Celebrating Neil Young: from Harvest to Harvest Moon – an Evening Honouring One of Music’s Greatest Icons.
Tour: https://metropolistouring.com/celebrating-neil-young-2025/
Neil Young is a globally influential Canadian and American, singer-songwriter who is still active in both the live and the recording world, having been writing songs for almost a staggering six decades. The socially aware activist for notable causes has also been nominated for numerous prestigious awards, and also awarded some, reinforcing that Young’s work is not confined to one style or genre, be it his solo work or his collaborations with his world-renowned backing band, Crazy Horse.
As such, it is fitting that a celebration tour featuring notable musicians in their own right, will delve into Young’s vast discography to offer reinterpreted renditions of Young’s great works, whilst retaining the distinct, recognisable musical flavours and unique tones of his music. Given Young’s prolific musical output, the setlist will be wide and varied, including three superb vocalists in the celebration line-up: Jeff Martin [The Tea Party], Shane Nicholson [ARIA and Golden Guitar winner], and Richie Lewis [Tumbleweed], putting their own respectable stamp on Young’s material. We recently spoke to Jeff Martin about this fantastic upcoming tour.
Are shows paying tribute to artists demanding in a sense, given the expectation of fans?
Jeff Martin: Well, tribute is not the word I would use because all the tribute bands that are out there, and all respect to them, but they get up and try to look the part and sound exactly like the Artist. But this is – with me, Shane and Richie – what we’re doing is our interpretations of Neil Young songs and going after the essence of the songs but putting our own stamps on them. So, that’s going to make it stand apart from a normal tribute show. I mean, I cannot sing as high as Neil Young does, but also just the way I play guitar is very different to how Neil Young plays. So, it’s going to be an interpretation, but one that’s absolutely laced with respect. This is a celebration of his music, but it’s the interpretation that’s going to make it stand out.
Oh, certainly, and the influence of Neil Young’s music is incredibly broad. There are few other globally influential artists still kicking around. That’s pretty minimal.
JM: It is minimal. I mean, obviously you’ve got Sir Paul McCartney, Rod Stewarts and whatnot. But the thing about Neil is that at the age he’s at, he is still relevant. His activism, and the music that he’s coming out with, such as [Talkin to the Trees] with Chrome Hearts, and all that. He will not stop, you know, he will not stop, and that’s something to behold and to respect; all my hats are tipped to him. The thing about Neil is that, us both being Canadian, he has been embedded in my psyche since I was a kid. My family had a cottage in the Muskokas, which is the Muskoka Lake District, north of Toronto. My earliest memories were out at bonfires and Neil Young music was always playing in the background. If he wasn’t playing at your bonfire, across the lake were playing it, or at another football game. It’s just beautiful memories from my childhood, my teenage years, and even my adult years. It just seems to be a ‘go to’, you know. His acoustic music definitely was a big influence on my work with The Tea Party, and also in my solo stuff. That early time in Harvest and also the work that he did with Crosby, Stills, as a Nash, you know. I’m very enamoured with the early stuff of Crazy Horse, so that would give an indication of the songs that I’ll be performing without letting the cat out of the bag.
Nice. You’re right about his activism. I recall way back when he did “This Notes for You”, and that that was quite suitably acerbic, but at the same time it was funny.
JM: Oh, yeah, yeah, and then of course, like, “Rockin’ in the Free World”, that was during the Bush era, but it’s pretty relevant today.
Oh, yeah, yeah, and given the way that American and Canadian relations have obviously gone the way they have of late, it adds that extra fire to it.
JM: I suppose it does, yeah. But, you know, we have to always keep in mind, though, it’s not the people. The Canadian people and the American people have a great love affair. It’s just unfortunate that this one politician is basically souring that relationship. So, the sooner he goes, the better.
The collaborations that Neil Young’s done are quite varied. Do you think that at his age that he would be doing any more collaborations or he’s pretty much just felt like he’s done everything he needs to do?
JM: I don’t think Neil, because I’ve met him…I would say, to actually try to get inside Neil Young’s mind and to hazard a guess of what he’s thinking would be an impossibility. I think the man’s open to anything, but he could certainly rest on his laurels if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. So, you always expect a curveball when it comes to Neil Young.
You mentioned “Rockin’ in the Free World”, and I remember when Pearl Jam powerfully covered that song, and prior to that, in Australia at least, your commercial radio listeners knew of Young from “Cinnamon Girl”, “Old Man”, or “Heart of Gold”, and that was probably about it.
JM: Yeah, well, it’s interesting you bring up Pearl Jam, because when The Tea Party was recording The Edges of Twilight, in 1995, we were in Los Angeles doing the record, and we were at that legendary studio called A&M Studios, and we had the Big Barn, so we had the big room.
This was a time where, because of the success of our first record, Splendor Solis, well, EMI gave us some very, very healthy budgets to record The Edges of Twilight. Instead of spending that budget on rock and roll excesses, what we decided to do, the three of us, was we were going to use that money to buy every single instrument that we could dream of from different parts of the world, right? So, essentially, the barn in the main recording room in A&M Studios ended up looking like the most exotic music store you’d ever walk into, right? But what we had at this time was I had befriended the folk-rock legend himself, Mr. Roy Harper from England. So, Roy and I had known each other for a few years, and I wanted him to sing on a secret track that would be at the end of the CD of The Edges of Twilight, a song called “Time”. So, we’re in the big room, we’ve got Roy Harper now in the smaller room. Meanwhile, Pearl Jam’s doing Mirror Ball, and Neil Young was with them. So, it was the two young and up and coming bands, you know, with these legends in tow, right? I remember Neil coming into our studio, our session, and he goes into the main room, and he’s walking around looking at all the instruments, the sitars, the ouds, and all that stuff. He was saying, ‘Jeff, man, this is really cool. This is really cool.’ But then he came up to me, really seriously, and said, ‘Don’t ruin the record with any synthesisers, man.’
Wow.
JM: So, there was no synth on The Edges of Twilight. There was definitely a lot of synth on the next record, Transmission, but not on The Edges of Twilight, because of Neil Young’s instructions.
That could have been a bit of advice that Andy Curran [Envy of None] could have passed on to Alex Lifeson [Rush guitarist], perhaps? Is Rush an influence, just out of interest?
JM: Rush is a big influence on Jeff Burrows, my drummer, but not so much me. I appreciate the band and Moving Pictures was on repeat, you know, when it first came out, because of Jeff, and he was a big influence on my musical tastes, and it was great. In the later years, we actually ended up being managed by SRO Management, also Rush’s management. So, we got to know the guys personally. I’m still friends with Alex and Geddy’s [Lee – bass and vocals] a wonderful man. I didn’t really meet Neil [Peart – late drummer], but Jeff had a good rapport with Neil. So, they kind of became like family.
That’s excellent. Their knowledge of instrumentation and arrangements would be invaluable.
JM: Oh, yeah, absolutely. They’re the kings of prog rock, and those records, like, Signals and all that, were just amazing. But, for The Tea Party, as much as I love Rush, I wouldn’t say it’s sexy music. I wanted The Tea Party to be a very sensual, hard rock band, so. But, with Jeff Burrows, and the influence that Neil Peart had on Jeff, with time signatures and things like that, that certainly snuck into The Tea Party’s music, in a good way, you know.
Certainly. An article ages ago in Guitar Player magazine featured Young bemoaning the dawn of digital, so he appeared then as an analogue disciple from the word go. Do you think that his music has gone with how technology has expanded recently? Or is he still going pure analogue?
JM: Well, to my knowledge, I think he’s still in the analogue world. But, you know, even I am. As a producer, as an engineer, you know, I produce those Tea Party records and did a lot of the engineering as well, like in the days before Pro Tools, before digital. But what I do is I apply, you know, that analogue knowledge to the digital format. I still record with tape, I still use analogue consoles, you know, things like that, and I’m sure Neil Young does the same. I know he produces his records, but I don’t know if he’s heavy handed in the engineering like I am. But, I mean, the sound of Neil Young, with even like the latest record, the Chrome Hearts one, it sounds analogue to me.
He recently performed at Glastonbury, but I cannot imagine him touring with digital gear such as the Axe FX and Kempers and whatnot.
JM: Oh, no, no. He’d probably think, ‘I don’t know how to use this,’ you know, I mean, the guy’s got Marshalls, and Fenders, and that beautiful Les Paul with that vibrato bar that just sounds amazing.
His guitars now would probably be priceless. Namely, the Gretsch and the Les Paul that he’s done so many albums with over the years. Do you feel that you have to perform his songs with Les Paul or Gretsch guitars?
JM: Well, I have my own collection which is pretty outstanding, and a few of these guitars that I’m bringing out for the Neil Young shows, usually don’t leave my recording studio, but they’re going to this time. So, I’ve got like a beautiful 1971 Les Paul recording model. But it’s black, you know, so it kind of looks like Neil’s black Les Paul. But yeah, it’s a recording model. It’s got the Bigsby [tremolo] on it. I’ve got a beautiful electric Gretsch twelve-string that I’m going to be using, and then I’ve got my 1970 Fender Telecaster with the Parsons & White B-Bender, which was owned by Clarence White [bluegrass and country guitar pioneer]. He actually played that guitar on a live version of “Eight Miles High” with The Byrds. So, guitars like that are coming out the woodwork.
I hope you’ve got some insurance. It’s interesting about the Bigsby because you don’t see a lot of Les Pauls being sold with those unless it is a reissue or a signature model.
JM: Well, my recording model, I mean, I modified it. So, because the recording models that came out in ‘71, they didn’t have a Bigsby. They were usually walnut brown because of the time, and when Les Paul designed this guitar, it was meant for the recording studio, with the low impedance pickups and whatnot. So, it wasn’t like a Les Paul with humbuckers. A lot of guitarists were disappointed because it was the age of hard rock, and they want to play the Marshall stacks and this thing wasn’t singing like a humbucker Les Paul. But I’ve modified mine. So, when you hear it in the show, it’s like this beauty. She puts out some sweet, sweet tones.
Presumably Neil Young’s live rig probably doesn’t require too much in the way of effects.
JM: No, I mean, I’ve just got a tape echo that I’m bringing along, maybe a wah pedal, keeping it really simple. What is going to kind of turn things around a little bit are the alternate tunings that I’ve used in my days with The Tea Party and then my solo stuff. I’m putting some of those tunings onto Neil Young’s songs. So, it’s really expanding the guitar, and putting my own stamp on it.
That is reminiscent of when you contributed to a Led Zeppelin celebration, so do you have to bring in acoustics as well to kind of be authentic to the arrangements?
JM: Oh yeah. Well, there’s one song that I’m playing, but I am not going to let the cat out of the bag, and a luthier in the Central Coast in New South Wales made me a beautiful baritone acoustic guitar. I’m going to be using that for one song in the show. I’m also going to bring one of my beautiful 12 string Matons that were custom made for me. So, I’ve got a good little collection of guitars that are going to be traveling on the show.
Sounds like it. Also on the bill, guitar wise, you’ve also got award winning country guitarist Shane Nicholson, and there’s Richie joining from Tumbleweed. How did that arrangement come about, and have you worked together previously?
JM: No, it was Fraser [Bourke], the promoter from Metropolis, the guy that owns Metropolis Promotions. He headhunted the three of us. Now, I’ve never met Shane yet. I will meet him when we start rehearsals. But I’m in awe of his talents. He’s an incredible musician, and Richie and I, well, I’m pretty sure that sometime in the 90’s our paths would have crossed. But when I say that it was the 90s, so it’s kind of hazy.
You’d likely all have different appreciations of Neil Young’s music.
JM: Yeah, well, I’m sure we do, so I’ve yet to know what songs they’ve chosen, but I know what I’ve chosen, and memories are attached to the ones that I’ve chosen. I’ve been practicing in my studio and obviously key changes are necessary and things like that. But I’m telling you, the band led by this musician named Paul McDonald, the backing band that’s going to be behind the three of us. It’s just the best of Australian session musicians. So we are, the three of us are in capable hands.
Do you notice if you look back at your own discography, do you notice the influence of Neil Young or even similarities in your songwriting process that he might have done with Crazy Horse?
JM: There’s a couple of songs, like “Shadows on the Mountainside” from The Edges of
Twilight, which is definitely influenced by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and a beautiful song off of Triptych called “Gone”, was written around a campfire. Sitting down with an acoustic guitar in that environment, you know, you can’t help but like think of Neil Young, you know.
Would Rust Never Sleeps be his most well-known album?
JM: No, I’d say, Harvest would be, or even Harvest Moon, you know.
As you’d know, Powderfinger were named after a song that’s on Rust Never Sleeps.
JM: I’m hoping to see Ian [Haug – guitarist] and Bernard [Fanning – vocalist] at some of the shows.
Neil Young’s song “Southern Man” sparked a bit of a feud with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Was that back and forth playing to the fans?
JM: I think it was real. Yeah, I mean, you know, Neil has the ability to get under people’s skins, right. He doesn’t mince words, you know, and he just calls it like he believes he sees it, you know. How incredible is it still at his age and, you know, going after Trump and all that, like, it’s Just amazing, you know? You probably wouldn’t see Rod Stewart doing that.
When Neil was starting to become very successful, sadly one band member he had to eject [Danny Whitten – guitarist] subsequently fatally overdosed. After that, Young had to go and tour arenas. That takes an extraordinary person, really.
JM: Yes, absolutely but with Neil, if one musician leaves, or if a door closes, the window opens, and anyone worth their salt would want to work with Neil Young.
Is there a particular album from Neil Young’s discography that you favour?
JM: It’s a toss-up between Harvest and then Harvest Moon, you know, because Harvest, is definitely from my childhood, but then in my early 20’s, Harvest Moon came out and that was on repeat. When The Tea Party was just starting out, running the van and having to drive long distances and all that stuff, that CD or cassette tape was always playing.
He never really comes across as an indulgent musician. He’s probably been around musicians who are guilty of that. How do you think that he’s managed to stay grounded?
JM: Oh, I don’t know, by watching people fall down all around. I mean, especially being in Crosby, Stills and Nash, you know, for David Crosby and Steven Stills, the rock and roll excesses were certainly there, and it’s probably something that deterred him from going down the same path. But, I mean, I’m sure he’s no angel, or was no angel back then, but certainly, didn’t follow in the footsteps or the misguided footsteps of the rock and roll obsessions.
No, indeed. Are backing vocals a lot what’s involved in making that big sound?
JM: I’m leaving that to Paul McDonald, who’s the band leader. I’m sure he’s going to have some beautiful back backup singers to help with the harmonies, because, you know, Neil was a perfectionist when it came to harmonies. It all will be revealed when we start rehearsals but right now it’s just the anticipation of it all.
Finally, can we expect to see some Fender Twin Deluxe amplifiers in the backline?
JM: Definitely. You knew it, yeah.
Thanks very much for having a chat. We will see you on tour very soon.
JM: Thanks buddy.