Interview with Johnny Gunner
Autor: Ramis Abud Neto | Publicado: 2013-07-06T12:55:00-03:00


Here is the interview with Johnny Gunner, one of the greatest Rockabilly and Rock n' Roller in UK with his band, The Raiders.

First, Johnny is Steve Harris' cousin, the bass player and founder of Iron Maiden.




Steve Thorne© / 2013







Steve Thorne© / 2013


Blog: Hi Johnny, how are you? First I'd like to thank you for this interview!And for my first question, can you tell us a little about your personal life, where you born, etc?



Johnny: Yes, I'm great, thanks, and it's nice to hear from you! Well here's the answers to your question for the interview you have kindly asked me to do for you!
I was born in the borough of West Ham in east London in April 1965 and music played a big part of my family life, my mother's uncles played piano in the pubs of the east end before and after WW2, my grandmother and two of my aunts were singers too. I grew up listening to my parents records of the 50s and 60s who loved the songs of Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Little Richard, Billy Fury and Dean Martin.
My cousin is none other than bass player and founder of Iron Maiden, Steve Harris (our mums are both sisters).



Blog: Well, what are your main inspirations for making this sound so loud and so good? 



Johnny: My inspiration comes from the sound of the stripped down Rockabilly trio's of the mid 50s such as Elvis, Bill and Scotty, The Burnette Brothers and also small combo's that never made the big time but were an important part of the new sound that was sweeping the the USA at the time!



Blog: And your career, when did you start in music? When you had your first band and first gigs and recordings?



Johnny: I played in my first band back in the late 80s when after only a few months of playing guitar I joined a swing/jive outfit and played with them for two years. We toured Europe and recorded a 7" single too!



Blog: In which countries do you usually do shows out of the UK?



Johnny: We like to play in any country that will have us play there! But so far we have played in France, Germany, and Malta



Blog: I heard that you played in Hemsby 47, right? How was it?


Johnny: Yes we have played Hemsby, that was two years ago and we were given the later saturday afternoon spot where we went down a storm and made some new fans too who came to see our live show!



Blog: Released some official disc? If yes, on which label?


Johnny: We have a CD out of 12 self written tracks all by myself and half of one by my drummer Mark Hewitt, called "Atom Bomb Love" it's on Foottapping Recs and can be bought from them on there website, or from us directly. It's also available on eBay too!


Blog: How was the experience of having recorded a clip?

Johnny: We also have a great youtube video out too which we filmed a few years ago, it's features one of our songs called "The Grim Reaper"
please do check it out, enjoy and give us a few more hits!


Blog: I also know that you had a song played on BBC. Your music is popular in your country?

Johnny: We were lucky enough to get onto BBC local radio for a live session and interview which was a great experience for us! No, our music is quite underground in the UK and we struggle to get enough airplay or publicity to try and make it popular! All we can hope for is that one day the movers and shakers in the media will see sense and make our style and sound a little bit more popular with the public!


Blog: Well, you have collection of anything? CDs, Vinyls, guitars?

Johnny: I have a small modest collection of CDs and vinyl which i treasure and love to play when i can! I don't have many guitars, just the ones I play on stage: Epiphone ES-295, Fender Telecaster, Les Paul Junior Copy and my first main guitar, a Jazz semi acoustic made in Germany with a Gibson neck, I also have an acoustic guitar and a double bass.


Blog: What is your favorite guitar to play in your shows and tours?

Johnny: My favourite guitar that I play in my shows is my beloved Epiphone ES-295 !!

Blog: How is the Rockabilly scene in your country?

Johnny: The rockabilly scene in the UK survives underground but we do have regular shows and weekenders all over the country and are mainly well attended by fans from all over Europe and the world even!

Blog: I would like to thank you for your attention and as a last question, do you have any message to pass to the new people who are getting into the scene?

Johnny: I have been into the scene in Britain for many years and have seen things change, people come and go and gigs and venues start up then fade away, but I can't say what it's like in your country but I know from my experience here is that I wouldn't change a thing ever and I love the music, the people and the scene and I feel privileged to have been part of it for all these many years but the only advice that I can give to anyone new coming into the scene is to find what you like, don't be afraid to like what you like and not what others like and above all enjoy this fantastic music and great scene to the full! Have fun!
I would love to wish all our fans from all over the world all the very best to you and if you are new and haven't heard or seen us yet then I send you a warm welcome to our music our video's and maybe even one day to one of our live gigs! All the best and warmest regards, Johnny Gunner and the Raiders.




That was the Johnny Gunner's interview, a great guy for sure.





Check out their album "Atom Bom Love" at the best online stores:




Amazon


eBay

Raucos Records

Bear Family



Their sites and social media

Myspace

Reverbnation 

Twitter

Facebook



And watch and listen to theis songs below.





&nbsp;“The Grim Reaper”





&nbsp;“Let er' Roll”





“Reconsider”