|
|
The Neckbones are Forrest Hewes (drums, vocals), Robbie Alexander (bass), Dave Boyer (guitar, vocals), and Tyler Keith (guitar, vocals). Originally, the line-up excluded Tyler, but after the release of their first CD (Paintings in the Trash), he hopped on board. Damned near everyone in the band has a song or two of their own, with the exception of faithful bassist Robbie, who appears to be content with dropping dope beats for all the fly honies. Anyway, Tyler is basically the higher pitched screaming guy, Dave is the mid-pitched screaming guy, and Forrest has that lower, "I smoke exponential packs of cigarettes a day" voice.
Their primary base of operations seems to be Oxford, Mississippi, home of that true-blue-through-and-through blues label, Fat Possum, which they currently record for.
The 'Bones put out their first release, the Tyler-less Paintings in the Trash, somewhere around '93, I guess. If anyone has a copy of it (especially an extra copy), E-mail me, 'cuz I'd sure like to hear it. They picked up their second guitarist and made Pay the Rent in '94; released it on their own, too. PTR sounds a bit more like the Grifters than the band sounds like now, which is kind of interesting. It's still really good, though, and it has an older version of "Dolly" on it. In '97, the 'Bones were signed to Fat Possum and the subsequent racket was called Souls on Fire. This CD featured a new bloozier sound and paved the way for 1999's The Lights Are Getting Dim, which defined the Neckbones' sound as a cross between Iggy and the Stooges' Raw Power and a Chuck Berry greatest hits comp. A good deal of tracks recorded during these sessions went unused until they were released a little later as a 10 incher called Gentlemen on Misprint Records.
Click right here to see a visual discography.
What's a Neckbones live show like? Well, I've only had the semi-euphoric experience of seeing them once, but it went sort of like this. I show up like thirty minutes early. Band's sitting at the bar. I pull up and we watch that stupid millionaire show, then we talk about music, and then they shoot some pool. At this time, there's maybe ten people here (four Neckbones, one roadie, a bartender, a drunk, then me and two fans). They start the show, and they're awesome. Spirit of rock and roll and all that, you know? More people wander in. They reach the end of the set, and one of the late-comers asks 'em if they'll play "Souls on Fire" again, 'cuz he missed it. They oblige, promising to do it better than the first run. It was better that time, as a matter of fact. Then, they come off the stage and enjoy their free beer. Good show.
Click here to see a 1997 Neckbones article.
Click here to see another one.
This one's better.
Same mag, different review.
Still no clue if this guy likes 'em or not.
Ditto.
