "acquaintance" that he'd never personally met before, which he calls a "weird, end-of-the-world" record that's entirely about "collapse."