Jonny Brown Interview with www.Cheb7.co.uk (19/11/09)

Twisted Wheel lead singer Jonny Brown took time before the gig (Ku Bar) to give an interview

A brief explanation about Twisted Wheel JB: Well me and rick our bass player were in a band called The Children, that was a band we were in because we just wanted to be in a band, you know when you’re kids. We just wanted to play music and after been in that band for 2 years, I started to write songs but the singer didn’t want to sing my songs, so I started doing me own gigs as an acoustic artists. I did about 4 on me own and thought “I’ll get rick on board” and I met this drummer lad I’ve known since I were a kid so we rehearsed 4 days in a row then turned up for an acoustic gig, it went mint so we thought we’d carry on, I said to my bass player “in 6 months we’ll get a record deal…..and we did do”. You seem to be the main character in the band was it always an interest to play the frontman? Music was always my niche I always wanted to do music I’d listen to it anywhere. When I was a kid I used to watch zeppelin videos, jam videos, oasis videos and that and I wanted to be a frontman. When I was younger I was just happy to be in a band, that was the first step, I didn’t wanna go out and go I’m in a band when I wasn’t the frontman, I was the bass player at first, then I went to guitar and started writing songs and built me way into it. My vision was to be a frontman and now I am. What about your musical interests? I wouldn’t class Manchester or the madchester scene as an influence but Oasis were because they were around when I started getting into music. My main inspirations are The Jam, The Clash and Sex Pistols, Stooges, Jimi Hendrix all these bands have energy and a power and I like bands with power, if you’re lucky enough to see one of these bands then they just captivate you straight away. Your ascent into mainstream was a pretty fast movement has it all gone to plan? I don’t think you can have a set plan. If you get a plan of how you want it to work out for you it never will, I never set a plan of our journey, whether we get signed or not or if I write a song that’s singable, you got to have something inside to want to play music. You have dreams and visions you’ll be playing in front of thousands of people, you might get a support slot with the happy Mondays or your favourite band, if you got those dreams in your head then you can do it, I’ve lived a lot of my dreams.

So it won’t be a case of too much to soon with the wheel then? Nah I don’t think it’s a case of going quick too soon, maybe we got signed too early…we had 10 songs and we got a major record deal. I don’t think it serves the right for someone to say “oh its happen too fast” you’ve earned the right for it to happen but if it all goes to pot you still believe and keep going and keep going. You always find your way. Having had Liam Gallagher and Paul Weller, your idols lavish praise on the band, does it add extra pressure? Its great people you look up to giving us praise but it’s not a burden but I’ve heard some people think that because Paul Weller has said this and that about you. It adds some pressure but at the end of the day if they said they like us it’s not because we are just there it’s because they realise the potential. If people say good things about us I’m buzzing my tits off. Does it to a certain extent pigeonhole the band? I think different writers try to pigeonhole us straight away as an arctic monkey’s wannabe band. I’ve got nothing against the arctic monkeys but we’re not like them. I’ve even said that to writers then they say I hate the arctic monkeys. Then some writers put I hear the Clash in this band, Jonny Cash, The Stones and that’s what I’m happy to hear because that’s what I listen to, but mostly it doesn’t matter to me because I’m still making music and we’ll see what sticks after I’m dead and gone, you are where you are. You’ve been classed as Lad Rock is that a perfect fit? We get called lad rock but there are more girls at our gigs. I just think people think we look like hooligans; I’m sat in Stockton wearing a hoody so I don’t get cold because I’m a shivering wreck. I’ve hung around with tramps on Camden, millionaire rock stars millionaire sons of people with fucking yachts its more where you are in your mind than what you wear. But some don’t judge you right, if you’ve got your hood up then you’re a thug. But I’m not into that I’m all for people getting on, I’m so far away from a hooligan. Let the music do the talking not my image.

I heard you were dropped by your record label Columbia, any reason behind the split? Yeah we weren’t dropped we just left the label because basically they don’t want to put the effort into us because they fear they aren’t the right label for us. What it is like a major record label they want to have bands to sell all the records first time around but we are a band working slowly, not selling records straight away but building a fanbase and getting airplay. We’re not a band that comes out for the moment and dies we are a band that is growing stronger every day. What feelings do you have towards the label? What you got to remember is a major record label has to put a lot of money into bands and some bands don’t bring in big money for them to get it all back. Because of the credit crunch no one buys rock and roll anymore. The sad thing is our fanbase is growing stronger, people are getting into us, we are in the best position we could be in, we’ve been given money to make a record, to go on tour, we’ve got fans and now we don’t owe anyone any fucking money, it’s worked out well. I think what we’re gonna do now is keep doing gigs and eventually demo new songs. We have enough money saved up from previous gigs to record songs, we’re gonna do an EP and release that in Jan/Feb with a song we recorded called tell the world. That’s going to be something for the fans just to tide them over, let them know we are still here until we make the next record but who knows when. If no one wants to sign us we will release it ourselves. It’s just about having it, if your selling out venues, putting on a show people are gonna come back for the next one. Can Twisted Wheel handle it on their own? Well it’s about been real, making more music and not giving up or going bigheaded. I think the way to carry on for us is to keep doing these live shows, about a year ago we played Brighton and Margate and there was about 6 – 15 people there, 2 months we played Brighton there was 200 people there pulling the barriers down, next time we play Brighton there will be 300-400 it’s a case of keeping it live. There is a million people who want to buy our record so we can keep doing these gigs without a label, you win when you’re a real band and have people interested.

What does 2010 have in store? 2010 will hold for us…another great album! And that’s going to be better than the first one. More gigs and maybe a new member of the band, a new musician who can play a bit of everything but that’s only a possibility. Will that bring a change of direction? Not really…only a natural change of direction, we still want to be punk rock and roll, none of this teeny girly crap. Following the separation of Oasis, do you have plans to fill the gap left by them? We have no plans to fill the void left by Oasis, it’s got nothing to do with us, they were oasis and that was their band that’s what’s great about them because there’s no one else like them. There are bands with the same working attitude wanting to take over but all good bands have that, its irrelevant to us what oasis has done now, all we care about is what we want to do. What about the high and low points of your career so far? Only lows we have are personal issues, lows that come from home, like we might have fallen out with our bird. What we don’t like is the little twats that can dominate you, dominate whether you get press or not and get in your way. We’re happy we get on with one other, we never have falling outs, if we do we laugh about it 2 hours later. Our Highs…walking on stage supporting Oasis at Heaton Park, supporting Happy Mondays, going to Japan having thousands of people singing all your songs throwing themselves around like puppets at your gig. Making a record and selling it, seeing people come and buy it, making these songs, meeting new people. It’s all good. http://www.cheb7.co.uk/review.htm