Johnny Panic
Interview with Rob, April 2006

Johnny Panic mix glamour, excitement, intelligence, energy, bookishness, socially conscious lyrics and great slabs of guitar toting melodic rock punk to make the most intense inspiring adrenaline-fuelled sound you'll hear this side of Generation Terrorists.

The perfect R*E*P*E*A*T band then?

Imagine our excitement then when they agreed to play our 10th birthday celebrations at Cambridge Junction on April 25th (details here).

In celebration, Rosey (feeling 16 yet again) e-mailed singer/ guitarist Rob Solly some more dumb questions...

Tell us a bit about what’s been happening to the band since we last talked about 6 months ago?

Well the biggest and saddest piece of news is that Nash has transfered himself from playing bass within JP to exclusively doing art for us and being an enigma. He is sorely missed as a friend of 10 years, however we remain close and he's focused on taking JP forwards and becoming more effective.
We've been blessed though as the guy to replace Nash on bass is a rare breed, someone who instantly replaces nash without being in his shadow. He has has is own style, swagger and ideas and has been a welcome force to making this new record.

Your debut album ‘The Violent Dazzling’ is the sort of record that people completely fall in love with and become obsessed by. Were you pleased with it and its reception?

No. Were dissapointed. We still believe the quality of the songwriting, the passion within which it's played and the freshness and desperation of which the ideas come from mean it should be a much larger album. Not only for people to enjoy and to sing along with, but to actually give several issues the platform they desperately need in our society.



What hints can you give us about the next album – how it will differ from the last one, what hopes you have for it etc?

With the commercial failure of The Violent Dazzling we have been forced to raise our game and push ourselves to the absolute limits our means allow. I mean this. Under harsh circumstances (if there is such a thing when making music) we will produce a modern classic. We have to.

Some of the new tracks appearing on your Myspace site have had a great reception, especially The Rebel. What can you tell us about that song – it reminds me of an essay I wrote for my GCSE English exam with the same title!

It's lyrically inspired by The Specials 'Too much too Young.'

It's a really important theme, our generation has the potential for so much. Technology and the previous generation have given us so many opportunities. Yet in so many parts of our country the girls are getting knocked up at 17 and the boys are smoking dope. This doesn't sound like rebellion to me but state control, you become easily controled, predictable, boring.



What can people expect of you when you come to play The Junction at the end of April? Why should they bother coming?

something violent and dazzling. Does that sound familar?

Sorry to hear you were burgled a few weeks ago. If you could only save 5 CDs from your collection, what would they be?

Now thats a question.
Guns n Roses - Apettite for Destruction
Mew - Fengers
The Beatles - Abbey Road
The Clash - Give 'em Enough Rope
Phil Spector - Back to Mono

And 5 books?
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
American Psycho - Brett Easton Ellis
Animal Farm - George Orwell
If This a Man - Primo Levi
The latest issue of Penthouse

What are your plans for the rest of the year?
To release the 2nd album and tour it to it and the albums limits.




Anything else you think we should know?

Look out your window, step outside your front door see what's going on.
www.rapt.org.uk
www.womenagainstrape.net

Any more thoughts on the essential chips vs cream buns debate?
No, i have better things to do with my time.x

Catch Johnny Panic at The R*E*P*E*A*T Birthday Bash, Cambridge Junction, April 25th - details here

Read our earlier Johnny Panic interview here.

Visit Johnny Panic's website here and listen to them on Myspace here

Pix used apart from top one are by Alessia from The White Queen website, which has lots of original and stunning pix of the likes The Darkness, Franz Ferdinand, Towers of London and too many more to type.