2003.06.01 - The Sacramento Bee - The Legend of Buckethead

The legend of Buckethead

Guitar-plucker claims he was raised by chickens

By Chris Macias
BEE POP MUSIC WRITER

Who was that masked man?

That’s what many folks may ask when the guitarist known as Buckethead leaves the stage at Harlow’s Wednesday night.

His face is obscured by a hockey mask, a la Jason from ‘‘Friday the 13th," while a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket rests upside down over his head.

Perhaps even more puzzling are Buckethead’s guitar chops.

This guy can really play, and play fast.

According to Buckethead lore, he was born in a chicken coop and raised by chickens.

(Actually, he was born Brian Carroll in the suburbs of Los Angeles.) A steady diet of horror films and plenty of guitar picking helped create one of rock’s weirdest six-string slingers.

His visibility has been fairly high over the past few years, being a lead guitarist in the retooled Guns N’ Roses. Still,

Buckethead has produced his own body of work both as a collaborator and solo artist. All the while, he’s been surrounded by such Grade A musicians as Bootsy Collins, Bill Laswell, Les Claypool and Bernie Worrell.

At Harlow’s, Buckethead will perform with his first band, the Deli Creeps. The metal-funk outfit was once raging in San Francisco, but broke up in 1996 without releasing an album. With the Deli Creeps gigging again, there’s talk that the band might record.

It would be great to ask Buckethead about all this, but the enigmatic guitarist rarely grants interviews. (During one interview with MTV, Buckethead answered all questions via a sock puppet.)

Still, Buckethead’s guitar music, which zips around like a frantic video-game soundtrack, does plenty of talking on its own. Let the guitar shredding begin.