Jeff Allen and Woody Harvey grew up in the local music scene of Tallahassee, FL playing for their respective bands (Bullet Tooth Tony, Dirty Skirty, 65 AMP, Blow It Up, Marshall Taylor Band). They met one evening at a show Dirty Skirty was playing with Blow It Up at Big Daddy's. After watching Woody play with Blow It Up, Jeff decided that he would try to steal him to play rhythm guitar for Dirty Skirty. This was mutually beneficial; both played guitar (and on rare occasion bass) for the others band numerous times over the years.
Jeff would often host after-parties at his house following these shows and these parties always ended up with the two playing 90's songs on acoustic guitars in the living room to impress girls. Whether the girls were impressed or not isn't important. These impromptu jam sessions were the catalysts that drove them to realize their musical chemistry. While neither one of them stood out as a strong vocalist, their voices complemented each other. Both had many years of backing vocal experience allowing them the benefit of harmonizing vocals to hide any apparent weaknesses. They became local celebrities at several dive bar karaoke nights, gaining more recognition as "Jeff and Woody" than they did from their full-time bands.
Over the years the boys gained a reputation for standing in as a "filler" musical act at the local dive bars on off-nights and when other groups cancelled that could be called on with little notice. Armed with nothing more than the 90's cover songs that they knew from the after-parties, they combined sing-a-long tunes with a stand-up comedy routine that was both mildly entertaining and laid back. Their first gig advertised as "Jeff and Woody" was at Big Daddy's on a weeknight. Rather than prepare a well-rehearsed set list, the boys wrote every song they both knew on a piece of cardboard with a sharpie. This song "menu" was passed around to the audience for them to choose from.
Several years later Big Daddy's closed and the owner opened Tomahawk Sports Bar and Grill. Woody was the general manager of the bar and worked during the day, so Jeff became the house band (er...solo artist) for the late night crowd while Woody played the happy hour early set on the patio. For several years, the boys played the same songs at different times on the same day as solo acts. Occasionally one would join the other for their set, but for the most part they were limited to their own solo performances without the other to rely on for harmonies or guitar solos.
Jeff and an English gentleman named Tom Duffy (The Whiskey Bandits) performed several impromptu gigs under the name "Your Scumbag Neighbors" during this time, with Woody filling in for Jeff occasionally. The name began as a running joke that no respectable establishment would dare write on their marquee. Nonetheless, whenever any of the three were playing around town, it was unofficially advertised as a "Your Scumbag Neighbors" event.
In January of 2015 Tomahawk Sports Bar closed and Woody took the night shift at another bar. Jeff was working at a pizza shop at the time, and both of the boys needed extra income. Fortunately, their schedules were flexible enough to once again join forces and take on gigs at several of the new bars and restaurants that had since opened in town. As the months went on the occasional gig turned into regular appearances as their popularity began to grow. Tom moved back across the pond to England and Woody took over full time, and the boys continued to add songs to their arsenal. Never ones to turn down a gig (or money), the duo played at least a hundred shows in the years that followed.
As they've gotten older, their career paths have changed; Jeff is a beer salesman and Woody works a state job, however, you'll still find them playing around Tallahassee several times a week delivering their signature combination of 90's alternative, classic, country, pop, punk rock, and everything in between to the loyal bar patrons of the city... with cheap bear in their cup holders and sarcastic jokes galore.
We are Your Scumbag Neighbors...
...and we are here to party.
