Newmarket Era/Banner - January 21 2003
One Good Buddy
Roy Green, Staff Writer
Jan 21, 2003
When he's just being himself, Jeff Scott doesn't look much like Buddy Holly.
That is, he doesn't look much like Gary Busey, which is who most people think Buddy Holly looks like.
But at two sold-out shows at the Newmarket Theatre last week, with his dark locks combed into a ducktail and wearing the trademark horn-rimmed glasses, he rocked into hits like Peggy Sue, Maybe Baby and That'll Be the Day and had the crowd, as they say, rockin' in the aisles.
Later in the week, relaxing in a lounge chair and sipping coffee during an interview, Mr. Scott has none of the nerdiness, gangliness or the aww-shucks disposition one usually identifies with the rock-and-roll pioneer who died at age 22.
"There isn't much film or video footage available of Buddy Holly," he says in a mellow, very un-Hollylike baritone.
"But lots of people have seen the 1978 movie starring Gary Busey and that's what their vision of Buddy Holly is.
"So, even though I've studied Holly and his music, I also had to be aware of some of the things Busey did in that film."
Mr. Scott, a professional musician/singer, knows much about Buddy Holly -- the real one and the Busey version -- because he spends about half of his professional life as what's known as a tribute artist, pretending to be Buddy Holly.
His performance is bang on.
Now 36, he wasn't even born when Buddy Holly perished in a plane crash in 1959, along with J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Richie Valens in what is known in rock legend as 'the day the music died'.
"I'd never heard of Buddy Holly until I saw the film at the Newmarket Odeon when I was 12 years old," he says. I really liked the music and I was impressed with the number of hits he wrote in such a short time."
After his high school days at Newmarket's Huron Heights High, Mr. Scott studied music at Humber College, graduating in 1989. He was soon playing piano in a number of bands and, occasionally, working in a Buddy Holly number or two.
"People were always telling me I looked like him and it was inevitable I'd do it. I didn't think I did it all that well, but the seed was planted."
When the smash British musical hit Buddy came to Toronto in the early '90s, Mr. Scott auditioned for the lead role.
"Holding auditions turned out to be a publicity stunt, because the actor who starred in the show in Britain also played him here," he says. "Later, I did the role in the U.S. and at Stage West in Toronto."
He also began touring with the Kokomo Beach Band in 1995 and it was there he made the full conversion to the heavy glasses, white socks and greased-back ducktail. "It was at the Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas, but we also played around the world, including a millennium New Year's eve party in Hong Kong."
Since 1997, he's been playing Buddy Holly at least once a week somewhere in Canada or the U.S. with various tribute shows, including last week's sold-out Newmarket performance with Victor J's Rock 'N' Roll Flashback.
"I open the show with four songs, including Peggy Sue and That'll Be The Day, then come back in the second half for a duet with the Roy Orbison character and, following Elvis, we're all on the stage for the big closing number -- Johnny Be Good."
Next week, he heads for South Carolina for a three-month gig with a show called Legends In Concert. "I'll be there with Elvis, the Blues Brothers, the Four Tops and Aretha Franklin," he laughs.
If there's a drawback to all this, it's the amount of time away from home and his wife of 10 years, Sandra.
"That's the real trick, trying to keep a normal life. My dad (Newmarket Councillor Bob Scott) is promising to come down for a while and I'm hoping Sandra will be able to get some time off to come down and stay with him."
He met his wife at Humber College. "I met Sandra's brother first, when we worked a summer at Canada's Wonderland. The family lived near Humber College and I met Sandra on a visit there. The rest is history."
She is, he says, his biggest fan and toughest critic.
"She watches the show and gives me ideas on how to improve the act. She gives tough reviews."
Mr. Scott likes to immerse himself in his character.
"I studied up on Buddy Holly to try and get into his head space. At first, it was easy to affect that self-conscious style of his because I was self-conscious myself," he smiles.
"It's just a matter of exaggerating his performance -- I do a very physical show -- and it's a little hard on the voice, imitating that squeaky voice.
"You have to get inside the character, switch off your own ego. On a good night, you lose yourself in the character and you find yourself ad libbing with the audience completely as Buddy Holly."
He pauses for a long while when asked about his own music; the pop and soft-rock songs he writes and performs with other musicians in performances at bars and taverns.
"I'd like to do more of that, but you have to be realistic. You don't make a lot of money showcasing new material. Impersonating Buddy Holly pays very well.
"I don't expect to be doing this forever, but as long as I'm enjoying it and creating the illusion, I'm happy."