| JC | ||
|---|---|---|
| External links | ||
Johnny Cakes andMusic Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso | ||
Our Webzine’s newest interview comes from the indie ska band Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso who is managing to create beautiful music that combines elements of different genres into one fantastic sound. In this special spotlight, we learn about the band’s origin, their major influences, and what fans can expect from them in the near future.
Isaac: I just listened to one of your songs from your CD. What was the inspiration for making your new album?
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso: This was our first full length album, so we wanted to make something that captured the essence of the band: Making fun music and not taking ourselves too seriously. It also includes some of the storyline of the band from our cartoons. (Yes, we make cartoons about the band as well). We had such a good time making the album and hopefully that translates when you listen to it.
Isaac: Who were your influences?
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso: They band has a pretty diverse range of influences which I think is one of our strong points. My personal biggest influences are Fishbone, Lord Kitchner, Muppets, Jimmy Buffett, Scooby Doo, Michael Franti, Ed, Edd, and Eddy, The Venture Brothers, The Dead Milkmen, Rancid, and much more.
Isaac: What do you consider to have been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso:
Highpoints: Our CD release party was great. We broke the record for the most people in attendance at that venue (the police came a couple times because of capacity issues) and we had a really fun show. We unveiled a new cartoon to go along with the release of the album where the final shot in the cartoon is the album cover. For me, that whole show felt great.
Lowpoint: That's harder to say. The whole experience with the band has really been great. I guess I played a show one time where I was really sick and doped up on cough syrup so I could sing. I don't really remember it too well except that it was awful.
Isaac: Brief history about your background plus the style of music you play.
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso: The band formed after I returned from a Scuba Diving trip to the Bahamas (I am also a Scuba Instructor). While in Bimini, I ate the food called "Johnny cakes" and I thought the name was hilarious. So, when I got back we formed the band.
We call our style of music "gutter calypso". The original idea was to combine calypso and punk rock much in the way that ska music was combined with punk rock in the 90's. We still kind of the do that, at least on some songs. But, now we also have a variety of styles mixed in there including ska, reggae, rocksteady, metal, dancehall, rock etc. But, overall I would stay we still maintain the calypso and punk feel and energy.
Isaac: How easy is it to gets gigs for you as an artist? What is the live music scene like in your area?
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso: Right now for us getting gigs is pretty easy. Our schedule is really tight now though, so we have to turn down most of the shows we are offered and a lot of venues don't hold us very well any more. We have nine musicians in the band, plus two to four dancers performing with us, so space is often a concern. But, lately we had been getting some pretty awesome shows. We got to play on the main stage at the Florida Music Festival with Less Than Jake and we are playing at the Sunfest in West Palm Beach which also includes Weezer, The Flaming Lips, Flogging Molly, Ben Harper, and a whole bunch of other big name acts.
The live music scene in Tampa Bay is great! There are a lot of people out there supporting live music and most of the bands are also great to work with. For the most part the venue owners are fair and respect the musicians as well. I would like it if the scene was bigger, but I think it's growing and continuing to get better.
Isaac: What do you think of the state of Indie music at the moment? Do you listen to radio much at all? Has the Internet helped music grow or hindered it in your opinion?
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso: Overall, I think it's good. One of the main weaknesses that I see is that a lot of bands are trying to do the same thing. That's not necessarily bad, but it can get a little boring sometimes. But, there are a lot of cool people out there doing interesting things.
I listen to the radio some, in Tampa we have a great community radio station WMNF that plays a lot of independent music that you won't hear anywhere else. The alternative station in town, 97x, also has a cool local music show. Mostly I listen to CDs I pick up from bands at live shows or music festivals.
I think that the Internet has helped music grow because it has made non-commercial music more accessible, which is really cool. But, now there is so much content available that it becomes difficult to search through everything. Sometimes you end up listening to a lot music you don't care for until you find that gem.
Isaac: If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why?
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso: If it were a fantasy band for me to watch it would probably just be Fishbone. Maybe I would have Michael Franti come out and sing a few songs with them, but for me it doesn't get any better than a Fishbone show.
If it were a fantasy band for me to play in it would be very similar to my band, but more. I would add a tuba and an organ to line up for sure and maybe a multi instrumentalist who played a variety of different instruments depending on what the song called for. I would also keep our dancers but add more crazy visual things to the show. I also kind of want a cannon. I wouldn't use any cannon balls, but I might set off some gunpowder for one point during our new pirate song. But, I doubt too many venues will be very happy with me wheeling a cannon inside, so that may never happen.
Isaac: What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso: We have two releases our first EP and our new album Rise of the Pink Flamingos. You can listen to and download both of them from the music page on our website. It's on iTunes as well, but you will end up paying twice as much for it from there. If you want a physical CD, you can pick one up at our shows or order one from CD baby.
Isaac: Where can fans access your music, videos, blogs, and anything else about you online?
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso: The best place to access any of our content is through our new website. From there you can listen to music and download music, see show dates, and read our news/blog. It also links up to all of our social networking sites and our YouTube. On the YouTube, (youtube.com/guttercalypso) you can the cartoons we have made. Right now we don't really have any music videos but we have a couple that are in preproduction.
Isaac: Message to your fans?
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso:
Three things:
1) If you dig our stuff please tell your friends. Play them our songs, show them our cartoons, link them to our website whatever. That would help us more than anything else you can do.
2) Feel free to contact us. We love to hear from people and I promise we will write back.
3) Go out and support live music. The more shows you go to the more you will enjoy going to shows. It's a great way to meet people make new friends and have a great time. You can help build up your local scene where ever you are. The more you support good music in your area, the more good music you will have. Personally, I average seeing about 1 to 2 shows a week.
|
|
from Sonicbids artists for general review and feature consideration. some exposure in a modern, inventive publication with an established client base. |
