Johnny Foreigner At The Great Escape

It’s a typical plight for a newish band in this current industry in that money is tight with or without the support of a label, ultimately meaning direct and necessary entry to an almost never ending touring schedule.  Johnny Foreigner is a relative veteran to this constant merry go round of show after show and life on the road, after spending much of 2008 living up to the early hype that was justifiably poured on them. 

The trio has come a long way since debut album “Waited up till it was light” was released early last year and after navigating the Atlantic from Birmingham to New York to record, the follow up is hotly anticipated this autumn.  And in it’s lead up comes yet another tour and first single from the album rather appropriately entitled “Feels Like Summer”; although feeling like summer and actually having a summer are very, very different things for us Brits.

As a kind of continuation of the seasonal theme, Johnny Foreigner brought a summery feel to proceedings of the Great Escape in Brighton last month, as finally on the final day of the 3 dayer event and after the winds had diminished and the rain had ceased it’s pummeling, the sun came out.  Just in time for the first of their two shows that day and for the press who had trouped up to the Fear and Records party to interview them about the craziness that was 2008 for these forward-thinking Brummies.

“You know I probably couldn’t give a chronological list of everything we did but it was a mental year.  I think we played every festival across Europe, except Glastonbury and this year the touring is continuing” explains guitarist Alexei, laughing as he adds “We don’t really know what we are doing until we look at our MySpace at all the gigs”.

Their debut record, produced by noted producer Machine in new Jersey, was commended by all entities of the music press and second time round its been Brooklyn and Alex Newport who have been involved in harnessing their updated sound.  Yet whilst its not quite done and dusted in terms of mixing and the final polish, already it has been mooted that JoFo have definitely progressed from album number one.

“Everyone that has heard it or bits of it anyway has said it’s a lot more mature with a distinct progression,” comments drummer and the beautifully named Junior Elvis Washington Laidley.

“But its not conscious you know, we are in such a bubble you don’t really realize until you sit down a few years after and then you can kind of see it and go yeah that record sounds more mature than that one.  We write to please ourselves and then shove it on an album and call it an album” says Alexei, cracking up in the process.

Whilst the intended joviality of the last comment was obvious, the success of the first effort and the expectant fans and commentators alike must have increased the pressure on the band to surpass previous efforts with their next one.

“We don’t have time to pay attention to stuff like that to be honest” Alexei quips, but also poignantly pointing out the realities of band-life. “Of course there is pressure on your album getting good reviews but then there is pressure to get enough money to put food on the table at the end of every week.  That’s more important than worrying about the record being good enough for everyone”

“We are confident in ourselves that the record is going to be good.  Its just a case of whether everyone agrees with us really”.

“The hype is pretty much completely out of our control, I mean maybe it will come out and we will still be fashionable or maybe we wont.  But as long as we are pleased and we like the album then great”.

The as yet untitled long player was penned during the arduous touring of last year away from the home comforts of Birmingham.  And lyrically as Alexei explained marks a slight transition from its former inspirations:

“I still only actually write about girls and gin haha, but now its girl and gin all over the world, so that’s a kind of progression isn’t it?  The next record will probably be about girls and space or something [laughing]”.

“Actually my friend in America who is really cynical, calls it the ‘weary rocker on the road’ album, which every band has to make.  And I guess it sort of is in that each song I could probably pick a specific city that its about or where the people in the song are from, whereas the first record is pretty much a Birmingham soundtrack”.

Producer Alex Newport whose previous production and mixing projects included those of the Mars Volta, At The Drive in and Death Cab for Cutie, was influential in shaping this newer Johnny Foreigner indie rock noise for the record.  Approaching things from a slightly different angle to Machine who they describe as “more of a precise pop producer”, Alex, according to the band tried out new things with them. 

“I think his different way of doing things really helped us, by bringing ideas to our minds that we hadn’t considered before, you know even simple things” says bassist and only girl Kelly Southern.  “Machine did the same thing, but in different ways and I think the production on the first record suited the pop sensibilities if the songs, whereas the songs on the second record have a different edge to them”.

“Alex was more about getting everything sounding really great when you are playing it and then sticking a mic in front of it and then it’s done” added Alexei. “It’s pretty impressive to do it like that and then get the same sounds and the same buzz out of it like we did last time with millions of pounds of tech and stuff behind us.  So it’s definitely got a rawer sound”.

“Plus Alex likes his guitars loud so that was a score for me” laughs Kelly.

After initial releases at the start of Johnny Foreigners cumulative career, they signed to independent Best Before Records in 2007, based in London and alongside label mates Dananananaykroyd and The Pistolas.   A choice they made after the label were the only ones out of all interested to stump up for a meal and some cocktails.  Oh and they offered them money to carry on, which is a concept many labels in these unsettled industry times don’t seem au fait with.

“They offered us the money to carry on doing the thing we love, which was a big deal because at the time we had no money at all,” reflects Alexei with a hearty laugh.  “Plus the guy who championed us to Best Before, Dan Gerrity, was important.  He doesn’t even work in A & R anymore, but like in 20 years time when they make a Wikipedia page about all the bands and this fucking ‘fight-pop scene’ for want of a better word, then hopefully he will get his own entry.  He was basically the guy that championed most of the bands getting popular at the moment”.

It has certainly paid off for Best Before, as the band continue to notch up gig after gig and the stages grow in size along with the crowds tipping up for a vigorous mix of the JoFo Ritalin rock, with their forward thinking musicality and lyrical contexts resting on, er, girls and gin for the time being.

And as they played their 2 Great Escape shows to packed venues and left Brighton on their merry way to complete the rest of their May tour leading up to the release of ‘Feels Like Summer’, it’s already a determined likelihood that they will reap further rewards of their already vast success.  Now they even get to choose their own support, this time being Copy Haho, Tubelord and Calories, they get to put food on the table and they get a second album release.  Not bad for a band who write about girls and gin.  Pretty bloody brilliant actually.

'Feels Like Summer' is released as a FREE DOWNLOAD on the 22nd June.

The album will follow this autumn.

www.myspace.com/johnnyforeigner

Words: Francesca Strange

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