When did The Neckbones start and when did it end, and tell me who was in the band over the years. Also, please give me a complete discography including all the albums, seven inches, ten inches, compilations and the record labels who released them.
The Neckbones started around 1992 and originally consisted of Robbie, Dave and me. Robbie and I had played in a band called The Snopes that disbanded after the group decided to stay in Gulfport, MS instead of Oxford. I came back to Oxford and was introduced to Dave through a mutual friend. Robbie was on the coast and going to school in Mobile, Al. Meanwhile, back in Oxford, Dave and I had formed a band with Lightning Boy Gomez and some dude named Jeff called Gurb. Gurb only played one show before Dave and I had figured that maybe this band wasn't the answer to what we were trying to do. I called Robbie, who was a friend and good musician that was not playing at the time and he moved up to Oxford on the strength of my suggestion that Dave was a really good guitar player.
Tell me about the pre-Neckbones days.
Pre-Neckbones days were mixed for me. I had been in a bunch of bands in high school and early college. I had the desire to play music from a really early age, but couldn't afford any instruments so I began to try singing, since it was free. I was listening to a lot of stuff like the Beatles, Kinks, and Stones, then began finding stuff like Black Flag, Replacements, Husker Du, Minutemen, Dead Kennedys, Smiths, REM, etc, anything that wasn't radio stuff. I sang with a couple of high school/ college bands just trying to get in there somewhere.
I got to Oxford in 1989. I picked up drums because our drummer didn’t want to move there. The Snopes moved there as a band then hoping to get gigs around town making money. Robbie was a year younger than us, but was "gifted" and he graduated high school a year early to make the move with us. He was a guitar player in The Snopes. One monster influence on me and everyone in The Snopes were The Hilltops, from Oxford. We used to get them to come and play parties for us on the coast and we marveled at their ability to play such a diverse batch of songs while intertwining their original stuff into sets. They were loose on stage, had good taste, and made everything they were doing seem so fun. They painted that picture reminiscent to that of The Beatles in Hamburg, flailing all over the stage, laughing, joking, and making the room go absolutely crazy. It made me really want to be onstage, making people dance and go nuts.
Robbie and I lied to our parents one day and told them that we were going on an official visit to Oxford to check out Ole Miss. We got excused from school and took Robbie's dad's truck to Oxford, pretty much to visit Oxford and hopefully John Stirrat of the Hilltops. John lived at 1411 Van Buren, the house I eventually inhabited and met Tyler in. It was a huge deal to us and we arrived in Oxford and tracked him down. This whole trip was unbeknownst to him, and this was before cell phones and instant communication, yet he took us in and we sat around with he and Hank Sossaman, the Hilltops drummer, listening to records and drinking beer. Barry Hannah was their next door neighbor, and he came over around 2am with a song idea he had to share with John and Hank. Robbie and I are sitting in a corner, 16 and 17 years old, drinking beers and watching Barry sing and play a snare drum with a lampshade on his head, while John and Hank played along in an inaudible blast of feedback and screams. We were sold on Oxford. We never saw the campus on that visit.
It is funny to think back on that because we thought of the Hilltops as music gods, then we got to Oxford and realized that the status quo at the time thought they were pretty scummy. Everyone was into jam music and Grateful Dead style bands. The Hilltops were rock and roll, and that was not necessarily hip at that time whatsoever. I don't know that this has changed in Oxford or not.
The Neckbones played for a while before Tyler Keith joined the band. The first time I remember seeing the Neckbones was at Lafayette's opening up for Blue Mountain in 1993. You guys were a three piece then. How long did you guys play that way and how did you hook up with Tyler?
We were a 3-piece for about a year and a half and we hooked up with Tyler when he took a room at 1411 Van Buren with me for the Summer. He worked the Hoka and played in The Sky Pilots, and I was screwing around with various musicians and what not while Dave and Robbie went home to work for a summer. Tyler and I, along with Gentry and Lester (from parts unknown) formed The Recession Hookers, and recorded some songs with Bruce at Zombie Birdhouse studios. If I am not mistaken these were some of Tyler's first original recordings, and he possessed a real sense of urgency and excitability to his performances, one that was pretty appealing. He and I had spent a good portion of the summer just goofing off and getting drunk and playing records. It made total sense to have another guitar player to round out the band, and he seemed like the perfect fit. He and I came from similar places on the coastline and listened to a lot of the same records and had a lot of similar opinions about music and stuff. When Dave and Robbie got back we all got together to play and hit it off really well .
In 1994 The Neckbones released a 7" inch record and your first CD, "Pay The Rent." Tell me a little bit about those releases. Where were they recorded? Who put them out? Tell me some stories and anecdotes about your first recordings.
As a trio we released a record called Paining In Trash on Fishtone Records, which meant that we paid for everything from recordings to production, then Fishtone slapped their little stock photo of a fish in the corner and called it theirs. Mark Roberts was very encouraging to us about our music, however, and our fake deal made all the other bands jealous around town, because they wanted their own fake deal. Mark always tried to include us in whatever things he did, but frankly, he was a label in theory.
The 7" was done in Memphis in a dank apartment somewhere on Madison Avenue, and the sessions started around midnight and went on until sunrise, essentially. Jerod form The Simpleones put it out on his label, and he and Jim from the Simpleones did the recording. When we finally "nailed" the songs we went back to listen in the booth and realized that the master recordings had been laid down way too hot for the microphones, giving the recordings a distorted and close to inaudible quality. Jerod messed with what we had until the noise was somewhat contained, and that is the sound that 7" had.
Pay The Rent was recorded by Bruce at Zombie Birdhouse in Oxford, and we had been playing our asses off so when we went into the studio we more or less spit it out Zen Arcade style. We had a record in a week, pretty much, and the songs were tight and urgent. The original trio lineup of the band had morphed with Tyler into what was The Neckbones, and Dave, who originally had written just music that I would add lyrics and vocals to, began singing some of his own songs as well. This was when we all began swapping out songs and had a bunch of different voices and sounds coming out between us. We put them out ourselves essentially with a little help from Zee Bin Records, out of New Orleans.
Lawrence Wells did the cover art for "Pay the Rent." He also did the art for The Hilltops CD "Big Black River." Talk about the art on this album as well as working with Lawrence.
I was privy to a ton of Lawrence's art because he lived with my older brother, Finley in Oxford. I would sit around with those guys, listening to Lawrence’s takes on life and what not and just marvel at his imagination. You get used to seeing so many cookie cutter college kids in Oxford, then you meet someone like Lawrence who was from no mold whatsoever, and it was just great. The title of the piece we used was "Insect Film Festival" and if you reexamine it you will see a movie being played through the exoskeleton of a crawfish, and a bunch of ants and other insects watching the images rolling down the side of the painting. There were no other artists like him in Oxford.
I remember you guys were so excited about the your first album and when you got it back there was a major error in the mastering of the disc. What happened there?
We thought it was something really special to have something done at Ardent, like Big Star or something, which is where it was mastered. There was a song out of place on the lineup we submitted, then another song, "Over There", started for 10 seconds then stopped and started again. Remember when Pee-Wee Herman busts his ass on the bike ramp in front of all the other kids in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, then gets up, brushes himself off and says, "I meant to do that"?
Not long after "Pay the Rent" came out, you guys were signed by Fat Possum Records, a local label that was primarily known at the time as the blues label of R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. The Neckbones were the very first rock band on the label. How did you guys hook up with Fat Possum? What was it like being on a blues label? Was it a positive experience or negative?
We were all extremely excited and proud to be on Fat Possum. They had taken interest in us after a buzz had been created around town about this band that was packing out local bars and making kids dance and creating a stir locally. Bruce Watson joined up with Matthew and we had a lot of faith in Bruce, perhaps because we had recorded so much with him and so forth and we thought he knew where we coming from and so forth, so there was comfort level there. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough marketed themselves by their own legends. I think for a label to make a rock band successful was a much more difficult task, and couldn't be sold on their previous legacy like the rest of their artists. I don’t think the label realized that our legacy, if any, was to start there. Overall it was a bad experience in the end, mainly from a marketing standpoint and personality standpoint. The Fat Possum street credibility to me was built largely by Peter Lee and those early records of RL and Junior, and was perpetuated by the guy who still runs it now. There may have been more headlines and outrageousness from the current administration, but the roots of the label are still “Too Bad Jim” and “All Night Long”.
Ok, your second album, Souls on Fire many people consider the quintessential Neckbones album. Tell me some stories and anecdotes about this album.
It was recorded in a karate dojo in the woods somewhere off highway. Most bands get a budget to work with on an album like this. I think Fat Possum sprung for a gallon of Jack Daniels and a few family packs of pork chops and chicken for the grill. We couldn't believe our fortunes. We had a week to do it, and it was a fun experience. I have no strong recollections other than enjoying it.
Who is the girl on the cover of "Souls on Fire?" Tell me about that cover.
Her name is Emily, and she dated Dale Beavers at the time. We all definitely thought she stood out, and loved the backdrop set to her rinky dink valentine ensemble .
On the night "Souls on Fire" was released you guys had a record release party at Proud Larry's. This night is infamously known as "One of the Most Shocking Moments in Oxford Music History." This is, of course, the night that Dave Boyer punched out Fat Possum Records President Matthew Johnson. For the record, what happened that night?
The show was great, the night was full of excitement and anticipation. Our buzz as a band had reached a pretty high pitch. The after party took place at Dave and Tyler's house and it was as fun as the show. We had all had a few. Matthew probably thought he was just having fun and was being snide and arrogant and began to rifle comments directly to Dave and it rubbed Dave wrong. Dave asked him to stop and he didn’t, so Dave popped him in the mouth and tossed a drink on him in front of a bunch of people. Then Matthew split and got a DUI. Dave felt horrible about it. He had gotten blood all over some of Tyler's best records.
Did the fight between Dave and Matthew affect the relationship between The Neckbones and Fat Possum? What was it like being on the label after the fight? It seems like the label held the fight against the band for the rest of your career and Fat Possum never really pushed the band like they should have. Is that an accurate statement?
It is only inaccurate by understatement. It was like not having a label after that skirmish. Matthew couldn’t exploit or manipulate us like he did most his artists and one of us had hit him. Manipulation and exploitation were really his talents. I think someone in the music business equation has to be that guy, and he is good at it.
Let's talk about you third album "The Lights are Getting Dim." You recorded it with Bruce Watson in Oxford, but it was mixed by John Stirratt of Wilco? Talk about recording, mixing and releasing this album.
It seems that we basically bribed Fat Possum to put out our second record of a three record deal we signed. They wanted to cut us loose. I think Bruce stepped up for us at that point and got the ok to do the next record. They gave a broken down handicapped school bus to us in lieu of money for that record, one they probably would have hauled off to a junk yard had we not said ok. We said ok only because we knew there would be nothing else offered if we said no. I think our songs were better, and we had developed a bit more of our own style, so the mindset going into it was great form an artists standpoint, and equally bleak from a record label standpoint. John Stirratt came down and assisted with the record, and it was good to have someone there other than the same old crew, offering a fresh perspective on getting a sound. He was great. He helped organize harmonies, sang a bit, offered direction on things we would not have known with Bruce alone, so it was really nice.
Talk about some of the special guests on this The Lights are Getting Dim. You guys brought in JoJo from Widespread, Jack from The Oblivions, Bob Egan of Blue Rodeo fame, and also Cary & Laurie of Blue Mountain. That's quite a roomful!
Jo Jo was steeped in a lot of the same rock and roll stuff that we were in love with and we were all friends. He and my brother were pretty close. He was a New Orleans music freak, and we obviously borrowed from that stuff with artists like Larry WIlliams and Fats Domino, and so forth. Jo Jo turned me on to the MC5 and the Stooges and stuff right when I got to Oxford. Jack “Oblivian” Yarber was always my favorite guy from Memphis, and whose songs we all were crazy about. The only thing better than his songs is his personality, and he is great to have around at any time. If you ask me, he is the best rock and roll artist in Memphis. That’s a loaded statement. He has forgotten more great songs that he’s written than most other artists will ever write in their lives. Cary and Laurie were also all great friends apart from being incredible musicians, and as we branched out a bit we could utilize some of the styles that they had already perfected on their own. Laurie has the most effortless and beautiful back up harmonies. It was nice to have them all chime in and gave the record an overall rounded sound that perhaps our others had lacked.
Your final release was the "Gentlemen" 10" record, which came out on Misprint Records, not Fat Possum. This little known EP was arguably your best release, and that back cover art is classic! Tell me all about this record.
It was largely some stuff left off of the last Fat Possum record, and some was probably better than what made it on to The Lights Are Getting Dim, along with some new cuts exclusively for that record. Some of the stuff that was really good on that record was left off the Fat Possum releases because Matthew didn't think it was backwoods enough. Jeff Carnavale, the Misprint Records owner, took that record and made it work.
As far as the cover was concerned, I had acquired all these photos and memorabilia from when the Western Lounge, a famous Memphis Steak house that Elvis used to frequent that had closed down, and all these great party pics from the 70's were in one of the boxes we got.
Talk about some of the shows you guys played in Oxford.
Most of these venues mentioned were the best shows in Oxford. The Cooter Family Estate was an amazing phenomenon in that at any minute the place could have erupted in violence or fire or both, yet they always ended up fine. The Hoka was a great place because despite the sound quality usually being horrid, the atmosphere was like no other, and it was truly an Oxford original joint. Ireland’s was our place, though. It was nice being there while all the hippie bands and hippie wannabe’s danced like chickens with broken necks in Forrester’s or something, we were packing out that ratty little club and it was a blast. There were times when I swear it felt like the floor was going to fall through to the basement, and it seemed as if even that wouldn’t have stopped the show.
Talk about your experience in Oxford over the years. How much has this town changed from you perspective?
I love Oxford. I never really wanted to leave there, but you reach that point where you need to find a job or something. I would love to come back there. I was always fond of the scenery, the history, and the people. I haven’t been back enough to give a fair perspective of how it is now. I just know that anytime I do come back, I don’t feel out of place.
You guys did a show back in the day with Fugazi at Lafayette's. That show ended up being in Fugazi's movie, Instrument and the Neckbones can be heard playing during one segment of the movie. Tell me about that show and the movie.
Ian and the other guys from Fugazi were all real nice. I was a fan and intimidated by them as a result, until they pulled a portable washing machine out of their van and began washing clothes during sound check..
Ok, lets talk about the songs. You guys seemed to have three song writers and vocalist in the Neckbones, Tyler, Dave and Forrest. What was the typical writing process like?
When we were a trio, Dave and Robbie would write music and play it for me, and I would write melodies and lyrics. Or I would have a melody stuck in my head and would relay to one of the guys to transcribe. Sometimes Dave would record these musical bits on tape and give them to me and I would ride around town listening to them until things started popping up in my head. We collaborated some on the later records, not near as much as we probably should have. That is the blessing and curse of having so many different writing personalities within one group. Dave is pretty remarkable. He literally has 10,000 songs that weave in and out of his brain and he discards them as quick as he writes them it seems. I could sit around with him and he would just start playing snippets, then “STOP!” and we would make a song out of something. I write lyrics and sing melodies to myself, but drums are hard to showcase the song on, so a lot of times it would be left up to interpretation and collaboration with Tyler or Dave, or Robbie. Robbie used to write songs along with us all on the first couple of records, then seemed to back off towards the latter half of our records, preferring to just play bass.
The Neckbones were notorious for not including lyrics in your albums. Why was that?
I don’t think it was for any reason other than space on the covers. We never really had too much political stuff to talk about, so transcribing a bunch of songs about girls and white kid angst might’ve gotten boring anyway.
Tell me about "Help Slip Not," which is one of my favorite Neckbones songs.
This song title was taken verbatim from some guy I was working with in a restaurant in Oxford after he came back from a Dead show. I was oblivious to what that meant, but apparently it was some sort of progression that the Dead went through combining these three songs, the last one being Not Fade Away. I had no idea what it meant but this guy kept telling me they did "Help, Slip, Not" and I just kept nodding in agreeance as if to say, "ok". I always had a hang up with the fact that I thought there were so many good local bands in Oxford, yet all the kids at Ole Miss were more content to stand around listening to a Dead cover band, or New Potato Caboose or something. We were current, playing down the street, and trying to make something happen in Oxford, and that was my stab at an anthem for what was present.
Tell me about your cover T-Model Ford's "Nobody Gets Me Down."
It was Tyler's idea, and the original blew all of us away. T-Model was my favorite guy to be around from the Fat Possum lineup. We got to play a lot of shows with him including an extended tour of Europe, so we got to hang out day and night with him. His stories were mind blowing, and his sense of humor was tops. We’d sit around some times at night with him in his room like kids around a campfire or something, and he would tell us stories for hours. It was great.
What is your favorite Neckbones song?
"64 Days," "Dead End Kids," and "I Love You Rock and Roll."
Why did the The Neckbones break up?
Did we break up?
What have you guys been up to since The Neckbones broke up. Talk about not only your day jobs, but also the other bands you played after the Neckbones.
Dave and I have started a band called The Faves. We have one record out and are working on another. Dave and I also were in the Cool Jerks together, which regrettably only put out one record, because we had a lot of fun together and the one record we did get out was a keeper.
We both have kids now and are working day jobs, still plotting..........
On the back cover of the "Gentlemen" EP, you guys had state of the art computer edited photos to show what you guys would look like in 2019. Where do you see yourselves ten years from now? How do you see Oxford ten years from now?
Hopefully not working a day job. Dave and I still write songs a lot. Oxford looks nothing now like it did when I was there 10 years ago. In 10 years it will probably just be a subdivision of Memphis. It'll be that one that others travel to for chicken-on-a-stick.
Who have been some of your favorite local bands over the years? What about your favorite venues?
Hilltops, Blue Mountain, The Cooters, Tim Lee, The Gimmecaps, Preachers Kids, The Oblivians. I always liked City Grocery, Larry's, The Cooter Estate. Ireland’s was the place where it seemed the craziest.
