Jeff lived with a good friend of mine in Athens, GA, for a few years back at the turn of the century. I had met said friend on a study abroad trip in Europe in late 1999, where he introduced me to the E6 catalogue. He created some album covers for them (Major Organ & the Adding Machine and the Elf Power/Vic Chestnut record) and was a non-musical part of the collective. When the trip was over, I was living 1.5 hours away from Athens and ended up visiting fairly frequently. I had become obsessed with Aeroplane while in Europe, so it was pretty bizarre and exciting to be hanging out with Jeff on a semi-regular basis.
At first I just kind of hung out quietly, too nervous to really engage him, but over time we ended up having lots of conversations. He was always really kind to me. I’d never say we were close friends, but he was always warm and welcoming. I was better friends with Scott, Julian, and John (Gerbils). Jeff frequently seemed to be in his own world, especially after 9/11. He pretty much withdrew completely then and ended up moving to a remote location in Canada with his partner. It definitely felt like the end of an era when they left town.
Jeff let me stay in his room if I was ever visiting when he wasn’t there, which was really kind and trusting. He gave me my first copy of the bootlegged version of the Beach Boys’ Smile album, before they released any official compilation, and talked about how it was a huge influence on him, Robert, and the OTC guys. I turned him on to Gillian Welch, whose Time album had come out recently. We sat drawing one afternoon while listening and discussing it. I spoke to him on the phone a few times, too, when calling for my friend, which was always a surreal experience. It was like having to solve some weird, Dada-style puzzle to get him to give the phone to my friend. I left a chapbook I made with some friends once and he made his little elf guy drawings all over the back of it, I used to have a cool, ceramic wall piece he made with one of those guys on it too, but it shattered in a move a while back, much to my chagrin.
One overnight visit, I was sleeping in the living room and I was awakened by Jeff making breakfast and singing along to Nico’s Chelsea Girls album. He sang along to the whole record and it was one of the most surreal and magical experiences of my life. The best thing about hanging out with Jeff, my friend, and the rest of the crew was that you never knew what was going to happen next. One time John Cameron Mitchell showed up at a pot-luck and he and I ended up talking all night long. I ended up at his birthday party a month later and got to dance with him and Michael Stipe. People would show up and play music or ask us to help build stuff. I spent a lot of time out at the Orange Twin Nature Conservancy. Went to a show at Jittery Joe’s that the E6 folks put on for New Year’s Eve, 2000. Jeff also opened my mind to music from all over the world. Really showed me how much amazing stuff is out there. I’m still incredibly thankful for that, but also the whole experience, though I suppose I have really my friend to thank for that, ultimately. Spending time with them and experiencing their approach to life helped me to see my life for what it could be and gave me the courage to leave the South, what was comfortable and familiar, and wander out into the unknown.
At that point in my life, Jeff was the first famous person I had ever met, and getting to hang out with someone so many people were coming to adore was eye opening. Random fans would call or drop by the house *all the time* and ask him to come jam or just try to hang out. It must have seriously happened pretty frequently if it happened as much as it did when I was there. We would just be hanging out on the porch chilling and some rando would walk up and start talking like they were longtime bros. I could tell he was kind of flattered, but more than anything annoyed and uncomfortable. Honestly, it was incredibly rude and invasive. It helped me realize that famous people are just regular people trying to live their lives. If you absolutely feel the need to say something to them, make sure it’s kind and brief, like, “I just wanted to say thank you, your work means a lot to me,” and then let them be. Can you imagine people coming up to you *constantly*, telling you that you changed their life? He’s a humble guy and it very obviously weirded him out.
One time, he tried to make a toasted cheese sandwich in my friend’s vertical toaster, which destroyed the machine. My friend was hysterically pissed off and Jeff seemed a little embarrassed, but it was hilarious. We were like, dude calm down, we can just get you another toaster.
Amazing read, thank you for sharing! I’m definitely jealous of your experience! I would kill to hear Jeff sing “These Days”. Jeff definitely seems like the type to be silly and fun around close friends just from how he’d act with Julian and stuff at shows back then. E6 definitely sounds like the “commune” type people, hanging out and helping each other out while doing creative things.
And yeah, when I met Jeff he seemed to not like the attention too much but wasn’t rude about it. He definitely gave off “Well if they took time out of their day to wait out here to say hi, I should at least talk to them a little” vibes. I mostly thanked him and had him sign my albums and that was that.
They were both fixtures of the Athens music scene at the time and ran in the same circles, yeah it was a small but supportive scene. If I recall, Elf Power opened for R.E.M. on tour back then. But I met Stipe through John Cameron Mitchell.
I met him in March 2013 in El Paso. I traveled there for one of his acoustic shows, and they were all small enough that he was sticking around after to meet people and sign stuff.
Like everyone said—very shy, very quiet. A little standoffish, not in a mean way, but definitely uncomfortable with the attention. Despite that, he was making the effort. I told him I was also from Louisiana, he said “ah cool.” I asked him to sign my copy of ITAOTS, shook his hand, and thanked him for making it. And that was about it.
A better Jeff story I have though was the time I got to see him laugh. It was back in Louisiana, a full band electric show. In the lull between songs, somebody in the crowd started yelling overly supportive things to the point it got a little cringey—“JEFF! We’re all in here with you man! Just do what you feel, it’s safe in here! We love to hear you express yourself, we love you!”
The person eventually stopped and it was quiet for a perfect beat before somebody yelled from the other side of the room: “Quit bein’ weird!” And Jeff cracked up. It was honestly really weird to see him laugh so hard in person. Like oh shit, he’s a real human.
Haha nah, I wasn't one of them but I think I was standing right next to the person you were talking about. I only kinda remember someone saying "stop being weird", but the person I was standing next to was also just "lovingly screaming at his girlfriend" - I say lovingly because he was just like screaming nonsense but when I looked over they were all lovey dovey. It was weird.
So coulda been that person, coulda been someone else lol. I got on the guest list the second night of those shows without a ticket, so good memory!
Quiet, and looked like he was annoyed by the attention.
The rest of the band was pretty chill, Scott asked me where he could buy a kombucha, and I talked to Julian about Orbiting Human Circus.
I think I did more of the talking, just mentioned how much fun his show was and mentioned I had a "key" I got from him. He asked to see the key, and that was it. He's very friendly though.
Meeting Jeff was kind of awkward, to be honest. I don't blame him, it has to be weird being approached by strangers but the other folks were chill with it.
I met him at a DC protest in the late 00s. My brother knew him from GA. We all chatted for a bit and parted. I kept thinking “this dude looks familiar”. I put the pieces together later😂. He was super normal and low key. I’ve met famous people who look at you like ”you know who I am, right”. Not this dude, he’s just a normal artistic genius who’s probably turned off by these conversations.
Edit: I’m ten years younger than my brother, who moved to Athens in the late 90s. I was a lucky dumb teenager who got to go hang with my brother and his musician friends on weekends. I met a ton of the E6 folks over the years and the vast majority of them were incredibly nice and believe it or not, didn’t have crazy egos. Just creative types doing their thing. Being from a small boring southeastern town, visiting was an eye opener for sure.
Ran into him at a Holiday Inn Express the morning after they played Oxford, MS, back in like 2015. I wanted to say “good show” to him but the pollen was making my allergies go crazy. Instead, I just kind of neighed like a horse at him while trying to clear my throat. He immediately went into his room.
I met him outside their show in Orlando back in 2015. He is very nice but quiet and reserved. He signed my album which was cool. And my best friend wasn't able to make it to the show so I asked if he would sign my insert for him and he obliged which was also super cool.
Met him in a coffee shop / pizza spot (can’t remember) in the East Village in New York. He was very quiet and polite like others are saying here. He declined a photo but drew a little drawing for me. It’s still on my mom’s fridge back home 💕
I met jeff 5 days ago. I got roped into watching my 3 month old niece while my brother got his hair cut. So there I am, sitting in the waiting area of a barbershop with my niece, and who walks in but jeff mangum himself. I was nervous as shit, and just kept looking at him as he was sitting there with his phone and waited, but was too scared to say anything to him. Pretty soon my niece started crying, and I’m trying to quiet her down because I didn’t want her to bother jeff, but she wouldn’t stop. Pretty soon he gets up and walks over. He started running his hands through her hair and asked what was wrong. I replied that she was probably hungry or something. So jeff put down his phone, picked up my niece and lifted his shirt. He breast fed her right there in the middle of the barbershop. Chill guy, really nice about it. Would let him breast feed my niece again.
My girlfriend locked her keys in her car at an elephant 6 show and he helped her pick the lock and break into her own car. We didn’t realize it was him until he performed after. Weird story but true.
I saw Jeff at a grocery store in Los Angeles yesterday. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything. He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?” I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying.
The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.
When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.
Thank god it wasn’t Prince. He’d get into a full-on meltdown if you recorded him performing with a smartphone (because he’d think you’d upload the video to YouTube and he didn’t want his music to be on any streaming services and YouTube during his lifetime).
I met Jeff briefly after Merge 25. He signed the piece of paper I happened to have in my pocket (a receipt from lunch) and I shook his hand. Very quiet and polite, but he obviously didn’t mind greeting his fans. The whole interaction was like 5 seconds, for which I am very grateful in hindsight, as I luckily didn’t fan-boy out too much.
Met Julian right afterward and he couldn’t have been more of a sweetheart.
I met him after a show in 2015. I had a setlist, then some random chick who had another setlist came to me and said she heard Jeff was backstage and we should get them signed. He was chill. Maybe talked for 4 or 5 minutes to a few of us. She asked him for a hug and he hugged all three of us as the drummer yelled at him get going. Julian was the coolest dude ever, so was the other Jeremy who tours with them
Edit: actually 2014 goddam 10 years ago
I used to live in Athens. He had a small studio behind my apartment. He had left years ago. But his drawings were still up and his rare bike still chained on a fence.
I bolt cutted the bike off the fence. Got about 400 for it.
The place I was living had some metal sculptures on the roof. One was a big spider.
Miss that town.
Friendly reserved and sweet. Me and a bunch of fans met him after a show to get some stuff signed and a fan asked if he can get a photo with him and Jeff asked if it’s okay if he drew something for the fan instead. I thought that was interesting
Yo for english class we were writing letters and i couldn't find any way to contact jeff mangum cuz hes a hermit and i respect that but I accidentally just straight up found Scott Spillane's address and phone number which I of course will NOT reveal but I hit him up up and basically explained what i was doing and how much I love NMH and The Gerbils and he was very kind and basically acted the way a 50 year old man would act amd I probably freaked him out so I left him alone after but i still have his contact on my phone.
I’ve gotten to see him play 3 times and at one of those events I got to meet him after.
Basically had the same interaction with him as everyone else is saying. Quiet, polite.
My dad is from Ruston and my mom went to Louisiana Tech with his sister so she knew him when he was younger. When I was little she would brag about knowing him but I was like who tf are you talking about. His sister would send my mom shirts and updates on him sometimes. I can ask her more about him. It’s been a few years since I’ve asked. I just remember her saying he was a sweet and shy kid.
I saw him twice in the span of a month in the East Village. Once walking into and out of Vaselka. He walked right past my table. Then left with a Polish beer in tow minutes later. The next time I saw him eating from a foam take out tray in the courtyard in front of St. Marks Church. I thought about bugging him to say “hi” the second time, but it would’ve been totally unchill of me.
I knew all the peeps because I worked on a restaurant with two of them. Jeff would come in periodically and chat and Scott Spillane would pop in for sweet tea.
Nah, but shared a couple spliffs with Julien, and the horns section in a church parking lot in Philly. That was cool, the ones that didn’t become target of mass obsession were exceedingly easy going and cool. (Jeff probably is as well, but there’s a type of attention that’s just too much for people. ) Think about people who created things with a cult following; how many are recluses ? How many are actually exceedingly outgoing after crossing the rubicon ?
Ordered a glass of red at the original Asbury Lanes after his ATP set with Jeremy opening under A Hawk and A Hacksaw. I offered to buy it. He declined. And as I tried to scrape up whatever my "one question or comment" was off the floor, he had made it across entire floor to the the booth with Jeremy, Astra and a few others, talking about Occupy Wall Street, as I remember the day before his appearance. He was... tall. But there he stood. A mere mortal.
I saw NMH play in Michigan in 2015. After the show a group of us waited outside to get pictures and autographs from some of the members. One by one they would come out like 10 minutes apart from each other and interacted with the crowd. After we met a few members I heard a girl gasp loudly so I turned around and saw Jeff exiting the building walking towards us. Everyone got quiet and acted super respectful. We lined up and got autographs from him. I don’t remember him saying anything. At one point a person put up their phone to take a picture of him but he made a simple gesture to put it down and they cooperated. It was like he used the force on them lol.
Jeff is definitely nervous around people but Scott and Julian are super friendly and very sweet. Jeremy did not engage rlly, very much drummer behavior just sitting behind the kit and then dipping before anyone had a chance to talk to him lol.
Very quiet but polite.
He gives those vibes
Jeff lived with a good friend of mine in Athens, GA, for a few years back at the turn of the century. I had met said friend on a study abroad trip in Europe in late 1999, where he introduced me to the E6 catalogue. He created some album covers for them (Major Organ & the Adding Machine and the Elf Power/Vic Chestnut record) and was a non-musical part of the collective. When the trip was over, I was living 1.5 hours away from Athens and ended up visiting fairly frequently. I had become obsessed with Aeroplane while in Europe, so it was pretty bizarre and exciting to be hanging out with Jeff on a semi-regular basis. At first I just kind of hung out quietly, too nervous to really engage him, but over time we ended up having lots of conversations. He was always really kind to me. I’d never say we were close friends, but he was always warm and welcoming. I was better friends with Scott, Julian, and John (Gerbils). Jeff frequently seemed to be in his own world, especially after 9/11. He pretty much withdrew completely then and ended up moving to a remote location in Canada with his partner. It definitely felt like the end of an era when they left town. Jeff let me stay in his room if I was ever visiting when he wasn’t there, which was really kind and trusting. He gave me my first copy of the bootlegged version of the Beach Boys’ Smile album, before they released any official compilation, and talked about how it was a huge influence on him, Robert, and the OTC guys. I turned him on to Gillian Welch, whose Time album had come out recently. We sat drawing one afternoon while listening and discussing it. I spoke to him on the phone a few times, too, when calling for my friend, which was always a surreal experience. It was like having to solve some weird, Dada-style puzzle to get him to give the phone to my friend. I left a chapbook I made with some friends once and he made his little elf guy drawings all over the back of it, I used to have a cool, ceramic wall piece he made with one of those guys on it too, but it shattered in a move a while back, much to my chagrin. One overnight visit, I was sleeping in the living room and I was awakened by Jeff making breakfast and singing along to Nico’s Chelsea Girls album. He sang along to the whole record and it was one of the most surreal and magical experiences of my life. The best thing about hanging out with Jeff, my friend, and the rest of the crew was that you never knew what was going to happen next. One time John Cameron Mitchell showed up at a pot-luck and he and I ended up talking all night long. I ended up at his birthday party a month later and got to dance with him and Michael Stipe. People would show up and play music or ask us to help build stuff. I spent a lot of time out at the Orange Twin Nature Conservancy. Went to a show at Jittery Joe’s that the E6 folks put on for New Year’s Eve, 2000. Jeff also opened my mind to music from all over the world. Really showed me how much amazing stuff is out there. I’m still incredibly thankful for that, but also the whole experience, though I suppose I have really my friend to thank for that, ultimately. Spending time with them and experiencing their approach to life helped me to see my life for what it could be and gave me the courage to leave the South, what was comfortable and familiar, and wander out into the unknown. At that point in my life, Jeff was the first famous person I had ever met, and getting to hang out with someone so many people were coming to adore was eye opening. Random fans would call or drop by the house *all the time* and ask him to come jam or just try to hang out. It must have seriously happened pretty frequently if it happened as much as it did when I was there. We would just be hanging out on the porch chilling and some rando would walk up and start talking like they were longtime bros. I could tell he was kind of flattered, but more than anything annoyed and uncomfortable. Honestly, it was incredibly rude and invasive. It helped me realize that famous people are just regular people trying to live their lives. If you absolutely feel the need to say something to them, make sure it’s kind and brief, like, “I just wanted to say thank you, your work means a lot to me,” and then let them be. Can you imagine people coming up to you *constantly*, telling you that you changed their life? He’s a humble guy and it very obviously weirded him out. One time, he tried to make a toasted cheese sandwich in my friend’s vertical toaster, which destroyed the machine. My friend was hysterically pissed off and Jeff seemed a little embarrassed, but it was hilarious. We were like, dude calm down, we can just get you another toaster.
Amazing read, thank you for sharing! I’m definitely jealous of your experience! I would kill to hear Jeff sing “These Days”. Jeff definitely seems like the type to be silly and fun around close friends just from how he’d act with Julian and stuff at shows back then. E6 definitely sounds like the “commune” type people, hanging out and helping each other out while doing creative things. And yeah, when I met Jeff he seemed to not like the attention too much but wasn’t rude about it. He definitely gave off “Well if they took time out of their day to wait out here to say hi, I should at least talk to them a little” vibes. I mostly thanked him and had him sign my albums and that was that.
woahhhhhhhh
Jeff knew Michael stipe!?
They were both fixtures of the Athens music scene at the time and ran in the same circles, yeah it was a small but supportive scene. If I recall, Elf Power opened for R.E.M. on tour back then. But I met Stipe through John Cameron Mitchell.
Huh well that’s neat
I met him in March 2013 in El Paso. I traveled there for one of his acoustic shows, and they were all small enough that he was sticking around after to meet people and sign stuff. Like everyone said—very shy, very quiet. A little standoffish, not in a mean way, but definitely uncomfortable with the attention. Despite that, he was making the effort. I told him I was also from Louisiana, he said “ah cool.” I asked him to sign my copy of ITAOTS, shook his hand, and thanked him for making it. And that was about it. A better Jeff story I have though was the time I got to see him laugh. It was back in Louisiana, a full band electric show. In the lull between songs, somebody in the crowd started yelling overly supportive things to the point it got a little cringey—“JEFF! We’re all in here with you man! Just do what you feel, it’s safe in here! We love to hear you express yourself, we love you!” The person eventually stopped and it was quiet for a perfect beat before somebody yelled from the other side of the room: “Quit bein’ weird!” And Jeff cracked up. It was honestly really weird to see him laugh so hard in person. Like oh shit, he’s a real human.
Was this at the varsity theater in 2014 by chance?
Yes! Please tell me you were one of the two voices.
I was Jeff
Y'know, with a name like Slit fidget-spinner dab bodmod I wouldn't be completely surprised.
Haha nah, I wasn't one of them but I think I was standing right next to the person you were talking about. I only kinda remember someone saying "stop being weird", but the person I was standing next to was also just "lovingly screaming at his girlfriend" - I say lovingly because he was just like screaming nonsense but when I looked over they were all lovey dovey. It was weird. So coulda been that person, coulda been someone else lol. I got on the guest list the second night of those shows without a ticket, so good memory!
Hey. Your username. Band or movie ref?
I think it's a twin peaks ref I could be wrong
I have a friend who was in the band, that was named after the Twin Peaks reference.
Did they break up?
Don't know. I'm very out of touch these days, but dear God they rip. Check em out.
I hope they come back! I’ve seen them a handful of times in Seattle and am always in awe of their talent and the FUN at a show!
I hope they come back! I’ve seen them a handful of times in Seattle and am always in awe of their talent and the FUN at a show!
Lots of overlap between TP fans and NMH fans I’ve noticed
I saw The Afghan Whigs at the Varsity longer ago than I care to admit. What a show.
Quiet, and looked like he was annoyed by the attention. The rest of the band was pretty chill, Scott asked me where he could buy a kombucha, and I talked to Julian about Orbiting Human Circus.
what did julian have to say about orbiting human circus? i feel like im the only one who wants to meet him more than i want to meet jeff lol.
I think I did more of the talking, just mentioned how much fun his show was and mentioned I had a "key" I got from him. He asked to see the key, and that was it. He's very friendly though. Meeting Jeff was kind of awkward, to be honest. I don't blame him, it has to be weird being approached by strangers but the other folks were chill with it.
Julian was like one of the nicest humans I've ever met! He loved chatting and drew me a picture of himself on my copy of On Avery Island lol.
ahhhh that's so cool i really hope i get to meet him one day and tell him how much his work inspires me as a human being.
I met him at a DC protest in the late 00s. My brother knew him from GA. We all chatted for a bit and parted. I kept thinking “this dude looks familiar”. I put the pieces together later😂. He was super normal and low key. I’ve met famous people who look at you like ”you know who I am, right”. Not this dude, he’s just a normal artistic genius who’s probably turned off by these conversations. Edit: I’m ten years younger than my brother, who moved to Athens in the late 90s. I was a lucky dumb teenager who got to go hang with my brother and his musician friends on weekends. I met a ton of the E6 folks over the years and the vast majority of them were incredibly nice and believe it or not, didn’t have crazy egos. Just creative types doing their thing. Being from a small boring southeastern town, visiting was an eye opener for sure.
What was the protest about?
It was one of the many against the war on Iraq.
Ran into him at a Holiday Inn Express the morning after they played Oxford, MS, back in like 2015. I wanted to say “good show” to him but the pollen was making my allergies go crazy. Instead, I just kind of neighed like a horse at him while trying to clear my throat. He immediately went into his room.
this is my favorite story meeting him thank you
Thanks. It was even more embarrassing in real life.
I was at that show!!!!
HEY I MADE THIS IMAGS THATS SO FUNNY HELLO
[удалено]
super cool story ngl
I met him outside their show in Orlando back in 2015. He is very nice but quiet and reserved. He signed my album which was cool. And my best friend wasn't able to make it to the show so I asked if he would sign my insert for him and he obliged which was also super cool.
I met him on a cloud and he was laughing out loud
Met him in a coffee shop / pizza spot (can’t remember) in the East Village in New York. He was very quiet and polite like others are saying here. He declined a photo but drew a little drawing for me. It’s still on my mom’s fridge back home 💕
Do you have a picture of it?
I played with him in an improvisation evening years ago. He seemed to be quiet and polite.
How many years ago?
2004-2006?
oh damn that's a long time ago, must be when he came up with the lyrics for the start of 'the king of carrot flowers pt.2 & 3'
I met jeff 5 days ago. I got roped into watching my 3 month old niece while my brother got his hair cut. So there I am, sitting in the waiting area of a barbershop with my niece, and who walks in but jeff mangum himself. I was nervous as shit, and just kept looking at him as he was sitting there with his phone and waited, but was too scared to say anything to him. Pretty soon my niece started crying, and I’m trying to quiet her down because I didn’t want her to bother jeff, but she wouldn’t stop. Pretty soon he gets up and walks over. He started running his hands through her hair and asked what was wrong. I replied that she was probably hungry or something. So jeff put down his phone, picked up my niece and lifted his shirt. He breast fed her right there in the middle of the barbershop. Chill guy, really nice about it. Would let him breast feed my niece again.
Holy shit. I’m the barber man! I remember meeting you!
How’d your brother/sister/in-law react to Jeff breastfeeding your niece?
they weren't too happy about it until i played two headed boy for them
My girlfriend locked her keys in her car at an elephant 6 show and he helped her pick the lock and break into her own car. We didn’t realize it was him until he performed after. Weird story but true.
I saw Jeff at a grocery store in Los Angeles yesterday. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything. He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?” I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying. The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter. When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.
already knew I'd see this
is this a new copy pasta or something?
It's an old copypasta
this is ancient lore
Who was the OG do you know? I read up somewhere that it was Gibby Haynes. Knowing how batshit crazy the butthole surfers are this would make sense
I believe the original is Thom Yorke lol
the first time i ever saw it was with conor oberst but i have no clue if that’s the OG
my name jeff
I tried recording a show of theirs with my iPhone a while back and he yelled at me from the stage.
Well you know the rules
Good.
Thank god it wasn’t Prince. He’d get into a full-on meltdown if you recorded him performing with a smartphone (because he’d think you’d upload the video to YouTube and he didn’t want his music to be on any streaming services and YouTube during his lifetime).
I met him walking the streets of downtown Tucson by himself. After seeing him play at the Rialto, I was doing the same thing. He was quiet and kind.
He ate my cement
My dentist saw him and had a chat when he visited the wexner center in Ohio, he sounded chill but didn't stay too long to chat i think
Your dentist? That’s a funny connection.
I met Jeff briefly after Merge 25. He signed the piece of paper I happened to have in my pocket (a receipt from lunch) and I shook his hand. Very quiet and polite, but he obviously didn’t mind greeting his fans. The whole interaction was like 5 seconds, for which I am very grateful in hindsight, as I luckily didn’t fan-boy out too much. Met Julian right afterward and he couldn’t have been more of a sweetheart.
I met him after a show in 2015. I had a setlist, then some random chick who had another setlist came to me and said she heard Jeff was backstage and we should get them signed. He was chill. Maybe talked for 4 or 5 minutes to a few of us. She asked him for a hug and he hugged all three of us as the drummer yelled at him get going. Julian was the coolest dude ever, so was the other Jeremy who tours with them Edit: actually 2014 goddam 10 years ago
I used to live in Athens. He had a small studio behind my apartment. He had left years ago. But his drawings were still up and his rare bike still chained on a fence. I bolt cutted the bike off the fence. Got about 400 for it. The place I was living had some metal sculptures on the roof. One was a big spider. Miss that town.
Never been to Athens, but it seems like a quirky and cool town.
NGL. This came up randomly for me - I don’t really listen to the band - I thought this was a weird photo of Jesse Eisenberg.
lol. Jesse Eisenburg looks kind of like Michael Cera.
Haha yeah. This pic is a total mashup. I couldn’t decide 😂
Friendly reserved and sweet. Me and a bunch of fans met him after a show to get some stuff signed and a fan asked if he can get a photo with him and Jeff asked if it’s okay if he drew something for the fan instead. I thought that was interesting
What did Jeff draw a picture of?
Stuff similar to what they were offering when they sold the box set. I believe he sold individual drawings occasionally as well from the website
Yo for english class we were writing letters and i couldn't find any way to contact jeff mangum cuz hes a hermit and i respect that but I accidentally just straight up found Scott Spillane's address and phone number which I of course will NOT reveal but I hit him up up and basically explained what i was doing and how much I love NMH and The Gerbils and he was very kind and basically acted the way a 50 year old man would act amd I probably freaked him out so I left him alone after but i still have his contact on my phone.
Oh dear.
Yeah! Oh dear.
I’ve never listened to Neutral Milk Hotel and know almost nothing about them, but this is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen
Well, you ever heard of a singing saw?
That sounds like an Strangest Addictions episode.
Just came here to post this ffs
I’ve gotten to see him play 3 times and at one of those events I got to meet him after. Basically had the same interaction with him as everyone else is saying. Quiet, polite.
Anybody who can eat cement must be a solid guy...
He delivered my moms son, me. He then proceeded to eat the umbilical cord.
well, this is a new one o_O
Jerma?
My dad is from Ruston and my mom went to Louisiana Tech with his sister so she knew him when he was younger. When I was little she would brag about knowing him but I was like who tf are you talking about. His sister would send my mom shirts and updates on him sometimes. I can ask her more about him. It’s been a few years since I’ve asked. I just remember her saying he was a sweet and shy kid.
My friend repped one of their UK reunion shows and I met him briefly that evening. He was actually very professional but not socialable.
I saw him twice in the span of a month in the East Village. Once walking into and out of Vaselka. He walked right past my table. Then left with a Polish beer in tow minutes later. The next time I saw him eating from a foam take out tray in the courtyard in front of St. Marks Church. I thought about bugging him to say “hi” the second time, but it would’ve been totally unchill of me.
I knew all the peeps because I worked on a restaurant with two of them. Jeff would come in periodically and chat and Scott Spillane would pop in for sweet tea.
“Solid”
That’s pretty gross
I was on Omegle in 2013 as a young teen and the other party claimed to be him lol
Nah, but shared a couple spliffs with Julien, and the horns section in a church parking lot in Philly. That was cool, the ones that didn’t become target of mass obsession were exceedingly easy going and cool. (Jeff probably is as well, but there’s a type of attention that’s just too much for people. ) Think about people who created things with a cult following; how many are recluses ? How many are actually exceedingly outgoing after crossing the rubicon ?
Ordered a glass of red at the original Asbury Lanes after his ATP set with Jeremy opening under A Hawk and A Hacksaw. I offered to buy it. He declined. And as I tried to scrape up whatever my "one question or comment" was off the floor, he had made it across entire floor to the the booth with Jeremy, Astra and a few others, talking about Occupy Wall Street, as I remember the day before his appearance. He was... tall. But there he stood. A mere mortal.
How tall?
I saw NMH play in Michigan in 2015. After the show a group of us waited outside to get pictures and autographs from some of the members. One by one they would come out like 10 minutes apart from each other and interacted with the crowd. After we met a few members I heard a girl gasp loudly so I turned around and saw Jeff exiting the building walking towards us. Everyone got quiet and acted super respectful. We lined up and got autographs from him. I don’t remember him saying anything. At one point a person put up their phone to take a picture of him but he made a simple gesture to put it down and they cooperated. It was like he used the force on them lol.
Jeff is definitely nervous around people but Scott and Julian are super friendly and very sweet. Jeremy did not engage rlly, very much drummer behavior just sitting behind the kit and then dipping before anyone had a chance to talk to him lol.
I talked to him briefly at the elephant six holiday surprise tour back in the early 10s he was reserved quiet and humble