John Neff | |
|---|---|
 Neff playing guitar | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Columbus, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar Pedal Steel Guitar Vocals Dobro Lap Steel Guitar |
| Years active | 1993 – present |
John Neff is an American musician based in Athens, Georgia. He is most known for playing guitar and pedal steel guitar.
Neff is originally from Columbus, Ohio and moved to Savannah, Georgia when he was 11. He moved to Athens in his early twenties, at which time he started playing pedal steel guitar, for which he is best known. [1] [2] He received his first guitar at age 9 and began learning how to play, and began his music career when he arrived in Athens. [3] Some of his influences include BJ Cole, Buddy Emmons, David Lindley, and Lloyd Green. [4]
Some of Neff's earlier bands include the Chasers, Lona, Redneck Greece Deluxe, Star Room Boys, Barbara Cue, and Japancakes, [4] operating out of Athens. Japancakes is still active, releasing their most recent album Japancakes in May 2016.
Over the course of his musical career, Neff has performed and recorded with bands including The Allman Brothers Band, Bloodkin, Phosphorescent, Jerry Joseph, Superchunk, and Widespread Panic. [4] He has also been involved with David Barbe and the Quick Hooks, Jack Logan and the Monday Night Recorders, and The Dexateens. He has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon twice, Late Night with Conan O'Brien , Later... with Jools Holland , the Late Show With David Letterman [5] and Conan . [6] He also recorded on Bettye LaVette's Grammy nominated album The Scene of the Crime. [7] Neff was also a founding member of Eye Candy with Shonna Tucker, which released an album in 2013. Some other bands he has recorded with are Bo Bedingfield and The Wydelles, Superhorse, The Judge and The Jury, Producto, Papercranes, Jason Isbell, Vic Chesnutt, and Call and Response. Other associated acts include The Weight, The Eskimos, The Burning Angels, Norma Rae, and Future Lives.
Neff was a founding member of the band Drive-By Truckers and appears on their first two albums, Gangstabilly and Pizza Deliverance . [1] He rejoined the band in 2006 and was a member until 2012. In his time with the band, he was on the albums Decoration Day , Brighter Than Creation's Dark , The Big To-Do , Go-Go Boots , and The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities . The band was also featured on Booker T. Jones' album Potato Hole , [8] which won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2009. [9]
Neff is currently involved in a Concerto for Rock Band with Strings with R.E.M. bass player Mike Mills featuring violinist Robert McDuffie that will perform in places such as Toronto and Rome [10] with an upcoming tour of the US. The Concerto expanded to include Chuck Leavell playing a set of covers called "A Night of Georgia Music" [11] The tour resumed in 2022. [12]
Neff is also currently playing with Athens country-rock band The Pink Stones. He recorded pedal steel on their most recent release, Jimmy & Jesus, and is also featured on every song of their upcoming LP, recorded at Chase Park Transduction with Henry Barbe. He is also a member of the band's live lineup. [13]
Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as roommates at the University of North Alabama. The group also has roots in Richmond, Virginia.
Bettye LaVette is an American soul singer-songwriter who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her album I've Got My Own Hell to Raise was released to widespread critical acclaim, and was named on many critics' "Best of 2005" lists. Her next album, The Scene of the Crime, debuted at number one on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart and was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
Japancakes is an American indie rock group, based in Athens, Georgia, United States.
Decoration Day is a rock album released by Drive-By Truckers in 2003. The album was recorded mostly live over two weeks at Chase Park Transduction Studios in Athens, Georgia, and was produced by noted producer and former Sugar bassist David Barbe. The album is the Truckers' fifth, including their live album Alabama Ass Whuppin', following the critically acclaimed Southern Rock Opera. The album features a more mellow, stripped down, and reserved sound compared to Southern Rock Opera's heavy hitting southern rock.
David Barbe is an American musician and producer/engineer from Athens, Georgia and director of the Music Business Certificate Program at the University of Georgia. He is chief of Chase Park Transduction studio in Athens. Barbe is known for his work as a songwriter, singer, guitarist, and bass guitarist in Sugar, Mercyland, and Buzz Hungry, as well as solo performances. He has produced nearly every album by the popular country rock band Drive-By Truckers, and has worked as producer and engineer with Son Volt. He has an all-star solo band in Athens called the Quick Hooks.
The Dirty South is the fifth album by Alabamian rock group Drive-By Truckers, released in 2004. The Dirty South is Drive-By Truckers' second concept album. Like its predecessor, Southern Rock Opera, the album examines the state of the South, and unveils the hypocrisy, irony, and tragedy that continues to exist.
Michael Jason Isbell is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell has won four Grammy Awards.
The Scene of the Crime is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Bettye LaVette, released in the United States on September 25, 2007 on the label ANTI-. It is a collaboration with Drive-By Truckers as backing band, Spooner Oldham on piano, and other studio musicians. The album debuted at number one on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart and was nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
Brighter Than Creation's Dark is the seventh studio album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers. It was released on January 22, 2008 in the United States.
Photographer Chris McKay, of Athens, Georgia, winner of several ASCAP Music Awards for his solo work, had wanted to be back in a group since his days with Q-Sign, which was named "one of the best unsigned bands in America" by Musician magazine.
Sirens of the Ditch is the debut solo album released by singer-songwriter and former Drive-By Truckers lead guitarist, Jason Isbell. The album was released on July 10, 2007.
Potato Hole is a 2009 album by Booker T. Jones, recorded with Drive-By Truckers as the backing band and guitar accompaniment by Neil Young.
Live From Austin, TX is the second live album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers. It was released as a two disc CD/DVD combo. It was recorded on September 26, 2008, and boasts an almost twelve-minute recording of the song "18 Wheels of Love," which was originally released on their first album Gangstabilly.
The Fine Print is a compilation album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers. Released in 2009, it consists unreleased material mostly recorded throughout the making of their albums Decoration Day and The Dirty South; a highly prolific period for the band. It features album artwork and a sample of concert posters from 2009 by Wes Freed, and is produced by David Barbe.
The Big To-Do is the eighth studio album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers, released on March 16, 2010. It is their first album released on ATO Records, which they signed to after completing their four album deal with New West Records.
Patterson David Hood is an American singer-songwriter and co-founder of the band Drive-By Truckers.
Jerry Joseph is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
Ugly Buildings, Whores, and Politicians: Greatest Hits 1998–2009 is a compilation album released by New West Records of songs coming from the first seven albums of the Drive-By Truckers discography. It was produced by David Barbe and "leads fans on an abbreviated journey of what the band has accomplished in their first 11 years." The album was released on compact disc and vinyl formats.
Shonna Tucker is a bassist and songwriter from Killen, Alabama, near Muscle Shoals.
William Tonks is an American musician based out of Athens, Georgia. He is most known as a dobro player, songwriter, and singer.
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