After Lou Reed passed away earlier this fall due to liver disease, his former Velvet Underground bandmate Moe Tucker was one of the many folks who posted a tribute to the late rock legend. Now, she has issued a much longer statement via The Observer.
In the tribute, Tucker explained how she met Reed, who was her brother's college friend. Reed also met guitarist Sterling Morrison through Tucker's brother, and the musicians asked to her to join their group after their drummer left shortly before a show in 1965.
She noted Reed's extensive knowledge of pop music, reflecting, "I remember one night we went back to his place in the Village and he played all these amazing singles on his little mono record player. He'd say: 'Listen to the drum sound on this one' or 'Check out this little guitar part.' It was all about the detail. He absorbed so much detail and put it into the Velvets."
She also discussed the Velvets' envelope-pushing approach to live shows, and how they often relished driving people out of the room. The most touching part of the essay, however, is her revelation about her ongoing friendship with Reed after the band broke up.
"We had this brother-sister type relationship in the group, and it lasted long after the group split," she explained. "We would always exchange Christmas cards, Valentine cards. It was one of those friendships where it didn't matter if you didn't see each other a lot. We'd meet up after two years or five years and it would be like we'd seen each other last week. As you get older, you come to realize that that kind of friendship is rare, so I miss him a hell of a lot. It's just dawning on me that he's not out there any more."
She wrapped up by noting how many of the artists involved with the Velvets have passed away: Morrison, Nico, Andy Warhol, and now Reed. She said, "It doesn't seem right that I won't be sending him a Christmas card."
Read the full tribute here.
In the tribute, Tucker explained how she met Reed, who was her brother's college friend. Reed also met guitarist Sterling Morrison through Tucker's brother, and the musicians asked to her to join their group after their drummer left shortly before a show in 1965.
She noted Reed's extensive knowledge of pop music, reflecting, "I remember one night we went back to his place in the Village and he played all these amazing singles on his little mono record player. He'd say: 'Listen to the drum sound on this one' or 'Check out this little guitar part.' It was all about the detail. He absorbed so much detail and put it into the Velvets."
She also discussed the Velvets' envelope-pushing approach to live shows, and how they often relished driving people out of the room. The most touching part of the essay, however, is her revelation about her ongoing friendship with Reed after the band broke up.
"We had this brother-sister type relationship in the group, and it lasted long after the group split," she explained. "We would always exchange Christmas cards, Valentine cards. It was one of those friendships where it didn't matter if you didn't see each other a lot. We'd meet up after two years or five years and it would be like we'd seen each other last week. As you get older, you come to realize that that kind of friendship is rare, so I miss him a hell of a lot. It's just dawning on me that he's not out there any more."
She wrapped up by noting how many of the artists involved with the Velvets have passed away: Morrison, Nico, Andy Warhol, and now Reed. She said, "It doesn't seem right that I won't be sending him a Christmas card."
Read the full tribute here.
