Interview with..........        Johnny Heywood

By The Critic c. 2003                                                                                                   Back

 

Critic:    Johnny, how are you today?

Johnny H:     I'm very cool, thankyou, Critic.

Critic:    .....and thanks for agreeing to do this interview.

Johnny H:     You're very welcome. I think it's important to let the fans know a little bit about what's going on in the wacky world of Burn... just what it all takes to keep the mighty machine rolling.

Critic:    Uhh, yeah, right. Well then, Johnny, what started you off playing music?

Johnny H:     Did the recorder at school, followed by clarinet and piano. Then, I heard Deep Purple's Made In Japan when I was about 14/15 and that made me pick up my brother's guitar to learn a few chords. I had friends who also played guitar so I switched to playing bass and singing so that we could have a school band. We practiced in the school rehearsal rooms in between classes - really serious. We thought we were great. God, we were crap! I have tapes to prove it.

 Critic: Wow! So then you eventually met Rob and started Burn? 10 years ago!!

Johnny H:    Yes. We were introduced by Tom Dussek, keyboards with Soul Purpose with whom I was bassist/singer. We fancied playing some covers on the side. Oh dear, 10 years trapped on stage with Sas's guitar. Would have got less for murder. Tom played keys till he went into some cabaret band and made lots of money. Now he is married with kid, receding hairline and expanding waist band.

Critic:    Fantastic! I believe the drummer was replaced too?

Johnny H:    Definitely. We should have seen it earlier. At a Halloween Gig he dressed up as a Glam Rocker but used the make up just a little too well. He also hit the drums far too limp wristed so, for purely musical reasons, we sacked her -  umm, him.

Critic:    Phew! Now he wears a dress and sits to pee?

Johnny H:    I don't want to think about it. I shared a room with him once, you know. On tour in Denmark.

Critic:    Great! What do you think of your critics who think the band is playing outdated music?

 Johnny H:    Well, Critic, really I think that music is the least of what we're trying to do. We're expressing ourselves in the only way we know how to. When I play bass, I feel I'm the foundation of a big house and it's up to me to hold it all straight and stop it falling down when the wind blows hard. When I sing, I feel like a mighty lion running through the jungle after an antelope in an effort to put dinner on the table for my fellow lion family associates. This is not the same for Ross who beats his drums instead of his wife and kids and Rob isn't really playing fast guitar to an audience. He is actually waving his willie at them. Honest. That's what he's doing. Typical lead guitarist.

Critic:    Incredible!

Johnny H:    Yes it is.

Critic:    Tell us about your bass playing.

Johnny H:    Well, Critic, almost all my bass playing is improvised. I can actually improvise my bass lines while I am singing. This is quite hard. Unfortunately, sometimes I improvise a different song from the one I am singing. That's not so good. Fortunately, because my Bass is quieter than certain other band members, a lot of people reckon it's the guitar that has gone wrong.

Critic:    Err, Rob reckons your bass is louder than Hiroshima.

Johnny H:    Well. ....he's a big fan of Blackmore and hears only guitar, so if ANY bass is audible at all, then it's too loud.

Critic:    Super! Where do you see it all going in the future?

Johnny H:    Good question, Critic. I see myself, in a few years from now, playing my Double Bass "Colin" in some sleazy, little jazz club, still grooving and making music. Or perhaps at a rehab clinic, you never can tell. Wherever it is, I'm sure I'll be doing it with Rob and Ross.

Critic:    Fabbo! What a great thought. It's an endearing image, isn't it?

Johnny H:    Do you think? Christ, I've just depressed myself.

*****

Many thanks to Johnny for doing this interview. Now read ROB SAS and ROSS ELDER in conversation with The Critic.