Post by Katkick on Aug 12, 2008 7:17:01 GMT -5
From Blogs N' Roses
Interview with Sebastian Bach's Guitarist Johnny Chromatic
Posted by Craig Wettner at 8/11/2008 8:03 PM and is filed under Johnny Chromatic,Sebastian Bach
blogsnroses.com/2008/08/11/interview-with-sebastian-bachs-guitarist-johnny-chromatic-3.aspx
I was listening to the Angel Down record where I always do, my local Target store, and I had a full time electrical worker and part time rhythm guitarist come up to me. "Hey what is that you are listening to?" I said "It is Sebastian Bach's new album "Angel Down." "Really? Who is that fantastic rhythm guitarist?" he asked. "Oh that is Johnny Chromatic" I responded. "Well who is he?" he further inquired. "I have no idea, but I'll be sure to find out." So this interview is for you Tom Holden local IBEW 313.
BnR recently had the opportunity to interview Sebastian Bach's awesome band. In the next week and half we will be vigorously transcribing the audio and adding the interviews to the site. The first interview we did was with Johnny Chromatic, so naturally, he is the first interview to go on our site. Here is the interview:
BnR: So little is known about the man who plays guitar in Sebastian Bach's band. Where are you from?
JC: Florida, Tampa, Florida.
BnR: Who influenced you to pick up a guitar?
Dave Hart: I did. [Dave Hart is the tour manager for Sebastian Bach, who decided to make side comments during the interview. Unless the band directly talked to him in the interview, you will only hear his comments on the podcast. Sadly, this is one of the few times that he was responded to.]
JC: It was all Dave Hart, everything. No, I don't know. AC/DC, probably. Ronnie James Dio, Black Sabbath, that is who I was into at the time when I first picked it [the guitar] up. Then I started to get more into guitar playing after I picked it up I got interested in Stevie Ray Vaughan, I started studying Jazz, went to Berklee College of Music in Boston. I spent a few years there. Then I started touring with various bands around the East Coast, up and down the East Coast, in Florida.
BnR: So what is the first album you bought? Was it AC/DC?
JC: Yup, it was For Those About To Rock by AC/DC. It was the first one I ever bought. My parents tried to push some shit on me when I was younger and I was like "NOOO."
BnR: Like what?
JC: Like some Satantic shit. My dad saw the album cover for Holy Diver and just about shit himself. He thought for sure I was possessed and that there was something wrong with me. So I had to beg and beg to get a guitar because I knew I could play it. It was just one of those things I knew I could do. As soon as I got one, I was pretty much playing shows about a year after I got one.
BnR: So how did you figure out you could sing?
JC: No one else could sing. So by default, I started singing. It kind of goes hand in hand, especially after I started studying at music school doing more ear training, I realized how important it was singing. Singing and playing are the same kind of thing. You want to convey the same kind of thing with each. You are conveying emotion with both, you know, one way or another. It is the way you play it or sing it. You know that is why singers of all kinds are great. Not all of them sing perfectly in tune, or whatever, but they have a certain style or way. The same thing for guitar players.
BnR: Sometimes you can fit the music around a singer.
JC: Yea or vice versa with a guitar player.
BnR: So how did you get hooked up with Sebastian?
JC: I was playing in a band called Stare, a start up band with Ralph Santollo who plays with Obituary. He also played on the last couple of Deicide records. And he used to play with Iced Earth. Me and him had a project we were starting up called Stare. Right as we were getting that going, he started playing with Sebastian. Sebastian called him up and asked him if he could play some gigs. So he went and did a few gigs with Sebastian. The other guys in the band were not guys that Ralph were used to playing with, I guess is a nice way of putting it. But he convinced Sebastian to get rid of those guys and bring in some guys he knew. Me, Steve Digiorgio, and Mark Prator, who also played with Iced Earth. We came in and since then we have had some changes. Steve did the record, but hasn't been able to tour with us. So Rob [De Luca] has been playing with us and he's awesome. And, of course, Bobby Jarzombek on drums, and Mike took over for Ralph on guitars. We have had that ever since.
BnR: Well speaking of the record Angel Down. I know you wrote some of the songs, like Stabbin Daggers with Sebastian. And you also wrote Stuck Inside with Axl.
JC: Well I wrote the song completely myself. It was actually from my band Chromatic. it was on our original demo we were pushing. Axl wrote just his little singing part at the end. It was like an after thought. But he came in and put this other part on there that no one else thought of.
BnR: So how is he to work with? I hear that if you are not in the band, he is kind of hard to work with.
JC: I mean, I have never been in his band so we're cool. I have a great time with him. We hang out. But you are right, he really doesn't hang out with the guys from the band. Like me and Sebastian would be hanging out with Axl and I would be like 'where are the other guys from the band' and[Axl would say] 'I don't fucking hang out with those guys.'
BnR: So you opened up for him on the Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy tour. How was that tour?
JC: It was awesome. It was a lot of fun. We had a great time. Axl was super nice to us. He took care of us great.
BnR: Did you get to tour places you didn't normally get to because of the Chinese Democracy tour?
JC: I mean, we toured a lot of places that we hadn't done before that. We got to fly on his private jet. That was pretty cool.
BnR: That is awesome. How was that?
JC: It was nice...as you can imagine. Not a lot of sleeping going on on that jet. A lot of fine wine and food. It was tight.
BnR: What was your favorite city to play?
JC: We had a great time in Canada. Going up there and playing some show in Winnipeg. It was really cold and the people are cool. We had a really great time partying with the people up there. Oh it was good. All over was good. L.A. is always fun. New York, Madison Square Garden, that was pretty crazy. Even in Europe when we were with them [Guns N' Roses] at Wembley Stadium. It is a good memorable place. It was sold out. At Madison Square Garden, I was hanging out with the guys from Papa Roach. They were playing with us and we both went "Whoa we are going to play Madison Square Garden...sold out." It was like two minutes before I go on stage.
BnR: So do you get nervous before going on stage at a place like that?
JC: Not really, no. We have done it enough times now. I get a little bit pumped up. It's more like I am ready to go and attack the crowd than be nervous.
BnR: Any pre-gig rituals? Something you always do before the show?
JC:Smoke lots of cigarettes [laughs] It gets me all warmed up. Yup that's it. And Pedialyte. It's the secret rockstar formula. It's like super rehydrate, if you drink a bunch.
BnR: Better than Gatorade?
JC:Oh yeah, this is like Gatorade Plus. It's like Gatorade Concentrate. You can just do a shot of it an it's like drinking a full Gatorade.
Dave Hart: Tell them where you learned that from.
JC:From Dimebag. He was my friend before he passed.
BnR: That was a tragedy. Did you get to attend the funeral
JC:No, we were out of town. I was in Turkey playing with Sebastian when we found out. That was a crazy day. We were going to Spain. We had to leave Turkey and fly to Madrid, Spain to play a show. It was hard. We got up early and everyone was hung over and then to hear all that. It was like trying to figure out what was going on from Turkey on our cell phones. Then we played in Madrid that night. Sebastian was losing in, breaking down on stage because all these people had these big flags for Dimebag and stuff. We played Walk. I sang most of it because Sebastian didn't know the words. I would sing one line and then he would sing the next or until he remembered what it was.
BnR: I want to see some YouTube video of that.
JC:I think there are some. Just check Madrid Spain from a couple of years ago. Like the day after Dimebag got shot.
BnR: Any previous work that you have done that you didn't like? Like sewer work or something?
JC:I did a lot of work I didn't like. I worked at restaruants. I mean, I have always played music but there have times when it's been hard and I have had to do other shit...like build houses, which I don't enjoy. Roofing and shit like that. It helped build some muscles that I might not otherwise have. But I'll let someone else do that. I'll just design it.
BnR: So you like designing that stuff?
JC:Yea, I would like to design my own house.
This is about the time when Sebastian decided to enter the dressing room. That part of the audio will be edited and added to the site later. That was our last question with Johnny. Again we want to thank Johnny for taking time to talk with us. Check Johnny out on tour with Sebastian Bach this summer.
Interview with Sebastian Bach's Guitarist Johnny Chromatic
Posted by Craig Wettner at 8/11/2008 8:03 PM and is filed under Johnny Chromatic,Sebastian Bach
blogsnroses.com/2008/08/11/interview-with-sebastian-bachs-guitarist-johnny-chromatic-3.aspx
I was listening to the Angel Down record where I always do, my local Target store, and I had a full time electrical worker and part time rhythm guitarist come up to me. "Hey what is that you are listening to?" I said "It is Sebastian Bach's new album "Angel Down." "Really? Who is that fantastic rhythm guitarist?" he asked. "Oh that is Johnny Chromatic" I responded. "Well who is he?" he further inquired. "I have no idea, but I'll be sure to find out." So this interview is for you Tom Holden local IBEW 313.
BnR recently had the opportunity to interview Sebastian Bach's awesome band. In the next week and half we will be vigorously transcribing the audio and adding the interviews to the site. The first interview we did was with Johnny Chromatic, so naturally, he is the first interview to go on our site. Here is the interview:
BnR: So little is known about the man who plays guitar in Sebastian Bach's band. Where are you from?
JC: Florida, Tampa, Florida.
BnR: Who influenced you to pick up a guitar?
Dave Hart: I did. [Dave Hart is the tour manager for Sebastian Bach, who decided to make side comments during the interview. Unless the band directly talked to him in the interview, you will only hear his comments on the podcast. Sadly, this is one of the few times that he was responded to.]
JC: It was all Dave Hart, everything. No, I don't know. AC/DC, probably. Ronnie James Dio, Black Sabbath, that is who I was into at the time when I first picked it [the guitar] up. Then I started to get more into guitar playing after I picked it up I got interested in Stevie Ray Vaughan, I started studying Jazz, went to Berklee College of Music in Boston. I spent a few years there. Then I started touring with various bands around the East Coast, up and down the East Coast, in Florida.
BnR: So what is the first album you bought? Was it AC/DC?
JC: Yup, it was For Those About To Rock by AC/DC. It was the first one I ever bought. My parents tried to push some shit on me when I was younger and I was like "NOOO."
BnR: Like what?
JC: Like some Satantic shit. My dad saw the album cover for Holy Diver and just about shit himself. He thought for sure I was possessed and that there was something wrong with me. So I had to beg and beg to get a guitar because I knew I could play it. It was just one of those things I knew I could do. As soon as I got one, I was pretty much playing shows about a year after I got one.
BnR: So how did you figure out you could sing?
JC: No one else could sing. So by default, I started singing. It kind of goes hand in hand, especially after I started studying at music school doing more ear training, I realized how important it was singing. Singing and playing are the same kind of thing. You want to convey the same kind of thing with each. You are conveying emotion with both, you know, one way or another. It is the way you play it or sing it. You know that is why singers of all kinds are great. Not all of them sing perfectly in tune, or whatever, but they have a certain style or way. The same thing for guitar players.
BnR: Sometimes you can fit the music around a singer.
JC: Yea or vice versa with a guitar player.
BnR: So how did you get hooked up with Sebastian?
JC: I was playing in a band called Stare, a start up band with Ralph Santollo who plays with Obituary. He also played on the last couple of Deicide records. And he used to play with Iced Earth. Me and him had a project we were starting up called Stare. Right as we were getting that going, he started playing with Sebastian. Sebastian called him up and asked him if he could play some gigs. So he went and did a few gigs with Sebastian. The other guys in the band were not guys that Ralph were used to playing with, I guess is a nice way of putting it. But he convinced Sebastian to get rid of those guys and bring in some guys he knew. Me, Steve Digiorgio, and Mark Prator, who also played with Iced Earth. We came in and since then we have had some changes. Steve did the record, but hasn't been able to tour with us. So Rob [De Luca] has been playing with us and he's awesome. And, of course, Bobby Jarzombek on drums, and Mike took over for Ralph on guitars. We have had that ever since.
BnR: Well speaking of the record Angel Down. I know you wrote some of the songs, like Stabbin Daggers with Sebastian. And you also wrote Stuck Inside with Axl.
JC: Well I wrote the song completely myself. It was actually from my band Chromatic. it was on our original demo we were pushing. Axl wrote just his little singing part at the end. It was like an after thought. But he came in and put this other part on there that no one else thought of.
BnR: So how is he to work with? I hear that if you are not in the band, he is kind of hard to work with.
JC: I mean, I have never been in his band so we're cool. I have a great time with him. We hang out. But you are right, he really doesn't hang out with the guys from the band. Like me and Sebastian would be hanging out with Axl and I would be like 'where are the other guys from the band' and[Axl would say] 'I don't fucking hang out with those guys.'
BnR: So you opened up for him on the Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy tour. How was that tour?
JC: It was awesome. It was a lot of fun. We had a great time. Axl was super nice to us. He took care of us great.
BnR: Did you get to tour places you didn't normally get to because of the Chinese Democracy tour?
JC: I mean, we toured a lot of places that we hadn't done before that. We got to fly on his private jet. That was pretty cool.
BnR: That is awesome. How was that?
JC: It was nice...as you can imagine. Not a lot of sleeping going on on that jet. A lot of fine wine and food. It was tight.
BnR: What was your favorite city to play?
JC: We had a great time in Canada. Going up there and playing some show in Winnipeg. It was really cold and the people are cool. We had a really great time partying with the people up there. Oh it was good. All over was good. L.A. is always fun. New York, Madison Square Garden, that was pretty crazy. Even in Europe when we were with them [Guns N' Roses] at Wembley Stadium. It is a good memorable place. It was sold out. At Madison Square Garden, I was hanging out with the guys from Papa Roach. They were playing with us and we both went "Whoa we are going to play Madison Square Garden...sold out." It was like two minutes before I go on stage.
BnR: So do you get nervous before going on stage at a place like that?
JC: Not really, no. We have done it enough times now. I get a little bit pumped up. It's more like I am ready to go and attack the crowd than be nervous.
BnR: Any pre-gig rituals? Something you always do before the show?
JC:Smoke lots of cigarettes [laughs] It gets me all warmed up. Yup that's it. And Pedialyte. It's the secret rockstar formula. It's like super rehydrate, if you drink a bunch.
BnR: Better than Gatorade?
JC:Oh yeah, this is like Gatorade Plus. It's like Gatorade Concentrate. You can just do a shot of it an it's like drinking a full Gatorade.
Dave Hart: Tell them where you learned that from.
JC:From Dimebag. He was my friend before he passed.
BnR: That was a tragedy. Did you get to attend the funeral
JC:No, we were out of town. I was in Turkey playing with Sebastian when we found out. That was a crazy day. We were going to Spain. We had to leave Turkey and fly to Madrid, Spain to play a show. It was hard. We got up early and everyone was hung over and then to hear all that. It was like trying to figure out what was going on from Turkey on our cell phones. Then we played in Madrid that night. Sebastian was losing in, breaking down on stage because all these people had these big flags for Dimebag and stuff. We played Walk. I sang most of it because Sebastian didn't know the words. I would sing one line and then he would sing the next or until he remembered what it was.
BnR: I want to see some YouTube video of that.
JC:I think there are some. Just check Madrid Spain from a couple of years ago. Like the day after Dimebag got shot.
BnR: Any previous work that you have done that you didn't like? Like sewer work or something?
JC:I did a lot of work I didn't like. I worked at restaruants. I mean, I have always played music but there have times when it's been hard and I have had to do other shit...like build houses, which I don't enjoy. Roofing and shit like that. It helped build some muscles that I might not otherwise have. But I'll let someone else do that. I'll just design it.
BnR: So you like designing that stuff?
JC:Yea, I would like to design my own house.
This is about the time when Sebastian decided to enter the dressing room. That part of the audio will be edited and added to the site later. That was our last question with Johnny. Again we want to thank Johnny for taking time to talk with us. Check Johnny out on tour with Sebastian Bach this summer.
Good info [will have to remember the specs on Pedialyte.... > 1 shot of Pedialyte = 1 whole Gatorade ..LOL]