Talk Talk...Six Degrees of Separation

Okay, I have this really fabulous neighbor named Jeep. He lives four doors down from me and is a talented musician and songwriter. I knew he had played in several band as a younger man in his native England, and now he works on the recording side of music. He's got a studio in his basement and is pretty successful recording mainly hip hop and rap musicians. Jeep is the fellow who took us to the guitar store back in April, helped Nick pick out the perfect guitar and gave him all kinds of advice. He's married to a beautiful singer and they have a daughter, Sophia, who's the smartest two year old I know. Their dog Charlie is my dog Jazz's boyfriend and an all 'round great dog. I adore them all.


This week Nicholas is attending a "School of Rock" kind of camp which is run by Jeep and Chicago Joe Jones and several other local musicians (above is pictured last year's camp group...see Jeep back center with blonde hair, Joe on the right with the dreads.) I was just on their website getting directions to the place for tomorrow morning, and I read this blurb on Jeep's biography:

Born in the United Kingdom, Jeep Hook began his career as a touring musician for Talk Talk, the hugely successful 80’s band whose song "It’s My Life " was recently covered by Gwen Stefani of No Doubt... Jeep was later signed to Virgin Records as part of the blue-eyed soul duo, Millions Like Us. Since then he has owned and operated successful recording studios in London, Los Angeles, and now in Atlanta with hookhouse studios.

I'm sorry...but I thought you said "touring musician for Talk Talk." Oh, you did? HOLY COW!!! I have known this guy for like six years, knew about the band Millions Like Us (because he has a big poster of it in his studio) but TALK TALK???? Do y'all know how much I love Mark Hollis? I don't think Jeep was actually in the band, but apparently he was their tour guitarist. Holy crap, this is huge.

Tomorrow Nick is riding to and from camp with Jeep, and you better believe I'm gonna get the whole story. I want to know where Mark Hollis is now. He's done quite the Rimbaudian thing, making a huge splash in the music world, writing beautiful songs and lyrics, recording those fabulous albums with Talk Talk, and later the one solo album, and then disappearing into the English countryside, never to make music again. I'll let you know what I find out. Maybe I can even get an email address or something. But of course I couldn't share that with everyone...so don't even ask...

This is one of the more hypnotic, haunting songs from the band's next to last album, "Spirit of Eden." If you don't have this album already, get it, turn it on, stretch out on the floor, turn off the lights and let it take you where it will...



My God, I love his face.