 Conscious effort Shaking off his 'sleepwalking' stint, singer/guitarist rekindles his passion for playing By WAYNE BLEDSOE, bledsoe@knews.com Ask rock performer Tim Lee a question about the 1990s and you’ll probably get a blank stare. "Tim missed the ’90s," says his wife, Susan Bauer Lee. On the eve of the release of the new album "Concrete Dog," Tim’s third CD since moving to Knoxville five years ago, Susan and producer/drummer Don Coffey Jr. sit at lunch at Litton’s, amiably ribbing the frontman for the Tim Lee Band. Tim spent the 1980s as part of The Windbreakers — Mississippi’s contribution to the punk/New Wave movement. Critically acclaimed (Rolling Stone named them "one of America’s best unsigned bands"), the band always seemed on the edge of a breakout. Yet at the turn of the 1990s, The Windbreakers simply broke down. Lee and music partner Bobby Sutliff went separate ways. "I was going through a period where I didn’t know if I wanted to play music," says Tim. "I couldn’t listen to it for fun anymore. But people wanted me to play, and they’d get me out." "The best analogy is that he was kind of sleepwalking," says Susan. "But he was playing with Garrison Starr and John Stirratt (later of Wilco) and all these people." "I regret that I didn’t perk up and take advantage of it," says Tim with a slight chuckle. "It was a little stupid." An invitation to perform at an outdoor music festival in Batesville, Miss., in 2001, rekindled Tim’s interest. Buddies Mitch Easter (who had produced R.E.M. as well as The Windbreakers) and Nielsen Hubbard (of This Living Hand) both had groups at the festival. "We played four or five sets in two days, and I had a great time doing it," says Tim. When the Lees came to Knoxville in 2000, it was for a non-music gig: Tim edits Dirt Late Model magazine, and Susan is the art director. However, the two quickly became part of Knoxville’s music scene. Tim became one of the go-to musicians for Coffey’s Independent Recorders, adding guitar to many of the albums that have come from the studio. Coffey, in turn, co-produced Lee’s recordings and signed on as drummer in the band. Knoxville guitarist Greg Horne, a fellow Mississippi expatriate, also became part of the group. "Concrete Dog" was recorded with more input from Tim’s collaborators than were his previous efforts. "Susan contributed a lot," says Tim. "When I first started writing lyrics, I just started putting sticky notes on his desk, and he wouldn’t do anything with them," says Susan. In fact, Tim ignored for some time her lyrics for what became the song "Real Bad Habit." "When I DID get to it, it took about 10 minutes to finish it," he says. Thereafter, Tim began dragging out all those sticky notes that he’d ignored. He also took Coffey’s advice to heart. At one point, Tim decided he had plenty of material for the disc. "Then the producer/drummer instructed the artist to write more songs," says Tim, nodding across the table at Coffey. "It is a very unique relationship," says Coffey with a chuckle. "Up until this record, I think Tim went in the studio with guys who wouldn’t push him." "Most people I’ve worked with were good friends who weren’t comfortable pushing me," says Tim. "Don is a good friend, but he doesn’t mind telling me I could do better." The resulting disc (released by the Illinois- and British-based Fundamental Recording Co.) may prove to be Lee’s most consistent and accessible. At any rate, Lee plans to make sure that the disc has a memorable premiere in his adopted hometown. The "Concerte Dog" CD release party will be a multi-hour affair with food and drink as well as music — the sort of soiree that might have brought the old sleepwalking Tim Lee out of his coma. "This is a party with a rock show in the middle of it instead of a rock show masquerading as a party," says Tim. |