You don't see enough about DBT's not-so-secret weapon John Neff, whose contributions are probably my favorite (sonically) parts of their music. I found this old article (it was before he was full-time with DBT) about him on Flagpole:
Jun 22, 2005
Pedal to the Metal
John Neff, Athens' Ubiquitous Pedal Steel Player, Is One Of The Town's Most Prolific Musicians
Brian McCall
John Neff
He's been called a "pedal steelebrity" by some, and after spending time bending notes with the likes of the Star Room Boys, Drive-By Truckers, Lona, the Chasers, Redneck GReece Delux, Dodd Ferrelle, David Barbe, Ben Mize, Ceiling Fan, Superchunk, Widespread Panic, Japancakes, Duke & Dawn, Producto, Rain Phoenix, The Judge & The Jury, Call & Response, Two Dollar Pistols, Jackpot City, Jerry Joseph, Barbara Cue, Kenosha Kid, Shiitake Nights, The Bearfoot Hookers, Hank Vegas, The Prince Rondavels, Gravel, Adam Musick, hey! revolution, Daisy, The Stretch Marks, **** Volcanic, Drip, Now It's Overhead, Parker & Lily, the Mendoza Line, Park Bench Trio, Clemente, Larry Acquaviva, Jack Logan & the Monday Night Recorders, The Possibilities, Bloodkin, Hot Burritos, the Weight, Kevn Kinney, Joel Byron, Winslow Willard, Champale, Ruthwood Allstars, Tough Love, South San Gabriel, Harold & Darrell, Bob Spires, The Fountains, The Domino Kings and Phosphorescent - among others - one thing has become certain: John Neff, Athens' hardest working pedal steel player, is this town's answer to Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
Through a series of emails, phone calls and conversations in bars, greenhouses and windy parking lots, Flagpole learned a little more about the man of steel.
Musical Beginnings
Inspired by Peter Drake's work on Dylan's Nashville Skyline and Lloyd Green's playing on the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Neff decided to give the pedal steel a go - after having played guitar for several years. "I picked it up because I loved the sound of it," he recalls, "and I didn't anticipate that there could be more opportunities for a steel player. I just thought it was cool." The operative word here is cool, as most would agree that adjective best describes Neff's playing style.
Performing with a calm intent regardless of the venue or the name on the marquee, Neff injects cool. It's been said that the presence of his pedal steel made all the difference in the Japancakes sound. Stylus magazine said his contributions to the band "lift[ed] them from post-rock milieu into something altogether stranger." In reference to his work with the Star Room Boys, music mag Ink19 beamed, "Neff's steel work is nothing short of brilliant - spare, evocative lines that provide a searching, yearning undercurrent to the song's message." How's that for critical praise?
Former Star Room Boy and Neff bandmate Dave Marr recalls the early days; Marr met Neff when he was playing steel with Redneck GReece. "[It was] around 1995 or '96 I guess, and he started playing with us soon afterward," says Marr. "I was pretty impressed with his dedication to learning to play pedal steel; he was only about 22 or 23 and had been playing for about two years, but he was already pretty good and getting better fast."
Barbara Cue's William Tonks' Neff memories go back even further. "I met him in 1987 when his sister Debbie and I started dating," says Tonks, who eventually married Debbie and is now Neff's brother-in-law. "I liked him immediately. He liked music a lot, and was into guitars, Jimi Hendrix - and we both knew the song "It's Your Turn" from The Who's It's Hard record."
Upon hearing of this recollection, Neff is none too shy about his desire that Tonks' recollection end up on the cutting room floor. "He could have picked a better Who song," bemoans Neff, politely asking Flagpole to strike the fact that he has performed said song from the record.
Neff and Tonks found themselves playing music together and, at Neff's suggestion Barbara Cue, initially an NRBQ tribute band, began writing original music and learning other covers. On the band's latest album Rhythm Oil, a record Neff says he feels deserves a bit more attention, the pedal steel was shelved in favor of electric guitar. Don't expect the decision to play standing up to be a permanent one as he expects to reintroduce steel in future construction projects.
Contribution Choices
Soon Athens bands could hardly get enough Neff. Drive-By Truckers guitarist-songwriter Patterson Hood remembers assembling several local folks for what was the first incarnation of the Truckers.
"He was on my very short list from day one," says Hood. "Always liked him and his playing. I booked a day of studio time at Andy Baker's old house studio and invited what became the original line-up of the band for a day of recording… had fun, so we kept doing it, and ended up making several records together."
The fact that his steel services were keeping Neff busy and unavailable for a full commitment didn't bother Hood. "I always liked Neff doing other things, his more country stuff that he's famous for," he readily admits. "He was just really busy, playing in Star Room Boys and several other bands, most of which were bigger bands than we were anyway. We hit the road and he would have had to quit four or five bands to stay in our band full-time."
Asked if the DBT had - or would consider playing with - another pedal steel player, Hood makes things clear: "Neff would whup my ass," he says.
Does Neff have the urge to be, or sense of regret not being, a permanent touring member of the Truckers? His answer exemplifies the unassuming nature that defines him. In 1998, he was playing with Star Room Boys and the Truckers. "Both bands were getting busier as far as booking shows went," says Neff. "The DBT's sound was getting heavier by the night and I felt that sonically, there was a sweeter spot for me with the SRB's. Had I stayed with the Truckers, they wouldn't be the band they are today… I still play with them sometimes, so I can't complain."
Says Marr of Neff's dedication to his former band, "Johnny has pretty good taste… Neff was always willing to make SRB his main priority, which I was grateful for."
A Heavy Load
John Neff has complemented other musicians' sounds, but in several projects he has been integral, most notably when rocking with Barbara Cue, composing soft wallpaper soundscapes with Japancakes and underscoring neon lit honky-tonk Star Room Boy narratives with the divine whine of his pedal steel stylings. He performs with a patient, tranquil focus regardless of genre or role that convinces listeners the songs would not, could not be so wonderful without his feet and fingers working in diligent harmony.
As Japancakes member Eric Berg recalls, the band was a much different animal before Neff's involvement. "When Johnny joined," he says, "it just added such a strong emotion to the songs. Since he has joined, everything has changed."
Nick Bielli, another Japancakes member, agrees. "I felt the steel was going to be crucial," he says, "when we started moving away from the super-droning, one-note shit and got into more structured songs where the steel functioned more as a melodic device rather than as a sound effect."
He praises Neff's contribution to the band's latest release Waking Hours. "Listen to 'Tremor' on our new album," says Bielli. "It's the best thing on that record, and it's his. His role in the Star Room Boy arrangements was a bit different. While Marr wrote the songs, Neff and Philip [McArdle] worked really hard at getting their guitar and steel parts together so that they supported an complemented one another, as opposed to just playing on top of each other, or just trading fills and leads."
The busy schedule Neff keeps does not interfere with each project's progress, but there are those occasional, unavoidable snafus. Bielli recalls one such occasion when the pedal steel player couldn't be in two places at once.
"We had to do South By Southwest one year with Eric's brother on lap steel because the Star Room Boys had prior commitments," he says. "But in reality, Japancakes is not a real road band, so it never really creates conflict."
This Gun For Hire
It's common that musicians looking for a missing element during their recording process seek Neff's steel prowess. Aside from full-time membership in too many bands to count, Neff is also an in-demand hired studio gun.
David Barbe, who has been part of numerous Neff collaborations, says the pedal steel guitarist is in high demand due to his versatility and studio demeanor. "Artists frequently ask me about him," says Barbe. "John gets down to business. He has a great ear for what a song needs, but is always open to suggestions. He has a knack for listening to someone's explanation of what they are looking for and actualizing it."
One of Neff's most recent collaborations left the band he was working with in awe. Jon Tonge of local country act The Bearfoot Hookers describes Neff as "a laid-back, easygoing guy. Real friendly."
As for Neff's musicianship, bassist Tonge enthuses. "My initial impression of his playing evolved loosely around the five stages of grief," he says. "One, denial: he can't be doing that! Two, anger: why the fuck can't I do that? Three, bargaining: will you do that on our record? Four, depression: again, why the fuck can't I do that? And five, acceptance: thank God he did that on our record."
Neff, however, will be the first to admit that there is an element of pedal steel that intimidates him. He says his anxiety tends to surface when performing with outlaw-on-a-barstool country act The Chasers. He attributes this trepidation to the slick musicianship and ridiculous soloing made famous by some of Nashville's most celebrated pedal players, as that's exactly what's expected of him every time The Chasers take the stage.
Neff's Barbara Cue collaborator Tonks, however, says there's little to worry about. "[He was] there from the beginning, with great chops, ideas and singing - and he recently added the shiniest guitar ever."
The Nitty Gritty
And what would a look at John Neff be without a few dark secrets to create a stir and steer the story straight into scathing exposé? Honestly, it was tough to dig up anything dirtier than Berg's memory of Neff's sweet tooth getting the better of him in Europe. "John would eat the whiskey-filled chocolates in Paris," remembers Berg. "For some reason that always cracked me up."
Nothing, even after kicking around the country in a rowdy country and western outfit like the Star Room Boys? "No embarrassing stories to share," says Marr. "Unless he's embarrassed by his unusual fondness for Boudin sausage on a stick."
But surely after logging so many hours in living room jams, recording studios, and on stages in majestic theatres and dingy dive bars, there's a Neff memory that's separated itself from the rest - something that's left a mark in his colleague's minds (or at least on somebody's skull).
Dave Marr concedes, saying he feels that the similarity between Neff's comfortable on-stage performance and laid-back private demeanor is best illustrated by the following anecdote.
"We were playing in Savannah, Neff's hometown," says Marr. "A guy he may or may not have been acquainted with was standing at the edge of the stage, behind Neff, repeatedly poking him in the back while he played. After unsuccessfully trying to get the guy to stop by asking him to several times, Johnny turned around and rapped the guy three times on the forehead with his solid chrome slide bar, hard. The guy immediately started screaming in shock and pain, but Neff turned back around and resumed playing."
David Eduardo Your Handy Flagpole Stalk-John-Neff-During-AthFest Guide
