by Denise Sullivan
Tim Keegan formed Homer (Patrick Hannan, Jake Kyle, Andrew Claridge and Andy Metcalfe) in 1995 after working as a guitarist for the Blue Aeroplanes and Robyn Hitchcock. Homer debuted with a single, "Superkeen" (MeekGiant, U.K.) and followed with two more all greeted with thumbs up by the British music press. After appearing as Hitchcock's accompanist in Jonathan Demme's film, Storefront Hitchcock, Keegan debuted as a solo artist in 1998 with a single, "Disconnected" (Blue Rose, U.K.). His U.S. debut Long Distance Information (Flydaddy, 1998) is a collection of U.K. singles. He draws heavily from Byrds and Beatles jangle-pop while other times, he employs the same clever Syd Barrett-style lyrics and English folk music that inspired his mentor Hitchcock.