Peff and Jack: How a local surfing legend helped launch Jack Johnson’s musical journey
by Mark McDermott The legend of Peff Eick is a many-headed thing. Jeffery “Peff” Eick is revered locally as a surfer. He was a member of the now legendary Double Deuce Dangler surf crew for 22nd Street in Hermosa Beach that included Tim Kelly, Henry Ford, and Dewey Weber, and he later rode on Weber’s famed surf team. His name is in bronze on the Hermosa Beach Surfers Walk of Fame. He served two tours as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. His combat missions included the Battle of Hamburger Hill in 1969. His extraordinary service was recognized with a Bronze Star Medal for heroic achievement, and an Air Medal with a V, denoting valor beyond what could be expected of a soldier in direct combat. One night in 2014, the legend of Peff Eick grew well beyond its local confines. Jack Johnson, the singer and guitarist who became an unlikely pop star on the basis of his simple but perfectly sung and utterly irresistible songs, had just returned to the stage for an encore at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. He walked up to the microphone to make an announcement. “This is the first time I ever did this,” Johnson said. “But I am going to bring the guy who taught me how to play…
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