25 November 2007 (released)
25 November 2007
In the back room of the 'Water Rats’ pub in London, Music News managed to catch a few minutes with up and coming rock band Johnny Panic. From 1950’s Socialism to the Beatles, singer Rob Solly and Guitarist Matt James share their views.
Music News: Johnny Panic, Where did you get that name from?
Rob Solly: It’s from the Sylvia Plath short story, Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams. It isn’t the most amazing piece of work in the world and at the end Johnny Panic appears as a sort of biblical force and that is something that really sets the tone of the band and I think it is really ironic cos, for instance, none of The Killers are really killers, are they? We just thought it was a good name. We used to be called Malibu Stacy, after the Simpsons about twelve years ago when we started. A few years later we made a list, that I found recently, and some of the names we thought of were, Fall Out Boy, The Fight and The Enemy. I think we chose the wrong name cos they have all gone on to have decent careers, we must be really great at picking names, just not for ourselves.
Music News: Is Jonny Shock, the drummer, his real name, where did that come from?
Rob Solly: His real name is Jonny McDonald but that brings up an image of farming which isn’t really rock and roll. He really loves After shock, the drink. When we were recording our first album the producer Al Clay (Pixies producer) used to take us down to the pub and Jonny used to drink After Shock, so that’s where the name comes from.
Music News: Is your live performance important to you, is it important to get the album as close to the live performance as you can?
Rob Solly: Yeah definetley, we used to watch music videos all the time, we could do all the moves before we could even play. Bands like The Clash, who left a stamp on anyone who went to see them. They have had a great influence on us. They have left a great legacy. I don’t like it when new bands go into the studio, like The Killers, on the first album, and come out with strings on it. That’s not the band they are live and there is that line that we don’t cross, sometimes we have to stop ourselves cos obviously it is tempting to get it sounding perfect, but that changes who you are.
Music News: Who are your main Influences?
Rob Solly: The Manics (Street Preachers) were great, The Clash. I think it is important to love music. We were fans first. If you listen to our albums there is always a chorus. There are bits of Jimmy Eat World and Green Day on the album cos I think they are the ones leading the way at the moment.
Music News: Rock isn’t really in the mainstream at the moment, what do you think of popular Indie?
Matt James: You don’t get British rock bands anymore, there are very few of them. We are great at Indie, we rule the world at Indie but not at rock so there are very few chances for rock bands, good British rock bands are very damn rare. You don’t see them in the NME.
Rob Solly: We are the kings of Rock song writing, we have many weaknesses but the support isn’t there for rock bands. We don’t have a unique sound but we mean what we play and I believe that we write better songs than a majority of bands. With Johnny Panic the song always comes first, but there’s something else there if you want it.
Music News: Lennon or McCartney?
Rob Solly: Lennon, but I do question whether he can work without McCartney. 'Working class hero’, what a great song.
Matt James: Also those Linda McCartney lasagnes were awful.
Music News: What is your favourite colour?
Rob Solly: Red.
Matt James: Silver, because I saw some silver boots and they looked like (David) Bowie boots.
Music News: Who did your album cover and what is the idea behind it?
Rob Solly: I (Rob) did the album cover. It is all DIY, it is based on a 1950’s German Socialist poster and it had Marx, Lennin and Engles on it in the same pose as us. Underneath it read, 'Some people talk about the weather, we don’t.' I really liked that.
Music News: Plans for the future?
Rob Solly: We are going to record another album I think and tour when we get offered gigs but our main priority is to get back into the studio. Johnny Panic is not a money making entity, but it’s what we do.
