Shonna & Neff parting ways

[Smitty]

via FB:

John Neff
3 hrs · Merrillville, IN ·
Shonna and I have parted ways romantically and have only a few shows left playing music together. I'm only posting it here because I have so many friends asking when we'll be playing their town or sending us love. I'll always be thankful for the love we shared and proud of the music we made together. Thanks to everyone who supported our band. They may or may not continue without me. Here's to moving on!

[roland]

Saw this coming. Maybe the next time the Truckers are feeling county, he can jump back in.

[Steve French]

wonder if there is bad blood about how he left with PH still?

[Zip City]

Yoko Tucker

[Clams]

I wonder who got the donkey.

[John A Arkansawyer]

I'm sure this is a minority position, but I hope he doesn't come back to DBT for a good long while if at all, except maybe for a studio track or two. This is my favorite of the versions I've heard. There are a lot of bands out there that can use a gunslinger. I don't think this version of DBT is one of them.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Yoko Tucker

Don't get me wrong here, I know you mean well, and Shonna's good and I really dig her bass playing, but Yoko's a genius. There aren't many like her and we're the poorer for it. (Still kicking myself for not going to see her when I had the chance. Just Maybe...)

[Smitty]

I'm sure this is a minority position, but I hope he doesn't come back to DBT for a good long while if at all, except maybe for a studio track or two. This is my favorite of the versions I've heard. There are a lot of bands out there that can use a gunslinger. I don't think this version of DBT is one of them.

While I understand your position, (and while there's nothing to suggest he would come back) I would absolutely love it if Neff was back in the fold. They have a ton of songs that seem incomplete (to me) without his pedal steel parts.

[heartbreaker1976]

I was disappointed when Shonna left. I was more disappointed when Neff left. I'm glad they left now. The current line up kicks ass.
Best wishes to both of them.

[John A Arkansawyer]

I'm sure this is a minority position, but I hope he doesn't come back to DBT for a good long while if at all, except maybe for a studio track or two. This is my favorite of the versions I've heard. There are a lot of bands out there that can use a gunslinger. I don't think this version of DBT is one of them.

While I understand your position, (and while there's nothing to suggest he would come back) I would absolutely love it if Neff was back in the fold. They have a ton of songs that seem incomplete (to me) without his pedal steel parts.

Let's compromise: If Jay beats his Kickstarter goal, he has to use the extra for a steel guitar.

[Smitty]

I was disappointed when Shonna left. I was more disappointed when Neff left. I'm glad they left now. The current line up kicks ass.
Best wishes to both of them.

I was ambivalent when Shonna left, but totally bummed when Neff quit too. The current lineup does in fact kick ass, but I don't think Neff leaving has anything to do with that and I can only assume that they'd kick even more ass with a pedal steel player (although I'm pro-pedal steel in almost any situation).

[Smitty]

I was disappointed when Shonna left. I was more disappointed when Neff left. I'm glad they left now. The current line up kicks ass.
Best wishes to both of them.

I was ambivalent when Shonna left, but totally bummed when Neff quit too. The current lineup does in fact kick ass, but I don't think Neff leaving has anything to do with that and I can only assume that they'd kick even more ass with a pedal steel player (although I'm pro-pedal steel in almost any situation).

[RoyHandcuff]

I was disappointed when Shonna left. I was more disappointed when Neff left. I'm glad they left now. The current line up kicks ass.
Best wishes to both of them.

I was ambivalent when Shonna left, but totally bummed when Neff quit too. The current lineup does in fact kick ass, but I don't think Neff leaving has anything to do with that and I can only assume that they'd kick even more ass with a pedal steel player (although I'm pro-pedal steel in almost any situation).

I agree with you. Though I dug Shonna and what she brought to the band. She was just such a great "fit". Looked cool and sounded great. I usually don't get so emotionally attached to bands, but I guess DBT is a different story and I was really bummed when Neff left. I really felt like the band was falling to pieces. The clips i saw/heard from the first few shows after Neff left really didn't Impress me. I was a little disappointed in English Oceans but I think the current DBT absolutely nailed it when I saw them on tour. For rock show rowdyness this current band is great. They have really found their feet live IMO. One thing I loved about the Neff band was how tight and dynamic they were. Not to say that this version of the band is one dimensional or anything, I just loved what Neff brought to the band. Always tasteful stuff, always enhancing the song. Very proficient and fluid player, a PERFECT counterpoint to Cooley's wilder/sloppier(in the best way) style of playing. So, yeah. I doubt it will ever happen but I would love to have him back in the band. I am a bit biased since I love the pedal steel and 80% of my record collection are records that are in there because there is great steel playing on them. With that said, SRO is probably my desert island disc.

[mhc]

I wonder who got the donkey.

I just fell out of the bed laughing in tears.

[Clams]

I was ambivalent when Shonna left, but totally bummed when Neff quit too. The current lineup does in fact kick ass, but I don't think Neff leaving has anything to do with that and I can only assume that they'd kick even more ass with a pedal steel player (although I'm pro-pedal steel in almost any situation).

If it was up to me, I'd keep the current lineup intact but do a few shows per year "with special guest John Neff" sitting in on pedal steel and his Les Paul.

[Penny Lane]

but Yoko's a genius. There aren't many like her and we're the poorer for it. (Still kicking myself for not going to see her when I had the chance. Just Maybe...)

in all sincerity, i'm curious about this..please elaborate more on yoko's genius (not to change the subject)..i saw one of her art shows about 10 years ago.

[Tequila Cowboy]

This is just an aside as all conversation is endorsed and encouraged but I just have to point out that only on 3DD can a conversation about the ending of two former DBT members' musical and personal relationship somehow become a debate on the genius of Yoko Ono. That being said, please continue I believe Miss. Lane is waiting...

[John A Arkansawyer]

but Yoko's a genius. There aren't many like her and we're the poorer for it. (Still kicking myself for not going to see her when I had the chance. Just Maybe...)

in all sincerity, i'm curious about this..please elaborate more on yoko's genius (not to change the subject)..i saw one of her art shows about 10 years ago.

Seeing the Yes Yoko Ono retrospective at SF-MOMA in 2002 was what finally convinced me she wasn't simply a talented artist but a genius.

You just don't know about a lot of modern and post-modern art until you encounter it. When I felt the magnetic draw from that white telephone that might or might not ring but would have her live on the other end if it did, I knew she'd done something remarkable when I could not keep myself from circling back toward it, over and over again. Sitting at the chessboard with the all-white pieces and playing a game (which wasn't chess) with a kid had a similar effect. Putting my wish for a dying friend onto that little tree had another. So did meditatively dropping water from the dropper into that sponge.

I don't know that it works for everyone, but it sure worked for me. I was inclined to like it going in, but even so, I was shocked at how deeply it moved me.

[John A Arkansawyer]

I was ambivalent when Shonna left, but totally bummed when Neff quit too. The current lineup does in fact kick ass, but I don't think Neff leaving has anything to do with that and I can only assume that they'd kick even more ass with a pedal steel player (although I'm pro-pedal steel in almost any situation).

If it was up to me, I'd keep the current lineup intact but do a few shows per year "with special guest John Neff" sitting in on pedal steel and his Les Paul.

I'd sure go to a show like that, but consider this: How tight would they be? The beauty of the six-piece lineup was how awesomely tight it was. It got that way from a lot of touring together. This would come after a long break.

[mhc]

This is just an aside as all conversation is endorsed and encouraged but I just have to point out that only on 3DD can a conversation about the ending of two former DBT members' musical and personal relationship somehow become a debate on the genius of Yoko Ono. That being said, please continue I believe Miss. Lane is waiting...

You all are killing me
Stop it

[Smitty]

I was ambivalent when Shonna left, but totally bummed when Neff quit too. The current lineup does in fact kick ass, but I don't think Neff leaving has anything to do with that and I can only assume that they'd kick even more ass with a pedal steel player (although I'm pro-pedal steel in almost any situation).

If it was up to me, I'd keep the current lineup intact but do a few shows per year "with special guest John Neff" sitting in on pedal steel and his Les Paul.

I'd sure go to a show like that, but consider this: How tight would they be? The beauty of the six-piece lineup was how awesomely tight it was. It got that way from a lot of touring together. This would come after a long break.

Neff's the most polished-sounding (ya get me?) musician to ever play with DBT IMO, and he was with them for the better part of a decade, so I imagine it wouldn't take much adjusting for him to lock in if this scenario came to pass.

[John A Arkansawyer]

If it was up to me, I'd keep the current lineup intact but do a few shows per year "with special guest John Neff" sitting in on pedal steel and his Les Paul.

I'd sure go to a show like that, but consider this: How tight would they be? The beauty of the six-piece lineup was how awesomely tight it was. It got that way from a lot of touring together. This would come after a long break.

Neff's the most polished-sounding (ya get me?) musician to ever play with DBT IMO, and he was with them for the better part of a decade, so I imagine it wouldn't take much adjusting for him to lock in if this scenario came to pass.

That makes perfect sense. But how long would it take for the rest of the band to lock in with him?

[Smitty]

That makes perfect sense. But how long would it take for the rest of the band to lock in with him?

Probably spending too much time on this conjectural hypothetical situation, but considering Matt P. is the only one who hasn't had extensive experience playing with Neff, I assume it wouldn't take long. Hell, it might be attractive for Jay not to have to run back and forth from keys to guitar.

[John A Arkansawyer]

That makes perfect sense. But how long would it take for the rest of the band to lock in with him?

Probably spending too much time on this conjectural hypothetical situation, but considering Matt P. is the only one who hasn't had extensive experience playing with Neff, I assume it wouldn't take long. Hell, it might be attractive for Jay not to have to run back and forth from keys to guitar.

And they wouldn't do it if they didn't think it'd sound good. But I think Jay looks like he's having a hell of a lot of fun.

It reminds me of being in junior high band and running from the the tympani (where I played, like, three notes) to the percussion cabinet (where I'd left the claves or the wood block or some such) to the bells and back to the tympani. Good times, children, good times.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

If this is the return of the "lean and mean" era then with all certainty, the more country-tinged side of the Truckers will almost definitely resurface at some point. When and if that ever happens, I sincerely hope the door is left open for Neff as he's the only man for the job.

[ford911]

I dig the lineup right now. The only occasional guest I would care to see with them would be Jason.

[sg207]

but Yoko's a genius. There aren't many like her and we're the poorer for it. (Still kicking myself for not going to see her when I had the chance. Just Maybe...)

in all sincerity, i'm curious about this..please elaborate more on yoko's genius (not to change the subject)..i saw one of her art shows about 10 years ago.

Seeing the Yes Yoko Ono retrospective at SF-MOMA in 2002 was what finally convinced me she wasn't simply a talented artist but a genius.

You just don't know about a lot of modern and post-modern art until you encounter it. When I felt the magnetic draw from that white telephone that might or might not ring but would have her live on the other end if it did, I knew she'd done something remarkable when I could not keep myself from circling back toward it, over and over again. Sitting at the chessboard with the all-white pieces and playing a game (which wasn't chess) with a kid had a similar effect. Putting my wish for a dying friend onto that little tree had another. So did meditatively dropping water from the dropper into that sponge.

I don't know that it works for everyone, but it sure worked for me. I was inclined to like it going in, but even so, I was shocked at how deeply it moved me.

Wait, so you weren't fucking with us on that original comment?

[John A Arkansawyer]

but Yoko's a genius. There aren't many like her and we're the poorer for it. (Still kicking myself for not going to see her when I had the chance. Just Maybe...)

Wait, so you weren't fucking with us on that original comment?

Well, I might have been fucking with someone, but I was doing so with my honest opinion. As Patti Smith once said, "I don't fuck much with the past, but I fuck plenty with the future." Um. wait. I mean: As Kim Gordon once said, "Turn off the past and just say yes." No, wait. That was Lee Renaldo. As Debora Iyall once said, "That man could give a fuck about that grin on your face." Well. I think I'll stop before I get any deeper in. Which reminds me of a song...

[RMD]

Why would DBT take Neff back? He went about quitting in a shiitty unprofessional way. I would be shocked if it ever happened.

[heartbreaker1976]

Why would DBT take Neff back? He went about quitting in a shiitty unprofessional way. I would be shocked if it ever happened.

and he talked shit on facebook on more than one occasion...of course if I wrote off all my "friends" that talked shit on facebook, I'd have a lot less friends...