Q&A with Johnny Reed

Johnny Reed describes his music as "pop rock alternative" with a nod to the classic harmonies of artists like The Beatles and Crosby, Stills & Nash.  Reed says he's been told that his drumming is reminiscent of Ginger Baker of Cream and his guitar playing of Keith Richards or Eric Clapton.  Reed says that his creative process is free flowing.  "When I play, I jam," says Reed.  "Whatever goes is okay.  I might start with piano, guitar or drums. I might start with a chorus or a bridge or verse and then not use that original idea or phrase at all.  I just use the thing I came up with along the way." Reed is a longtime resident of Redondo Beach, one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California.  Reed says he has a great connection with the ocean.  "There's no other place I want to live."

1. Favorite band?  The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Eric Clapton…
2. Favorite genre of music?  Rock!
3. Favorite song?  “Such a Beautiful Bird” by Johnny Reed and “Good Day Sunshine” by The Beatles.
4. What is your earliest music memory?  Seeing a surf band playing in a garage and thinking it was so cool.  Not really the music, but the idea of doing of it!
5. What was the first LP or CD you bought?  Cream's Disraeli Gears and Jimi Hendrix's Experience
6. What was the first band you saw in concert?  Black Sabbath
7. What hobbies and interests do you have?  I love snorkeling.  I love wandering through tide pools, deserts and rivers, and collecting natural treasures in nature.  I also like creating art with wood, paint and other natural objects.  I enjoy making something great out of something that most people wouldn’t bother with.  Not just throwing away things that still have another life just ahead.
8. Do you have a nickname?  Sometimes “Rawk Dawg” from my previous hard rock band, Rawk Dawg.
9. Favorite destination?  Paradise Island, The Bahamas
10. If you could hang out with anyone who would you pick and why?  Jimi Hendrix.  His music was so emotional and shocking for the time.  So interesting, loose, spiritual, guttural and emotional sounding that it’s still revered today.
11. If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?  I’d like to fly like an eagle.
12. Favorite food?  BBQ.  And please cook it with the sauce on it.  Don’t paint it on later!
13. Favorite book?  Any science fiction by Carlos Castaneda.
14. Favorite movie?  Raiders of the Lost Ark
15. Favorite holiday and why?  Christmas!  Just to see children have the dreamy thoughts of the season, Not getting presents, but the imagination process of there being a whimsical guy named Santa Claus; where might he be, and what's it all about!
16. If you could have any super power, what would it be?  Seeing the future.  It could sure help the present!
17. If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?  The Pyramids
18. What three words would best describe you? DO IT YOURSELF!
19. What three words would your friends use to describe you?  Johnny’s a dreamer.
20. Any special talents?  I can juggle.
21. Who has inspired you?  Albert Einstein, Paul McCartney, George Lucas & Steven Spielberg
22. What makes you laugh?  Austin Powers
23. What did you plan to be when you grew up?  I went to Junior College and only took music & electronics.  I never planned on graduating,  I just wanted the knowledge.
24. Are there any issues you feel passionate about?  The Native Americans.  Having the treaties they signed giving their lands away.  Now the only part of the treaties that is respected is that they gave their land away.  The rest of the promises and rights in the treaties to the Native Americans are passed over, forgotten.
25. Do you have pets?  Yes, Paul the Bird is a cockatiel shared with my daughter, Kelly and son, Johnny.
26. Is there anything else you would like listeners/readers to know?  I always try to express in my songs the power of YOU.  That you can do so many things if you open yourself to it and work for it. Don’t wait for some magical person to come along and make you life better,  DIY,  Do It Yourself.  I also stress live in the moment in my songs because life spins by so quickly, and everything can change in an instant.  I know this well because my daughter was in a car accident.  She was in a coma for four months, a hospital for a year and can’t walk to this day.  So enjoy life and get the most out of it every day because you never know what's next,  That’s my message to the world!

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