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!

Check out Johnny's website.
Check out Johnny on Facebook.

Check out his music on itunes.

Q&A with Danny Van of sMALLTIME

I'm excited to unveil a new profile feature you'll be seeing regularly on The Knix Mix blog where readers get to learn a little bit about their favorite artists in the artist's own words!  Danny Van, front man for the rock outfit sMALLTIME, has graciously accepted the challenge of answering my inaugural artist profile Q&A.  sMALLTIME is a unique rock outfit from Orange County, CA consisting of Danny on lead vocal and rhythm guitar, Kenny Goorabian on lead guitar, Steve Clayton on bass guitar and Dusty Slaybaugh on drums.  Their music is a mix of rock, blues, country and soul with an inspiring message of grace, recovery and redemption.  It's clear this band of musical veterans knows how to use their God given talents.  Danny explains, "We try to write songs that stand the test of time.  A good rock song, in my humble opinion, is honest and simple and sometimes 'simple' is very allusive, but that's what we aim for."  The sMALLTIME EP was released May 20th and is available everywhere.  sMALLTIME has just finished their video for "Ya Never Know," which you can see on YouTube.  Planning for a summer tour is underway and details will be announced on their website.

Ten Questions and Answers with Danny Van!

1. Favorite band?  Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
2. Favorite genre of music?  Straight ahead honest ROCK!
3. What was the first band you saw in concert?  Jethro Tull @ the Fabulous Forum in LA
4. Do you have a nickname?  Our drummer, Dusty, does.  His given name is Daniel.
5. If you could hang out with anyone who would you pick and why?  Jesus, He has all the answers.
6. Favorite food?  Most everything, look at me! (We think you look great, Danny!)
7. Favorite book?  Green Eggs and Ham.  There's a moral in there somewhere.
8. Favorite movie?  It's a Wonderful Life
9. Favorite holiday and why?  Christmas 'cause we get to watch It's a Wonderful Life.
10. Are there any issues you feel passionate about?   sMALLTIME is all about the message.  God's BIGTIME we're sMALLTIME.  We're just trying to be as honest as we can. That's where good rock music comes from.  We want to write songs that are good today and still good twenty years from now. I love any rock performed with passion.  Like if AC/DC's “Highway to Hell” comes on the radio, I gotta listen.  That rock cord progression is one of the best ever written, and when Bon Scott sings “I'm on the highway to Hell,” I believe him.  I don't agree with the message but I love the song.  I'm hoping I sing our songs with that same passion.

sMALLTIME website

sMALLTIME E-mail

sMALLTIME Facebook page

sMALLTIME on Twitter

sMALLTIME on YouTube

Anna Rose at Port City Music Hall

I had a chance to speak with rock songstress Anna Rose on The Knix Mix prior to her opening for former Live lead singer, Ed Kowalczyk, at Port City Music Hall on March 23rd.  Anna is touring in support of her sophomore album Behold a Pale Horse.  Anna's name may be sweet, but the New York based performer is a self described "old soul," and she channels the edgier blues tinged rock sound of a Janis Joplin or Stevie Nicks.  Anna worked with producer Kevin Salem on the album, and she credits him with helping her to grow as a songwriter.  Of the eleven songs she wrote or co-wrote for the album, her 5 year stint in Los Angeles and subsequent return to New York influenced a number of them' including "Los Angeles" and "Beautiful World."  Anna likens the title track, "Behold a Pale Horse," to the legacy one leaves behind.  And Anna hopes that Behold a Pale Horse is a real and authentic representation of the kind of rock music she wants to leave as her musical legacy.
Listen to the entire interview on SoundCloud. Anna Rose Interview with DJ Knix

The Feather Lungs

I had the pleasure of hosting the Maine based band The Feather Lungs on The Wicked Good Music Hour on March 1st.  The Feather Lungs is a rock and roll band on the move.  The band consists of singer Laura Wood, guitarists David Young and Caleb Orion, Nick Perry on bass and Richard Fortin on drums.  They are a fairly new band, having only been jamming together since late May 2013, but they've already made great strides towards their dream of success on a larger scale.  Band members come from all over Maine with Laura being from Orono, Nick originally from Rumford and now residing in Portland, Caleb and Dave from Augusta, and Richard in Hallowell, which serves as the band's home base.
The Feather Lungs have been recording their album in Richard's home studio in Hallowell.  Laura describes it as "a lot to balance," but their work is paying off with four songs officially in the can and some killer shows on the horizon.  They have one coming up next week at Bayside Bowl in Portland with Volcano Rabbit and Yes We Kin also appearing and another in April when they'll be sharing the stage with local band Chamberlain at Nocturnem in Bangor.  They have one video up online for the song "Subtraction" that was filmed before newest member Caleb joined the band, but they're working on another.  The band has "good energy" and is really moving in a positive direction according to Laura.
The band merges Laura's expressive vocal talents with complimentary instrumentation from the guys.  The backbone of The Feather Lungs' sound is definitely the driving rhythm and guitar swagger.  The band cites an eclectic array of influences from Laura's appreciation for the vocals and songwriting talents of PJ Harvey, Dave's affinity for Beethoven to Nick's preference for The Kinks and ELO. And everyone was in agreement about Fleetwood Mac and The Pixies.  The band name, The Feather Lungs, was actually just a "placeholder" name until they came up with another.  But they never did, and the name stuck.
Dave and Richard, interestingly enough, have known each other since kindergarten and have been working on music together for 17 years, and Caleb and Nick played together previously as well.  Richard says "David and I, for about the past 5 years, have been trying to get something off the ground."  They were looking for a singer, and Laura came into the mix after she heard some of the music the guys had recorded. "It was completely amazing.  It sounded like what I feel inside of me."says Laura.  She took one of their tracks and recorded some vocals, and the rest is history.  The guys were immediately impressed.  Laura agrees. " We really clicked.  We have very good synergy."
In the coming months, the band will be in the studio, tying up the loose ends of the album.  Expect the finished product sometime in the summer of 2014.  We'll definitely share album on the air at WERU, and maybe we can ask The Feather Lungs to come back for another Wicked Good Music Hour gig?  As we wrapped up the show, bass player Nick gave a special shout out to his grandmother, Stella.  I mean, I liked them already, but a talented musician who also loves grandma?  Smitten.

The Feather Lungs website
The Feather Lungs on Bandcamp
The Feather Lungs on Facebook