Gordie Johnson

Part 1

0:00sitting here with gordy johnson from greaty how's it going good you know a lot of people know you from big sugar and new band greaty now how come you can happen there uh... well because i didn't have my old band anymore you know i was going to do something and uh... i just want to start over again i just wanted to see if i could uh... you know i want to see how bad we wanted it how bad we still want to do it get rid of all the luxuries and uh... simplified things you know just get it back down to its sort of punk rock elements just jumps but he's in guitar and a bunch of yelling screaming sounds like i'm a regular stuff to show off the thing right now hammer in my hand when you hear that what do you think of

0:45when i hear it i don't know i'd do i'd do it i don't hear it i'd do it i'm the one saying it you tell me what you think i think it's great i can play right now that you're going to hear it alright with gordy from greaty and from former big sugar what's it like starting a new band

5:29i know when you start a big sugar you know just starting on the music industry getting a feel for things now you've already had all the success you're starting a new band what's the difference between starting a band when you don't have anything and now when you're well well well you know uh... the thing that you have on as your advantage at this stage of the game is that hopefully you're a little bit smarter having lots of stuff doesn't necessarily help you out but being a little bit smarter you know we just don't have to make as many mistakes or false starts or you know every band that's just starting out they find out the hard way mostly how things work and why things go the way they do so for us luckily everyone who's in the band could manage a band everyone that's in the band could book the band everyone that's in the band

6:17you know if we get we have a meeting with the lawyer we keep that lawyer real busy i remember my first meeting with the lawyer music industry lawyer i just sat there i didn't even know what questions to ask now it's like okay i need you to do this this this this this next guy done the table okay and then i need you to do this this this this this this this this is the lawyers just like taking notes oh my god what i got i got to do what oh hold on i never heard of that you know i still have you guys thought about you know booking bands maybe signing bands to a label doing something like that um i've taken a bunch of projects on over the last couple of years um as a producer and i always try to you know steer my baby bands and i know your two orders on their first album work with the trues you're going again for the new albums coming up soon no i did write some songs with them for their new record though

7:02they came down to texas and had a little songwriting week with me and so we got four five songs on the record nice yeah what are they sounding like they sound like a greaty song they sound like no no no i mean it's it's for the truth so the music is trues through and through you know um i can i work really task specific greaty is a very specific recipe you know in terms of what uh what's expected of it and what it does we're not you know a big sugar was a lot more diverse you know we did some reggae jams and we had all kinds of different flavors going on there but a great greaty is just one thing you know yeah we just wanted to simplify what's the simplest song in the record right like hell let's play that one

12:30a lot of people think of you they think of double guitars yeah still happening oh yeah you see that tonight sure that's awesome what made you pick that one up how come not just you know normal guitar um actually alex from rush the guitar player from rush gave me one year to go picture it was in the studio recording and we're just working out of the same studio and i ran into him in hall and he showed me all his guitars i was like oh man look at that white double echo oh my god man i saw that guitar in 1977 and i saw him play it and i was a little kid he's like oh a bunch of take it and record with it and wow take it on tour and see if you like it see if i like it oh what's the not much to think about here

13:15so i had that guitar for a while and over the years i bought several and yeah i i use them and they're you know they're kind of difficult to operate there's a lot of switches and things to remember but um you know they're they're pretty integral to the songs you know i've used them a lot whether where they're required it's not just a fashion statement i mean i've seen guys pick them up because they look cool but i think so heavy you wouldn't you wouldn't pick it up just as a fashion ornament you know so you wouldn't just do that because you wreck your back before you know it what's the difference between are they just different tunings for each one no i play them in the same tuning these different sounds ones that one x of 12 string win x is six string so i use the 12 strings and where

14:03where you might use an acoustic guitar i would use that instead oh it's cool something guys from big sure are working a new band truth and rights have you heard what they're doing uh no i know mr chills got uh mr chills got his new band together i just mixed his record down in Texas he came down and we did some recording down there and got the finishing touches on his record it's really cool and it's like old school honky tonic country and gospel funk sort of mixed together yeah it's really good so you're still chilling with the old guys you know nothing's there's no animosity there at all um now me and mr chiller still cool yeah we're still chill you moved down to tex i heard you were kind of fed up with the Canadian music industry when that all happened yeah i was just yeah kind of you know just where where big sugar had got to in its in its development

14:52you know we we always wanted to do something new and inventive and continually evolve and it just seemed like everybody surrounding us from our management legal record label everybody was just sort of like moving towards this sort of retirement circuit where no one had to think about anything or do anything there was nothing challenging let's just put these guys out on tour and just do the same songs over and over again and you know take into task on that on that subject they might refute that but truth of the matter was that is what was happening was getting to be like two and three years between records and look at all this new material i feel like doing something new i did a gig where i just did all new songs and i couldn't even get you know a manager to sit through the whole gig and i was kind of like well

15:38i guess that you know it's time to move on i just needed to go somewhere where you know i was completely unknown starting from scratch you know i just want to tune my own guitar for a while right right songs just because that's what i felt like playing that's what i felt like singing not because you have to get on some radio station in toronto or some video station somewhere or some radio format somewhere else where somebody's making decisions is like well i wouldn't want to hear what's in their record player so why am i letting them dictate what music i make you know i was like i like it my songs on the radio and stuff but it was just like the cart was getting in front of the horse thereafter while i was like uh no i think this horse he's going to go to green and pastures green and pastures being texas by texas you've been there before

16:25and it's oh yeah i knew lots of people and i know the place and i love the climate and just everything about the place the culture down there and folks just have a real deep appreciation for music everyone's not chasing some career goals you know it hanging out with a bunch of musicians in toronto is depressing man because all everyone talks about is their career you hang out with bunch of musicians in texas everyone talks about mexican food or good music or some band that they saw and you know everyone's about music not about the business of it the business comes after oh we've done it yeah i've been there for a bunch of them and uh it's lots of fun but you know

17:10austin texas on any old rainy monday night is better than most cities are during their big music conference what's the best on her band down there well that's tough that's really tough man there's a lot we got some favorite bands it's bacled honky that we hang out with all the time those guys are really good rockier stuff it's uh oh yeah that's a lot it's heavy there's a lot of really heavy music down there a lot of there's a really vibrant underground scene stoner metal punk rock it's all kind of stuff like that mixed together with a bit of a texas slant on it and the guy could name me 30 bands sitting right here that you know that i'm missing tonight because i'm out on tour i wish i was back there you know getting to hang out on red river and go and check out all my

17:57favorite bands that's cool yeah it's a good scene is it hard to break into the states i mean i don't know i don't look i don't really look at it that way i'm not i'm not trying to i'm not breaking in you know i'm on there legally i got my paper yeah um i don't look at it like that i suppose it's it's all a better perspective but i just thought i was going to do my music you know love it or hate it i'm doing it and that's you know the level of commitment in the band is reflected in that and um you know i think it's supposed somebody wants to make money off of that if they see something good that entertains people they'll come around and put it out so we've done pretty well for ourselves down south just with that attitude as opposed to you know the how can we you know we're not chasing every record label in america

18:43trying to get someone to put our stuff out because somebody wants to put it out they'll come and get it you know let's just make something good first if it's good somebody will want it let's worry about that first let's play another tune right what do you want to hear uh how about she may be black or she may be white cool but black or white no that's some gordie johnson song

23:31yeah you know i there's a bunch of songs i wrote before before i had the band together or songs that i wrote while the band was going on and at different points in time they sort of drifted into the repertoire we do them live and they end up on records but the way they you know those were all songs that originated as songs for me to play on my banjo and sit in the chair and play by myself and the band ended up doing them some big sugar songs were not doing because those were songs that were written just for that band they're written for the way gary played the bass and for the way moja sings and for the way you know kelly plays harmonica those songs are written specifically for that like we don't do on the scene and we don't do

24:16do mr fantasy we don't do uh... the people's the screen form sometimes well you know turn the lights on stuff with that but i mean that's not really they get the picture pretty quickly that after one song that i would just like oh this is a different it's a lot heavier it's a lot uh i don't know big big sugar by the end we end up with like six people on stage you know so it had to be kind of worked out somewhat whereas this is not quite nearly so worked out it's a lot more uh spontaneous cool speaking spontaneous we just think i'll show five questions five quick questions one more answer okay ipod or cd uh ipod or cd i'm still vinyl man i think

25:03i still listen to vinyl so you know i'm finally okay vinyl that's it mccarney uh you know mccarney alcohol and marijuana milk okay song you've written you're most proud of oh song written i'm most proud of oh i don't know man maybe maybe hammer in my hand it's that's a good one for me because that was a resurrected song it i really had high hopes for that song at one point for big sugar and it ended up sort of buried on a record somewhere and then it got taken off the record later and didn't come out on the us version of the same record and we just kind of a highly neglected song um so it was really the first song for grady to pull out

25:50when we got together i was like all right now we're going to do some original music you know what i always believe that that's all would be just a wicked song and i really love singing it and i kind of stripped it back down to how it first showed up on my lap on a guitar you know and so i'm really happy with not playing a band that it was not much to think about and just started playing it and that's what it sounded like oh yeah that's it i'm home that's so awesome one word great grady one word what like the band or the guy from samford and son you got the name from yeah oh yeah no i got everybody ends up with a nickname and in our organization at some point other than do you get a long tour bus tour man you will get a nickname so

26:37mine ended up being grady i started shuffling around the bus and i'm over oh like i said milk milk milks my favorite choice now one tune to close us out oh all right uh woman got my devil cool thanks so much gordie appreciate it

Part 2

0:00He's got a double guitar. It doesn't get any better than the double. You busted that out lately. You're still playing with that thing? Yeah, we Double. Which one of those that things I got a couple of double minutes. Oh, right? Gordy Johnson live in studio back in your home province. Yeah, it's good to be back in Calgary. How long have you been here? Couple minutes. Couple minutes. Just rolled in and came right to the fuel seat. That's what we like. Literally, yeah. I like this being the first up. The snatch rock and roll lounge tonight. Mm-hmm. With Nashville pussy. I don't even know if I can, I guess I can say that on the air. Yeah, I don't mean nothing. No. Does it? No, Mr. Bandit. Do you think it means something? Am I missing something here? Is it? It just means, right? Just Nashville. Yeah, anyway. I just love to be able to say Nashville. Exactly. Mainstream media. I had the pleasure of recording their new record this past year.

0:49Oh, nice. Down in Austin? Yeah. Down in Austin at Willie Nelson Studio. The band came down and hung out for months. And made the record. They partied with Willie and managed to make a record in between. Yeah. Actually, they were pretty notorious for hitting the party really hard. But man, when they got to the studio, they worked. They worked and worked and worked. Well, you got to like that. And they made an awesome record. I think this is going to be the best record ever. If I've made Pat myself on the back and them too. I think they're the best, I think it's some of Blaine's best lyrics as far as that goes. And you write some pretty funny lyrics. I think they showed up in Austin with all this music finished. Like they've been rehearsing the tunes. So they showed up really ready to record the songs, except that there were no words.

1:35It was a surprise to me. Oh, you have no lyrics. Right. Now, would you help write them? No. Not in this case. I mean, I do with some artists, but Blaine. With the truth or no? Yeah. Oh, yeah. With the truth. The truth I've been writing with them all on every one of their records. And we'll probably continue to do so. We'll just, we write some great stuff together. So we'll get back to that. But Blaine, Blaine Cartwright, National Plussy, I sent him out into the lobby where Willie's office is. And he's sat there looking at all Willie's platinum record. Oh, man. Man, he just cranked out. Twelve amazing pages of lyrics that just had us all in stitches. That's all you need. That's pretty cool. Well, let's play one of your songs. Would you like to? Enough of Blaine. We're talking about it already now. Alright. You brought yourself some sort of banjo guitar thing going on. Yeah. I brought to

2:24Broadenold 1934 Gibson 6-string banjo. There you go. This is my favorite instrument to tote around just for my own entertainment. Nice. And our entertainment now? And yours too. What do you gonna play us? I will play a song that's on the second Grady record. The record is called A Couple of Cold Boys. And I'll play a song. Actually, this, I'll play a song and I'll tell you a little story about it. But I did get a just cold call off the cuff phone call from Billy Gibbons's Easy Top. You heard somebody put this song on his iPod. And he heard it and then went on this little mission to track me down and get myself a number and call me up and tell me you like the song. So I thought that was pretty good. You're just hanging with all the big wigs nowadays.

3:10It was alright. I wasn't hanging with him, but he didn't call me. It was close enough. I returned his call. Of course he did. I'm not gonna be like that. Anyway, the song that blue Billy Gibbons is called Chili Cold Blood. And Grady's gonna play that for you next on Fuel 90.3. Here we go. Grady Johnson, live in studio. Fuel 90.3. Johnson, live in studio. I love it. It's like old school blues, but like speed metal blues.

5:40That's what we do. That is what you do. I love it. Now I did this with you probably about four years ago now. So I want to see if you can answer the different five questions. One more answer. Whoops. Okay. Here we go. Road or studio? Oh, see that. It depends what day you asked me when I'm in the studio. I want to be on the road. Now I'm on the road. I wish I can stay in the studio. No, actually I'm on the road and I'm happy to be on the road. I've had a really busy, crazy, busy year producing records writing songs with folks and producing records. Who else can we expect? I just finished a new record for the Novax. That's a band you haven't heard of. The band from out east. That's right. From Newfoundland, haven't heard a record from them in a couple of years. I was waiting. I was wondering what was going to happen. They got tied up in all kinds of contractual nonsense. Oh, yeah. The way this industry can be sometimes. They got hung up in this contract where they couldn't do anything.

6:27They're out of it. They're free and clear. And I've been begging to make a record for them for three years. So I finally got to do it. Nice killer. So got that done. Joel Plaskett's got a new record coming out. I'm going to get in the studio with him. At the end of October. Work on that. I've been doing stuff for Warren Hanks from government Mule. He is a unbelievable guitar player. I did a couple songs for Taj Mahal's new record. You working with everybody. Everyone's never. Everyone's never. It goes on. And then there's lots of baby artists that haven't had records before. They don't have releases yet that you all haven't heard of. But ask me this time next year and I'll tell you. Amazing. Can't wait to hear more. So we're in the middle of five questions. Oh, got a little sidetrack. Sorry. I'm interested in what you wrote. Which I was on the road. Landon and McCartney. Landon and McCartney. Yeah. I'm more interested in singing Stanley.

7:16Frankly. Simmons or Stanley? I like Paul Stanley songs. Yeah. Okay. Cool. I figured you'd be a Gene Simmons guy. But okay. Well, I mean it's the Simka songwriting arrangement they got there. The combination of the two guys is better than either one of them on their own. I think. Yeah. Fair enough. Alcohol and marijuana. Alcohol. Song you've written your most proud of. Doesn't have to be one word. I'll help for a basement. Cool. And one word. Grady. First thing comes in your mind when you think you're bad. Of my band? Yeah. My cowboy hat. At works I've heard like a fire extinguisher. The only time we've ever. Window. The only time we've ever done a Grady gig without our hats on. Makes you played at some club where the stage was so high and the ceiling was so low.

8:01Big band and I were both over six feet tall and wearing cowboy boots and hats. I couldn't even stand up even if I was doing the full hat field man. I was like leg spread. You know down rocking and my hat was still rubbing the sound like God I couldn't even change guitars and practice should have been sitting down. We had to do a full Grady show so we had to wear trucker hats for. For one. Just nuts. Let's play another song. You can play another song and you want to play some off the record. Yeah. I play some off the record. When you shoot with it. You said I'll help for a basement. Why don't we go with that. All right. Scordy Johnson with big sugar. All health for a basement. Fuel. Naughty point three. Addy point three.

12:27Calgary's classic alternative. All health for a basement. Big sugar got Gordy Johnson live in studio. Can you vote? I know you've been living down in Austin for a while now but can you still vote up here or can you vote for the States? Are you doing vote in the US? No. That's cool. But how's it feeling down there must be a pretty exciting. Yeah. Really exciting time to be living down there. Oh my god. Yeah. I think they're going to see record turnout for voters. I think so too. How's it feeling in Texas? I know Texas has always been typically conservative. But you think the Goma Can? No. I don't think necessarily. I mean I think all the gloves are off. I mean I think people are a lot of people change in their mind. A lot of people. I mean unfortunately down there I think you end up with a lot of people that are you sort of born Republican or you know born a Democrat.

13:14You're born into a family that votes a certain way. But I think this might be the first time in a lot of years where people have to really examine exactly what they want out of a president. Yeah. So it's going to be a weird one. Yeah I mean I hope it works out. Yeah I'll be honest obviously because I do love living there. I mean I don't I'll live down both sides of the border most of my life. You know I grew up in a border town so American ways are pretty close to mine too. Although I'm you know full-blooded Canadian of course but I you know. And a lot of people get on a grind about you know they can be very anti-American but you know. And they dictate what we have before you start doing that. You best take a look at our own politics here in Canada.

14:02Somebody better get get off your ass and go vote. Are you going to vote on Tuesday or are you still in the year? Yeah I'm going to be in Canada so I'm going to fix them to go and vote. You got any big Thanksgiving plans? I'm going to go see my mother-in-law. Oh there you go. And get a Thanksgiving dinner in me. Is everyone else with you? The family with you? The whole band's going no. Oh no. The family's down in Texas. Kids are in school. Oh yeah because they wouldn't have Thanksgiving tonight. Yeah there's my mother-in-law's going to have a rock and roll band dropping in. I'm sure she's used to it by now. It wouldn't be her first rock and roll Thanksgiving dinner. So you're at Snatch Rock and Roll Ouch tonight. The home of our big rock star tournament which has been amazing. And you're with Nashville Pussy which I'm glad I can say because it's a lot of fun. And what time are you on tonight? Oh well I guess I should have found that out.

14:48Doors are at eight. I know that. Doors are at eight. So what nine, nine thirty? Yeah something like that. We're on first. There's two bands. And like I said we've been on tour this whole month. So yeah we've been in pretty tight cohes of unit now. Yeah. Yeah it's good. I get up and play with them and they're sad a little bit. Oh yeah I go with them which is really fun too because I'm a big fan. Now you've got the two Grady records. I know last when you were touring the first one still some big sugar tunes came out because people want to see them of course. You still do with that or something now? A full out Grady said. Yeah no those are my songs. They ain't big sugar songs. Those are my songs. You know I can. There are some songs that are for sure just big sugar songs. If I was to do them it would be. We feel wrong. We feel wrong. Yeah Grady ain't going to do turn the lights on. That's an effort going to have a good song.

15:34Don't hold your breath. I love the song. But I'll play it with big sugar. I ain't going to play it with Grady. Well what are you playing there? A song like Joe Lewis. That's my song man. I was playing that on a banjo long before I was playing it with Grady or big sugar. So there are certain songs that I just pulled from my song catalog that we do with the Grady's that are you know they're suited to the band and I wrote them so I don't feel like I need to sort of justify their existence. But as the band has developed we've had to rely less on back catalog on more on writing new stuff. Yeah I'm playing what you want to play. Yeah we've got half a dozen songs that haven't even been recorded yet that are coming out tonight tonight. Oh nice. Yeah so people will hear new Grady songs tonight as well as something else.

16:22So I asked you before if you could do something for us. We're doing this big world tour 11. We've been sending people all over the world to different music events for about two years now. And our next one is Big Day Out 2009 Sydney, Australia. It's all brought to you by Shire International Real Estate Investments. Investing shouldn't be a roller coaster ride with at ShireInvestments.com now. I've got Gordy Johnson live in studio. He is going to play your riff. I know I've been usually doing that name that tune game with my acoustic guitar. But since Gordy's here I said can you do us a song? Yeah that's a secret riff. A secret riff. Yes a song you may or may not have worked on. I guess I may or may not have co-written or worked or produced something on it. Perfect. I didn't play banjo on it but I will today. So what we're going to do is we're going to take color number three at 736 fuel. Not just yet the phone lines are blocked. I'll tell you when I unblock them.

17:07But if you can name this tune you'll be in the draw for fuel worlds for 11. Alright Gordy take it away. Amazing. 736 fuel 736 3835 I'm unblocking the phone lines now if you can name that tune. Gordy Johnson always a pleasure having you in studio. It's been awesome. Amen I appreciate it. Red on Chili Peppers are next. You're listening to Fuel 90.3.

Part 3

0:03Good is dead. New record. Well, not so new anymore, but still new enough as we haven't talked about it yet. Yeah, we're still on tour. We're out in it. How's the tour going so far? Good. Really good. It's been our best Canadian tour. Yeah, how are they? Why so? Just for fan response, you know, it's our third record. By now people kind of know what to expect. Obviously when we first came out there was a lot of like big sugar, curious kind of fans coming going. Oh, why did you stop doing big sugar? Oh, dude. Why did you, you know, you don't get that quite so much. I think people just kind of see us based on our own merits. Fair enough. That feels good for us, you know. Definitely. I just want to keep going back. Mentioning big sugar, are there still those some sugar tunes that will just always be in the set

0:51every night? Well, there are some tunes that aren't, to my mind, big sugar songs. They're my song. Right. And I'll just do them as I please. I'll do them in my solo set. I'll do them if I'm just jamming in Austin. I'll do them with this band. I'll do them with the trues. I'll do them with anybody. Because they're my songs. Certain songs could only really be played by big sugar. And this band will never touch them because they are big sugar songs. So it's kind of, you know, I have that secret list in my mind of the ones that count the ones that they've been. And on the same top with Grady, I mean three records in now. Yeah. With the last couple of tours, I mean the sets probably were pretty full. But now you have a wider repertoire to choose from. Yeah. Or some off the first record always going to be there. And some that will just never get

1:40played again. Kind of like. No, it goes in cycles. I mean you put certain songs away for a while and let them, you know, let, I guess they just recharge or something. Other songs you play them night in, night out. It's nice to put them down and dig into the back catalog a little bit. So you're a band that changes the set every night. It's not the same set every night. I haven't written one down in a couple of years. Just keep it for one of their toes. That's good. And you're going to be back in like a month doing a solo show here. Yeah. I was just looking at the calendar today. I actually saw that I'm going to do just me and my old banjo coming to town doing that. I love doing that too. How is it? Did you get to talk about the songs a little more as opposed to like this is going to be a full out wrong show tonight? Yeah, I've got a kind of have to holler about the noise kind of

2:27like I'm doing that. So, you got your merch? Look, the look. I'm glad you just give them the look. What were we talking about? Yeah, it's nice. It's a more intimate kind of a presentation where I can give people like a lot of backstory on the songs or origins, lyrics, I get to sing songs that I don't ever sing in a band context to. Right. Different folk songs or songs that were influential to me. What other songs, what records did you grow up with listening to? Oh god. That's a long live. Yeah, I grew up. I listened to you know, Black Sabbath and Rush.

3:18So I'm not really doing those. It's not like I started with the blues of the 1930s and worked my way chronologically to the present day heavy metal. You know what I mean? Like I didn't do it in order. So it's not like I play songs from my youth necessarily. It's like I'll play a Willie Nelson song or a Merle Haggard song or a Led Belly song or things like that. I'll even play songs that I've written with and for other artists like on occasion I'll sing a Joel Plaskett song or a song that I might have co-written with the truth you know every once in a while. What are you working on? Are you working on any production right now? I've been doing a bunch. The past year I did the latest government new old record. I did a couple songs with Taj Mahal.

4:09I always said I worked with the spades, young band. Yeah, they're gonna be on the show like a month. Yeah, I mixed their new record. They're playing right here actually. Did a new song with the trues that'll be out about month. Oh really? So they got a new record coming out or they're gonna do a full record later in the summer but we just did one song. Just got together and a little bit of a reunion. Very nice. Just did the one song. Cool. What are you playing for the summer? Well you got to come out. A bunch of touring. I'm actually going to be doing a new wide mouth Mason record at the end of the summer in the studio and I'm going to go on tour with them for the summer and play with the guys just because I had some time off and I'd love to be with those cats and go play with them. I'll probably do a show or two as a bass player with the trues because

4:57everybody's players have a baby and his wife having a baby in the summer. So I'm on standby as a member of the trues, wide mouth Mason, Grady and Big Sugar. So I have a few setlists to memorize. I'd say so. Always a pleasure though. Thank you. I know you got to set up the stage.

Part 4

0:0095 7 the sound with big sugar and if I had my way Gordy Johnson live in studio He's he's got his new band Grady there in town tonight at Union Hall He's got a few shows as well this weekend with wide mouth. He's playing bass big sugar show as well at Churchill Square We'll talk all about that But Gordy why don't you why don't you give us a little story on that one if I had my way? I had never it's makes sense to me because because we wrote it I wrote it with a gentleman Patrick Valentine. We write a lot of songs together We wrote all hell for bass man so not over lots of them together. You still right there? Yeah, we still are together wrote a bunch of stuff for new big sugar record recently, but we Just love that off. What was that? We'll come back to that. So we wrote if I have my way makes sense to me and I've been singing it for years and To this day man when I sing that song or get to a big sugar show and

0:47People for years have misheard the lyric as if I had my weed So I've had to and I don't have the heart to tell them that's not what it is And everyone in the band knows that a bunch of people out there think that's what it is So every night we do it and we all sing in the chorus if I had my Like it's someone's gonna put a D on the end of it And we got to look at each other and go don't put the D on someone else puts the D on the end of it I have my way, but if you prefer Whatever floats your boat, you know, so you said something there that interested me. I did it Yeah, big sugar record a new one. It's been like seven years been thinking about it Oh, it's been well. Yeah for a new big sugar record. It's been well even longer. Yeah, like I said, man

1:34We got we got together and we're playing over the playing over the summer together and just hanging out with the guys and I've been writing songs all along Just been shelving them like I had no home for them So there was a bunch of material sitting around there I got together with everybody in Toronto got the whole band in one room and just rehearsed a little bit Well, what does this feel like? What does it sound like? It's just natural as can be man It happened so quickly before we knew it man. We had most of a record done So it's not finished, you know I got a little more work to do on it and some people to play it for but I think folks would like a new big sugar Yeah, it would be cool. When do you think we'll hear it summer? I don't know. No idea. I work pretty quick I might get it done fast. You never know. Oh, it's not to you though at that point. It's up to the higher ups

2:20No, it's up to me to finish it. No, I got I'm I get to be in charge. I make it I finish it Yeah, when it's done, it'll be done. It's done Otherwise, it's not big sugar You know, so Gordy Johnson's here Union Hall tonight. Yeah big Grady show. We haven't seen you since the spring I want to say yeah, I think that's right So what what does what does Edmonton have in store with a big cowboy metal rock show? We just put out a live DVD Yeah, it was recorded in Winnipeg last year kind of by surprise to us We knew the show was being taped, but we didn't really know we assumed it was just like a one-song thing or two songs for a TV broadcast or something turns out they had the entire thing Recorded and so once we got a look at that footage we thought well, that's looks great man

3:06So we mixed the audio and just one of those just one of those nights where you know The whole concert was was good enough to eat, you know, so we served it Made a DVD out of it. Yeah, and tonight would be enough to eat as well though I would yeah So that's what we've been doing is out promoting that a little bit and trying you know squeeze another tour of Canada in here Before the end of the year. We were hoping to get here before But we're too late apparently you brought it with you. Sorry, man. Yeah, I brought it with yeah Central tireless yes But you're not just here for the greaty show you you've got a little you got not a little a lot of stuff this weekend I got a bunch I'm gonna get my Edmonton on this week. Yeah, yeah Oh, well we got the greaty show tonight at Union Hall and then I've got big sugar at

3:54Churchill square yeah downtown yeah the outdoor thing I would think on you know what time that is I'm trying to find I don't know an afternoon six 30 or six 45 tailgate party kind of thing, you know So we're playing out there full big sugar show and actual big sugar I mean the last couple years I've done big sugar gigs with the truth as my back-and-band They're great cats and they know all my songs and they but they you know they have slowly Twisted my arm and convinced me to get back into big sugar music So I actually got Gary and Kelly and the whole gang is coming On the weekend and we're gonna play like actual big sugar is gonna play and you're playing base for wide mouth They hear what happened to what's his name? Earl Earl Earl Earl the original bass player for a wide mouth left the band earlier this year

4:41And we had already started working on a new record and won't get into any of the controversy surrounding it But it was going great. I hadn't worked with the guys in ten years great to see him. I love them all They like little brothers to me, you know got to working on the record Then it kind of stalled because Earl went on to start his own band and he's you know power to him. Yeah, that's cool I mean the wide mouth hadn't done much in the last several years. So I mean I don't think anybody faults him for it It's just out there doing his funky bands. Yeah, that's cool but The masons got offered a ZZ top tour for the summer and they called me up They're like oh man now. What do we do we got this ZZ top tour Do you know anybody who can play bass who knows our songs and do you know anybody who'd be into going on tour was easy top? You must know somebody I said I'll think about it and I hung up the phone

5:30I said to my wife I must know somebody who can do this and she just folded her arms and looked at me I was like she knew you know you want to just why don't you go do it? so I've been playing with them ever since and We started writing some songs for a new record together and playing together all summer through the fall Now it's coming on winter man, and we're still jamming really hard and just loving it. I love playing with Sean and Saf it just that's just a Personal relationship that that made its way over to the stage and it's like wow It's the same when we get on stage and play music together. That's man is no there's no nice no nice for feeling So we're gonna make a new record together in January down in Texas cool. Oh you bring them down Yeah, they're gonna come down to Texas will he studio? Yeah, yeah

6:18So we got to do five questions five quick questions one more answers, okay road or studio I gotta be a one word answer one word road or studio see well now that I'm on the road I guess I'll have to say studio if you ask me that in the studio Leonard McCartney Ramone Most important thing in a song lyrics melody rhythm I guess I'd have to say rhythm we have a little we have an expression in the studio tuning timing attitude pick two I Song you've written your most proud of doesn't need to be one word all hell for a basement man. I really yeah I feel really proud of that one. There's something really emotional cool about that one I feel a real deep attachment to it

7:04And we talked about it and I was gonna say one word greaty, but but now that you got the big sugar thing going on one word big sugar I wish we could see that face Wow the first when I say big sugar first thing that comes to mind The color green for some reason I don't know not interesting That'll do doesn't mean Canadian money because most of it's not green, but now Well now that's such a that word has such deep connotation for me that it's hard to the word green no Word green now the yeah, no the big sugar thing just yeah, that's such a That's a deeply rooted thing for me. It's hard to narrow it down cool We have this thing called sound on the man on the website We're you threw up like three big sugar tunes and say vote on which one you want to hear and then Gordy

7:51I'll be here So if I get you to give me a clip of each of them Maybe if you're talking about them and then whichever one they end up voting on we'll have a sound clip for wow Yeah, so we're not digging a hole dig in a hole Funny thing about that song digging a hole It's kind of a one-take wonder it wasn't especially supposed to be anything It was written backstage at an allman brothers show some like 1995 we were on tour with Greg allman and Mr. Chilling myself for backstage. I think it was a New Year's gig in fact in Las Vegas Some someplace our venture a beach or something. I can't remember where but somewhere better than cold at And we just you know came up with that that riff that

8:37do do do do do do do do do is plate it and plate and plate it in the dressing room chill It was just Joe is crazy Had a song with one verse like yeah, but if we just say it three times that's good, right? It's only got one verse and no course, but that's cool They have one take wonder that song When you hear that distorted weird vocal sound Which is not uncommon nowadays, but at that time and nobody was doing that and pure record company like, do you have a clean version of the vocal? Well, I really didn't because we only did it once. And that was Kelly's harmonica mic. He was playing, Mr. Chill was playing his harmonica track, and I was just singing along into the mic with him so he'd know where to play and where to not play.

9:23So you'll notice there's never like singing and harp at the same time. It's because it's the same mic and it's just the two of us in there doing it. At the end of it, you can kind of hear us talking and carrying on to the BS in a little bit. I'm like, so we'll say something. I got nothing to say to you. You can hear it at the end of that take. We left it in there and it still gets played on the radio. I can't believe how hard we didn't try to make that song good. That's funny. I'll help for a basement. Well, there's a song that's the people that it's about, know it's about them, but there's been a lot of misreadings of what the song might potentially be about. So to clear up the mystery, that's a song that's written about Newfoundlanders working in Alberta. So there's an album in the connection? Oh yeah, of course there

10:11is. Yeah. I mean, it's home to a lot of people that aren't originally from here. I can suppose that's always been the case. But it just occurred to me that, I mean here in Newfoundlanders, we're all Canadians, but man, you couldn't get farther away from home really in every sense geographically and culturally and everything else. I mean, you're used to being on the ocean, all of a sudden, you couldn't be farther from an ocean if you tried. So I just, I was always, it always struck a chord with me just those people being so far from home and sending money back home to the people they left behind and how far that is and how hard it is to get there and just the little things you miss about home. And that's true for anybody. I just saw that scenario

10:58and thought there's a universal theme there. So that's what that's on. People come in here looking for something better, I mean, better in one sense. They made some money, but maybe not better in another one.

Part 5

0:02Hello, is that Matt yeah sure is Gordy. How are you good? Oh, you did Amen, all right, and you're in Toronto now I'm in Toronto now. Yeah writing and doing some video stuff for Microsoft for Amazon Yeah So basically the crux of this interview is just good It's gonna be quick and it's just kind of they got me doing some blogs on North by Northeast and they're kind of wondering Or I'm kind of wondering rather coming from someone at your stature. You don't need to play North by Northeast You already you have a following so how come you're doing it? Well, I'm playing North by Northeast with a new band. Oh no, yeah, this is not big sugar

0:51It's not even It's not big sugar. It's not great. It's not any of my other bands. I started up hang on so sure man. I can I'm a monitor up here I'm not We started a new band. Oh about a month ago Things came up pretty quickly We got offered it and none of the none of my other bands were available to do it. I was like man I mean all I gotta do is start a band and make a record and t-shirt I mean getting the gigs is the hard part, right? I got the easy part is for me is making records. I can make record So we sat down spent, you know Really just two or three days record designed a t-shirt

1:43There's two or so sit the band's called sit down Did our publishers not furnish you with any No, but it's only because I said I just wanted to talk about North by Northeast and kind of how it's healthy in the past or How it's you know what you think it does for young band? Oh, okay? Yeah, you know what in our business though I mean whether you've got a long-ish Elvis career or not, you know, man. I'm only a penny You got to go out and prove it every time you take the guitar out of the case There is never a point at which I felt like oh cool, man

2:28Well, that we can really just take it easy and it's all you know You gotta you gotta prove it every night you go out there and an opportunity like this comes up play North by Northeast Especially since we have a new a new band and that's kind of why I put together new bands and try different things is like Yeah, I mean I could prove it to myself too Do I still I still got it can I still do this in a mini van without without a bus and Since everywhere, you know like I'm not still willing not to get my punk rock on You throw and go gigs man and play music that people haven't heard yet and I've had a tour has been has gone great

3:15So I think the answer to myself is yes, but thank you down to it got to get out and prove it How many times you played or no, I don't I don't even know I suppose great is all we did it I shouldn't but I mean don't quote me because I don't actually know you know for the guy on the road It really is a day date. You know, I mean I know where I'm going tonight because that's where I'm going today You know, but I don't have to where I am the night after that. I mean it's somewhere else I know I know where I've been you know these

4:04Make a big deal out of any gigs, but they're all this they're all the same. I mean that way They really are all the same that you you have to put on the same You put on the same game no matter what The venue is or what the circuit? 9,000 people or down or do you think there's more of an opportunity for bands? I don't know to get to get a deal or a publishing or something like that at a festival like North by or even An awesome. It's so fun. Do I think there is you know, I mean, it's a it's a gamble. I found a town like Austin

5:03You know if you just get a gig on any random Tuesday night because it's Austin, Texas and they're so There's so many Creative people there me you're as likely to I don't know Quentin Tarantino might be at your gigs for all I know on a brand Tuesday night through South by Southwest not as likely because there's so much Going on and the focus is so diffused doesn't matter what your big is people Do you want to have to hire me? I think what you do get out of it to get yourself

5:58In a situation where you you play a really good man It's you're that good and you and people get talking about it They have lots of people to talk to you at a conference like you did something really good We're we're gonna get around a lot faster because it and it really is word of mouth It says People text and their friends who are in the same town for the same event. They're meeting Greeky the same thing. I tough by tough West I'll be walking down Red River and running to some some You know Some of my fellow musicians are friends in the industry. They'll be like oh my god. I just heard this Japanese March all girl marching band is little school outfit playing hip-hop. It was crazy

6:49I really saw that you know that I said the word and I wasn't all you know a Wednesday morning I saw the plane on the street and by you know Friday night there their cake was I think it's more of a It is a bit random and happens lately I've been working with the North Mississippi Open Forest

7:36when we were on the West Coast the bank called blind God and Pretty good model like oh, yeah, they're They're really bad at so and they're like starting they never put my money never bid on to you know never really done anything And that just that was just a random happening. I saw the manifesto

8:25One morning it was you know 10 a.m. Blues tantrum like what are these guys doing? No, it's just two of us actually Yeah, I got a fan boat in the drummer from Big Sugar and Myself and I'm sitting down. He's playing with a little drum kit. I'm sitting down playing Guitar singing I'm also playing move since pedals for the bass and It's not To clarify that it's not rim streaky two-man punk blues band up Sonic

9:16It's a lot of dub in the sound like Doug reggae kind of sounds to the thing and we're singing mostly gospel songs old spirituals and blues songs. I just didn't want to do him in a traditional I Am really want to do them the way I've heard Yeah, there's such a Rooda mentoring kind of explain it's it's real fundamental Part of the audio you know that pure sine waves low frequency that just

10:02Rocks or some people I think we've noticed on this tour opening for George Thurgood and I think people as first thing is gonna be some quaint sort of blues thing and then we sit down and start playing and It kind of shocks people Well, you know the shock value alone. Yeah, man Yeah, it should be really good anvil of plates every night from up so