This is for everyone who has been asking...
Posted on 2003.06.08 at 20:00Current Mood:
blah
Current Music: Ruse- Judah Johnson
Ok, so maybe nobody has been asking, but I thought I'd post it anyway.
So here it goes: my feature story on Judah Johnson.
**********
The White Stripes who?
Detroit indie-rock has found a fresh face in another group of locals—but this time, they’re equipped with a bass, keyboard and, oh yeah, two other members. And their name is Judah Johnson.
After years of playing without being noticed, band members quitting and a whole soap opera full of events, things have finally begun to change, said band member Dan Johnson (guitar, vocals).
“The hardest thing for us, when we began, was that we didn’t know anything about being in a band,” Johnson said. “We didn’t know how to book shows. We didn’t understand how to get press. We hadn’t built any contacts, made any fans. It’s a form of ignorance—you just haven’t accumulated that kind of knowledge.”
One of Judah Johnson’s first shows was just playing on the floor, at the bar of the Magic Stick, Johnson said.
“It was right where you come in and they check your ID,” he said. “They call it the Garden Bowl.”
Venues like this acted as a way for people to hear their music, Johnson said.
“At first you’re just happy that someone will actually let you play your music in their venue,” he said.
The only problem?
“You don’t get paid,” he said. “You get tolerated.”
But because music had always played a big part in each member’s life, they had to stick with it, Johnson said.
“I started playing the violin in the fifth grade,” he said. “I was terrible and hated the discipline side of music. Although, I was obsessive about music as long back as I can remember. I grew up with a set of headphones on.”
Similarly, every member’s own musical tastes and childhood has a huge effect on the music they create, Johnson said. Rodrigo Palma, the band’s current bassist, was born in Chile, and Charlie Koltak (drums) lived in Texas when he was young.
“I know he (Palma) loves South American music like Bossa Nova,” said Johnson. “And country elements are very central to the kind of musician Charlie is.”
Johnson, who says some of his earliest memories are of listening closely to records, started to dream of being a musician around eighth grade, he said, and begged his parents for piano lessons. It is because of this natural love of music that he’s continued to pursue it.
“Musicianship for its own sake is a foundation we start with,” said current keyboardist Steve Nistor. “We just build our own creativity over it.”
Eventually, people began to notice Judah Johnson’s creative take on music, said Johnson, and with Koltak and the two other original members (Palma and Nistor are recent additions), the band recorded a self-titled EP.
“I think there was a point where the band started to find its own feet musically and got a sense of what we were doing that set us apart,” said Johnson. “We got more focused stylistically.”
Norm Druce, the owner of a small recording studio, approached the band after a Flint show in the summer of 2001, Johnson said. Druce was looking for clients, liked Judah Johnson’s show, and made it clear he wanted to record them.
“We showed him a copy of the EP and he flipped,” said Johnson. “He offered us a couple of free weekends at his place to entice us into doing a real project there.”
They realized that they could make a record there, Johnson said—the atmosphere was right, and working with Druce allowed for freedom in terms of the creativity they wanted.
“Plus, he was cutting us a sweet deal!” said Johnson.
So the band asked their label, Flameshovel Records, for money to record and booked weekends at Druce’s studio for four months.
“At this time, I lost my job due to the giant lay-off after 9-11,” said Johnson. “So, naturally, I maxed out my credit card to buy a ProTools rig.”
The ProTools allowed the band to take their recordings home and work on them, Johnson said. They would record on tape at the studio, and save it on the computer.
“We would take it home and add stuff on and make changes in my living room,” he said. “It’s a pretty common way of making a record now.”
Though everything seemed to be going smoothly, things wouldn’t stay that way for long.
“Halfway through making the record we had a falling out—personally, as friends,” Johnson said.
Two members eventually quit, leaving him and Koltak with an unfinished album and plenty of work to do, he said.
“Charlie and I eventually decided we wanted to keep making music and to finish the record,” said Johnson. “I think the two of us were the ones with the clearest vision of what it could be and it was more important to us.”
They spent the next few months completing the record and looking for new band members, Johnson said.
“That’s why we (Koltak and Johnson) ended up playing most of the instruments,” he said. “Steve and Rod joined near the end of the record and played whatever still needed to be played.”
He and Koltak also got a lot of local musicians to donate their time and put performances on the album, Johnson said.
“I have really good memories of that time when it was just still my and Charlie’s baby,” he said. “Recording the string quartet in my living room. Mixing it every night in the spring and early summer, after work, over a case of Coronas with lime. Just dreaming it up and actually seeing it materialize, for the most part, as you dreamed it. That’s an amazing experience.”
The band had started working on their record in the fall of 2001, said Johnson. After taking a few months off in the winter, they finally turned it in for mastering on July 4, 2002. It took about seven months to record completely, the last few of which Judah Johnson was recording every day.
“It was intense,” said Johnson. “Near the end I started to have chest pain from the sheer stress of it and had to go home from work one day because I thought I was having a panic attack, which is not normal for my disposition.”
Because the two members left, one of them who informally handled publicity, it forced them to learn how to make friends and book shows, he said.
“One of the guys who used to be in the band is very popular around town and seems to know everybody,” said Johnson. “That was a huge help getting shows and getting heard. When he left the band, though, we kind of had to start over. We felt like nobody was our friend anymore.”
But all of their hard work resulted in a fully completed album, “Kisses and Interrogation.”
Judah Johnson has booked several shows—“We plan to promote the album through touring, touring and then more touring,” said Johnson— and continues to open for other bands.
“We work really hard at making good recordings and good songs,” said Johnson. “At the end of the day, it does a lot more for the band than schmoozing ever could.”
Future plans include writing new music and arranging the vast amount of material they already have, he said.
“We’re still learning, the four of us, how to create as a group,” said Nistor. “I’m looking forward to working on that side of things.”
What do they have on the agenda for the next few months?
“Touring,” said Johnson. “And trying to figure out how to pay our rent.”
********
Post your comments. I'm curious to see what everyone thinks.
So here it goes: my feature story on Judah Johnson.
**********
The White Stripes who?
Detroit indie-rock has found a fresh face in another group of locals—but this time, they’re equipped with a bass, keyboard and, oh yeah, two other members. And their name is Judah Johnson.
After years of playing without being noticed, band members quitting and a whole soap opera full of events, things have finally begun to change, said band member Dan Johnson (guitar, vocals).
“The hardest thing for us, when we began, was that we didn’t know anything about being in a band,” Johnson said. “We didn’t know how to book shows. We didn’t understand how to get press. We hadn’t built any contacts, made any fans. It’s a form of ignorance—you just haven’t accumulated that kind of knowledge.”
One of Judah Johnson’s first shows was just playing on the floor, at the bar of the Magic Stick, Johnson said.
“It was right where you come in and they check your ID,” he said. “They call it the Garden Bowl.”
Venues like this acted as a way for people to hear their music, Johnson said.
“At first you’re just happy that someone will actually let you play your music in their venue,” he said.
The only problem?
“You don’t get paid,” he said. “You get tolerated.”
But because music had always played a big part in each member’s life, they had to stick with it, Johnson said.
“I started playing the violin in the fifth grade,” he said. “I was terrible and hated the discipline side of music. Although, I was obsessive about music as long back as I can remember. I grew up with a set of headphones on.”
Similarly, every member’s own musical tastes and childhood has a huge effect on the music they create, Johnson said. Rodrigo Palma, the band’s current bassist, was born in Chile, and Charlie Koltak (drums) lived in Texas when he was young.
“I know he (Palma) loves South American music like Bossa Nova,” said Johnson. “And country elements are very central to the kind of musician Charlie is.”
Johnson, who says some of his earliest memories are of listening closely to records, started to dream of being a musician around eighth grade, he said, and begged his parents for piano lessons. It is because of this natural love of music that he’s continued to pursue it.
“Musicianship for its own sake is a foundation we start with,” said current keyboardist Steve Nistor. “We just build our own creativity over it.”
Eventually, people began to notice Judah Johnson’s creative take on music, said Johnson, and with Koltak and the two other original members (Palma and Nistor are recent additions), the band recorded a self-titled EP.
“I think there was a point where the band started to find its own feet musically and got a sense of what we were doing that set us apart,” said Johnson. “We got more focused stylistically.”
Norm Druce, the owner of a small recording studio, approached the band after a Flint show in the summer of 2001, Johnson said. Druce was looking for clients, liked Judah Johnson’s show, and made it clear he wanted to record them.
“We showed him a copy of the EP and he flipped,” said Johnson. “He offered us a couple of free weekends at his place to entice us into doing a real project there.”
They realized that they could make a record there, Johnson said—the atmosphere was right, and working with Druce allowed for freedom in terms of the creativity they wanted.
“Plus, he was cutting us a sweet deal!” said Johnson.
So the band asked their label, Flameshovel Records, for money to record and booked weekends at Druce’s studio for four months.
“At this time, I lost my job due to the giant lay-off after 9-11,” said Johnson. “So, naturally, I maxed out my credit card to buy a ProTools rig.”
The ProTools allowed the band to take their recordings home and work on them, Johnson said. They would record on tape at the studio, and save it on the computer.
“We would take it home and add stuff on and make changes in my living room,” he said. “It’s a pretty common way of making a record now.”
Though everything seemed to be going smoothly, things wouldn’t stay that way for long.
“Halfway through making the record we had a falling out—personally, as friends,” Johnson said.
Two members eventually quit, leaving him and Koltak with an unfinished album and plenty of work to do, he said.
“Charlie and I eventually decided we wanted to keep making music and to finish the record,” said Johnson. “I think the two of us were the ones with the clearest vision of what it could be and it was more important to us.”
They spent the next few months completing the record and looking for new band members, Johnson said.
“That’s why we (Koltak and Johnson) ended up playing most of the instruments,” he said. “Steve and Rod joined near the end of the record and played whatever still needed to be played.”
He and Koltak also got a lot of local musicians to donate their time and put performances on the album, Johnson said.
“I have really good memories of that time when it was just still my and Charlie’s baby,” he said. “Recording the string quartet in my living room. Mixing it every night in the spring and early summer, after work, over a case of Coronas with lime. Just dreaming it up and actually seeing it materialize, for the most part, as you dreamed it. That’s an amazing experience.”
The band had started working on their record in the fall of 2001, said Johnson. After taking a few months off in the winter, they finally turned it in for mastering on July 4, 2002. It took about seven months to record completely, the last few of which Judah Johnson was recording every day.
“It was intense,” said Johnson. “Near the end I started to have chest pain from the sheer stress of it and had to go home from work one day because I thought I was having a panic attack, which is not normal for my disposition.”
Because the two members left, one of them who informally handled publicity, it forced them to learn how to make friends and book shows, he said.
“One of the guys who used to be in the band is very popular around town and seems to know everybody,” said Johnson. “That was a huge help getting shows and getting heard. When he left the band, though, we kind of had to start over. We felt like nobody was our friend anymore.”
But all of their hard work resulted in a fully completed album, “Kisses and Interrogation.”
Judah Johnson has booked several shows—“We plan to promote the album through touring, touring and then more touring,” said Johnson— and continues to open for other bands.
“We work really hard at making good recordings and good songs,” said Johnson. “At the end of the day, it does a lot more for the band than schmoozing ever could.”
Future plans include writing new music and arranging the vast amount of material they already have, he said.
“We’re still learning, the four of us, how to create as a group,” said Nistor. “I’m looking forward to working on that side of things.”
What do they have on the agenda for the next few months?
“Touring,” said Johnson. “And trying to figure out how to pay our rent.”
********
Post your comments. I'm curious to see what everyone thinks.
I met "The Yellow Dart."
He was at the Longwave concert.
Funny guy... he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt from Abercrombie and a Detroit Tigers baseball cap.
******
On a different note, I got my hair cut.
He was at the Longwave concert.
Funny guy... he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt from Abercrombie and a Detroit Tigers baseball cap.
******
On a different note, I got my hair cut.
