So many blues artists find themselves in the south. It’s the cradle of origin of the sound, so naturally it makes sense to gravitate there. When one has success there, I can imagine a feeling of serious connection to the music and it’s history. Such is the case with Jeff Plankenhorn, a truly unique guitar player who managed to scale the castle wall, get past the guards and reign supreme in Austin, Texas, where he developed his own hybrid of a Dobro and lap steel guitar, which he—and Texas songwriting legend and one of Plank's main mentors—dubbed “the plank” and created a sound of his own. We are lucky to host him and welcome him for the original Thursday’s music series here at the Cove on Thursday, March 27. Catch him while you can.

Seamus Cowan: It seems your musical journey has taken you many, many places! What’s it like to be so busy and revered in Texas and throughout the US to then return to such a quiet place in Campbell River, BC on Vancouver Island?

Jeff Plankenhorn: I moved from a city with the motto, "the live music capitol of the world," to a town with the motto, "the salmon capitol of the world" and I'll tell you what — it's a pretty good trade. My wife and I use to snowbird/sunbird (depending on how you look at the weather) back and forth between Texas and Vancouver Island each year. Every year my solo career got a little bigger and I was more on the road than in Austin, and we love being close to family. I adore my Canadian family and Canadian home (and my permanent residence!). I get plenty of city living on the road, and here it's pretty idyllic. We can head down a logger road to one of a handful of beautiful lakes, there's an amazing number of trails and hikes, and the people are wonderful. Plus I have been landlocked my whole life, so every day is an adventure for me. I've written more here than I have anywhere in my life, and there's a vibrant music community, festivals and clubs, and truly great players all over the island and the many surrounding islands.

Q: Developing a hybrid version of your main instruments must have been a super fun challenge and exploration. What made you decide to do that? Were there any sort of shortcomings with the Dobro and/or the lap steel guitar for you?

Jeff: Keep in mind that when I play the solo/songwriter/storyteller show I have to play what I have found to be the acoustic version of "the plank" which is a 1940's squareneck Oahu. But you are exactly right about the shortcomings leading to my little design — back in around 2001 I had just moved to Texas and was an "in demand" side person for live shows and on albums. I was constantly being asked to play lap style Dobro in bands with drums and amps. The technology to amplify that instrument was just not there yet, and frankly it always sounded pretty awful to me. I had also just been introduced to The Campbell Brothers and the entire "Sacred Steel" tradition of using steel guitars as the main instrument in African-American churches with amps, distortion, and wah-wah. It blew my mind! I had always wanted to make those sounds come out of my instrument, and here they had been doing it for many years. So I went to a luthier named Tony Nobles in Wimberley, Tx and said, "I want the shape of a Dobro so I can stand up and play, I want a lap steel neck with high action, and I want electric guitar innards and chamber the sides like an old Gretsch or a Gibson 335 so the sound can move around and I can work the feedback if I want to. Here's a few links to a little taste of what this instrument can really do. web link web link web link

Q: You received many accolades while in the Austin music scene. When you immerse yourself in a scene and the life of where you are creating, it really becomes you. I felt that when I lived in Montreal. Did you find that you started to channel the vibe into your music down there in a different way?

Jeff: When I won the Austin Music Award for "best miscellaneous instrument" a few years back, I was stunned to find out that enough people in Austin even knew what my instrument was when they wrote in "The Plank." That was, to say the least, very humbling. People like to say, "in Nashville music is a living, in Austin it's a lifestyle." That may be a bit overstated, and I have a lot of love for Nashville, but the Austin music scene made me who I am as a player, performer, and songwriter. We live and breathe it. For better or worse, it's an identity that just happens to be how you put food on the table. In addition I'd like to say that I get a lot from every scene I'm exposed to. I just recorded a blues/soul/roots rock album in The Netherlands that will hopefully be coming out later this year, and my new players and contemporaries on Vancouver Island continue to astound me with depth and musicianship. There's talent everywhere - you just have to be open to finding it!

Q: Your music has been compared to many artists such as Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, etc. Obviously there’s an element that is inspired by the past, but is there something in particular that is less obvious and might not be as well known that you have drawn deep, musical inspiration from?

Jeff: My greatest musical influence has always been and will always be Stevie Wonder. I grew up in Ohio and Michigan, so soul music and motown was as close to my heart and being as rock was. When I was 4 years old, Songs In The Key Of Life came out and I would dance and sing all the words to "I Wish" and "Sir Duke" before I had any friends that were "nappy headed little boy(s)" or who "Basie, Miller, and Satchmo" were. I could feel it ALL over (people). I started singing in church when I was only 7. I picked up guitar when I was 10. Never looked back.

Q: Writing, touring, recording, performing, all the rest of it is an incredibly up-and-down, yet fulfilling experience. I guess it’s pretty standard for me to ask this, but I always find it interesting to know where you see yourself going from here, considering the length of your career thus far.

Jeff: I often find myself telling people I live a charmed life. I truly believe that. Give me another gig. Give me just the chance to make another record. Let me be able to make my living doing this thing I love so much. I'll go wherever it takes me. It has never let me down. I would like to do more work on movie soundtracks. I'd like to write more for my substack and patreon and maybe even a book or two someday. I have to tell you also, I really want to record the next album with my friends on Vancouver Island... I'm ready to record in Canada. Posted: Mar 23, 2025