Stephen Francis Von Till Jr. is an American musician, poet, and educator, best known as the guitarist of the bandNeurosis, in which he also shares lead vocals with Scott Kelly. He has performed and recorded with Neurosis’ experimental alter egoTribes of Neurot. Von Till also records solo work under both his given name and the moniker Harvestman.
Equipment
Neurosis
Von Till plays Jazzcaster- and Telecaster-style guitars assembled from Warmoth parts. He employs Lollar P90 and Bartolini strat style pickups. His main distortion pedals are Keeley modded ProCo Rat pedals, a vintage MXR Distortion +, Land of the Rising Fuzz shin ei clone, and a Fulltone OCD. Using a wide variety of delay and modulation effects, his pedalboards have been known to include the Mutron Phasor II, MXR Carbon Copy delay, Dry Bell Vibe Machine uni-vibe clone, Electro-Harmonix Bass Micro Synthesizer, and a Chicago Iron Parachute Wah. His signal routing is all controlled by a custom made switching system by Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Electronics. The signal is routed to a Mesa/BoogieMark IV with 2 2x12 Ear Candy cabs and a Garnet Session Man 2x12 combo.
Solo
Von Till's main acoustic guitar is a 1965 Gibson J-50.
Music
Solo
Von Till's solo music as a singer songwriter has been described as a hybrid of "haunting folk songs, rural psychedelia and expansive gothic Americana full of melancholic beauty". These songs are often built around sparse arrangements, the centerpiece of which is his distinctive solemn weathered voice and minimal acoustic guitar stylings.
Harvestman
In many ways a catch all for his other musical interests and influences, distilling his love for home recorded psychedelia, ambient, folk, lo-fi, krautrock, fuzz guitars, analog delays, and vintage synthesizers into a cohesive meditative body of work. Borrowing the concept from dub music of using the recording studio as an instrument, Von Till often considers the mixes themselves as the performance where he is able to break down, manipulate, and rebuild the tracks into new forms.
Personal life
Outside his role as a musician, Von Till works as an elementary school teacher.
Poetry
On May 6, 2020 Von Till announced a collection of poetry and lyrics titled Harvestman.
