This week South Wales based rock n roll trio Graveyard Johnnys release their second album – ‘Dead Transmission’ – via Bomber Music. To get us all in the mood for a little bit of jump ‘n’ jive delivered with one hell of a punk rock attitude I caught up with singer/double bass player Joe and guitarist Cal to find out what lies ahead for the band plus the full story behind an album you really must hear. 

 

Hi Guys, firstly congratulations on ‘Dead Transmission’, I’ve heard it, and it’s a belter, you must be very pleased?

Joe: Thanks…. Yeah we are chuffed.

 

Okay let’s start with a bit of Graveyard Johnnys background for those who may not know you, tell us who you are, and a little bit of trivia about you no one else would know.

 

Cal: I’m Callum [Houston] and I play guitar and I’m the son of a preacher man.

 

Joe: I am Joe [Grogan] and I sing and play bass and one day when I was on my bike, a bird shat right in my gob. Tom [Lord] or drummer isn’t here today, but most people know all of his business already. He is a public figure, the drummer of the people – the Sultan. We are Graveyard Johnnys – A rock ‘n’ roll band from Wales.

 

So you guys play something I like to call punkabilly, basically rockabilly with a punk attitude, what is it about rock ‘n roll that fires you up?

 

Cal: Rock ‘n’ roll can be found in many forms of music. It’s not just the sound or structure of the music, it’s the passion, excitement and danger which sets it apart.

 

Joe: It fires everyone up, and if they say otherwise they are lying. Even babies love rock ‘n’ roll.

 

I grew up in an age where rockabilly had spawned cabaret bands like Showaddywaddy, but all credit to them they acted like a gateway drug for me to start listening to Eddie Cochran and from there I discovered Gene Vincent etc, and I’ve never looked back since. What was your gateway bands that got you into this music?

 

Joe: As a child, I was lucky because my dad is a rocker and a big record collector. I had access to all that music since the day I was born and I was immediately hooked. The ‘50s Elvis films like King Creole and Loving You are probably my earliest memories of thinking that I wanted to play music.

 

Cal: For me it would have been The Stray Cats. It was all so new and exciting to me, the double bass, the clothes, the hair etc. from then on I just kept looking further and further back to the roots of it all and I still am to this day.

 

 

Other than the addition of Cal on guitar, how does this new album differ from your debut ‘Songs From Better Days’?

 

Joe: The addition of Cal has definitely given the album a whole new feel from ‘Songs…’ Not only is his guitar style different but he got heavily involved in the songwriting process too. These songs were a completely equal effort and all three of us gave everything we’ve got physically and mentally to make it happen. We felt a lot less restricted to the typical formula with these songs and just completely let our influences out to see what happened. We sort of thought, if no one likes it, then fuck ’em.

 

You’re also putting this one out via Bomber Music, a label I have a hell of a lot of time for, how did you hook up with those guys?

 

Joe: Our relationship with Bomber Music started not long after we formed the band back in 2008. They heard some of our demo tracks and offered us a publishing contract there and then. Ever since, they have taken care of that side of stuff and always helped out with one thing or another, we have talked about a record deal for a while but it was never really the right time until now. For me, it is a massive honour to be on their roster, they have put out some of my favourite albums by some of my favourite bands, it is a bit nuts that we ended up becoming a part of it all.

 

They’re also putting the album out on red vinyl. Are you guys vinyl fans too?

 

Cal: Vinyl is definitely the future for bands like us. There is something really special about being able to physically hold and touch an album in these times when so much music is downloaded. I love cassettes too.

 

Joe: I love burgers (laughing).

 

One of the great things I find about you guys is that you haven’t toned down the double bass at all – unlike say The Living End who seem to be more content with being Big Country on their last album, how important is that thumpa thumpa rhythm to how you guys write?

 

Joe: Tom and I learned these instruments at the same time, he only had a drum kit a few months before our first gig and I hadn’t long bought a double bass either, I was a guitarist. So he learned his drums along to me learning how to slappadabass. No one showed us the right way to do it, we just went with what felt best and to just twat it all really hard. I suppose that is what gave us that backbone and is the reason why we sound the way we do.

 

 

I’m not sure how difficult this one will be for you to answer but I would like to know if you have any particular highlights/favourite songs on ‘Dead Transmission’?

 

Cal: The album was written over quite a long period of time so a lot of the songs hold memories of what we were going through in our lives during those periods, and we do seem to go through a lot! If I was to pick one track it would be ‘Compromise’, musically it was very different for us yet it all seemed to come together really naturally with each of us putting our own stamp on it.

 

Joe: ‘For Tonight’ is fun to play live, but to pick a favourite is tough. I am proud of all ten tracks for all different reasons really.

 

It’s been an age since I saw you guys (at the Barfly in Cardiff a good few years ago), what are the plans for touring in support of this new album?

 

Joe: We have got the album release party in Soho on the 15th May, that should be fun, then we head out on tour in Europe for a few weeks, that leads us into festival season and we are just nailing down the dates for our September/October tour as well at the moment. We will reach everywhere eventually. I heard some talk about going back to the USA in the New Year too. Tidy times Bryn!

 

Finally I wanted to ask your opinion on the following. The music industry always seems hell-bent on looking to re-invent itself (either through new genres or platforms to broadcast music) just to make money, however the most enduring bands/genres to me seem to be the ones who stick to their guns and just do what they believe in. What do you think of this statement?

 

Joe: Well, I suppose the majority of bands don’t want to just keep just re-making their first album over and over and it’s natural to want to progress or mix things up to keep it interesting. I can completely relate to that. However there is definitely a big difference between wanting to reinvent yourself and wanting to just go with whatever is in fashion to make money. It’s heart-breaking to see bands chasing the dollar signs sometimes, it has happened to loads of them and always will, it’s usually down to some greedy fucking business-head managers or labels waving cheques around with no interest in the music whatsoever, just the quick buck. Don’t get me wrong though, the ultimate dream would be to make a comfortable living out of all this but I think I speak for all of us as a band when I say we are not about to just conform and stick to a standard just for our five minutes of fame. We are just lads playing whatever music comes out and having fun while we can.

 

You can read my review of ‘Dead Transmission’ – here!

You can order your copy of ‘Dead Transmission’ – here!

Band photograph courtesy of Ester Segarra

http://www.graveyardjohnnys.com/

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