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Johnny Vamp: Charm City glamstar! |
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 Thanks to the success of KIX and
fellow Baltimore based major-labelers, The Ravyns (as featured on
The Fast Times At Ridgemont High soundtrack!),
Charm City developed a thriving
original music scene in the early '80s. This hodge podge of bar bands
were well promoted in local music rags and record stores across the
city. As if the neighboring and well documented DC hardcore scene never
existed, countless bands emerged from their garages in the Baltimore
suburbs with MTV hopes in their heads and leering sights set for the
budget bin at the mall's Camelot Music.Of all the well-moussed, Merry Go Round-attired pop stars making the rounds in the Balto. area, few caused as much excitement amongst local poofters as The Vamps. Formed by guitarist Jimi K, vocalist Johnny Vamp, and bassist Steve Mach, these teenage troubadours quickly ditched their new wave covers set for a full on glam pop assault on the Baltimore music scene. Coming on like the bastard children of Hanoi Rocks, The Raspberries and the Ramones, The Vamps became the yardstick in which countless local hairspray junkies would measure themselves. By the late '80s they fucked off to NY, changed their name to Skin & Bones, and geared up to surf the Flash Metal tidal wave. By 1990, with drummer and Flash Metal mainstay Gregg Gerson in tow (Adam Bomb, Billy Idol, Steve Jones, Atomic Playboys) the band quickly nabbed a record deal and looked to tap into some well deserved Flash Metal fame and fortune. But like so many others of the FMS era, Skin & Bones fell victim to the shifting musical climate and their debut album "Not A Pretty Sight" was nowhere to be seen. The band released a cassette only independent follow-up in 1992 entitled "Madhouse" before finally calling it a day (Both albums were later issued on one disc as "Speak Easy" by Metal Mayhem Records.)  I recently tracked down frontman Johnny Vamp in Nashville where he
still writes and records under the less glam-spicuous moniker, Johnny
Vance. He's released a stack of CDs since the end of the '90s, including
the Christmas single, "Thru A Child's Eyes", (where he's flanked on the
sleeve by a festive cartoon mouse in Santa garb) and the albums "I'm No
Dummy" and "It's 2:30 Where Are You" which sees him merging a more mature
'90s singer/songwriter style with classic Powerpop. I couldn't
resist contacting Johnny to rack his brains about his early days in the
lipstick wars and find out what he's been up to since the
flash Metal
Suicide of Skin & Bones and what his connection with TV funnyman
Tom
Poston was really all about....So without further ado, ladies and gents,
Baltimore glam rock legend Johnny Vamp..err, VANCE!_____________________________________________________________________________________ |
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What sparked your initial interest in Rock n' Roll?
Growing up loving bands like The Beatles, Stones, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. It was pretty much a no- brainer what would become my career choice. When did you first meet fellow Vamps and Skin & Bones members Mach and Jimi K? When did you first form The Vamps? Jimi and I met in high school and pretty much became inseparable. Steve, we hired a few years later. |
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My first introduction to The Vamps was via the 98 Rock compilation LP from
1984 with "No Answer" on it. How long had you been playing out before the
comp was released? What impact did the release have on the band? |
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What a striving scene it was in the mid-80's
in Baltimore. So many great bands...any night of the week there was always
something going on. KIX- Absolutely love them! Probably the best band around at the time. I still rip off Steve Whiteman. He became my Front Man 101! Opening for them you could guarantee an audience of 2-3000 people, what a blast! Child's Play - Don't remember too much about them though we tried to steal their drummer, John Allen, when we were forming Skin n' Bones. |
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Ravyns- Another one of my local faves. They were very fortunate to have two fantastic songwriters in one band, Kyf Brewer and Rob Fahey. Kyf Brewer and I were the first to move to NYC and we were roommates for a little over a year. We still keep in touch to this day. Pardon the pun, but they literally took us under their wing. The Vamps became their permanent opening band for a period of a year or so. Toy Soldier - Was this Jeff Chance’s project? I know he came into some money from a club owner in Waco, Texas and made a record which Rob Fahey produced. They recorded songs from the area’s best songwriters including three from Jimi and I. I don’t remember them being a band though. Who else fom the Baltimore scene deserves a mention? We pretty much covered it, but there was a cool band called Fuzzy Lipstick. Do you remember them? Jimi’s younger brother Wade played drums for them. (Note; Fuzzy Lipstick were a Baltimore Glam club staple throughout the '80s along with Tommy & The Love Tribe who featured Danny Nordahl's brother Tommy as their singer.) _______________________________________________________________________________________ |
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I have some tapes of some Vamps shows and Vamp City demos...the songs were
great...how come there were never any Vamps releases? Actually, there was a cassette that we released titled "EKG". Our manager at the time, Ken Clark, designed a really great album cover with caricatures of each of us, and the resemblance was uncanny. We sold them at our shows, but they pretty much have become a collector’s item at this point. What prompted the band's move to NY in the late '80s? |
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I was the first to move in 1986 to work on a film soundtrack that became a
movie titled "Hell High". Jimi and Steve followed a few years later. Skin & Bones had a more Metal approach than The Vamps, what prompted the change in sound? Because Jimi Bones is one noisy little bastard (ha ha). In all honesty, he has a great sense of style and sound. He was pretty much the anchor or the group, much like Keith Richards with the Stones. I was much more concerned with being the best front man I could possibly be, because, as you probably know, the 80’s hair bands were judged by how good your front man/singer was. Who were some of your favorite bands you played with in the NY days? One of my favorite gigs we did in the city was opening for Dogs D’Amour…do you remember them? Oh, yes. Any memories of...The Throbs- Spent a lot of time with them. Bass player Danny is a really cool guy. Honestly, musically, I really didn’t care for them. The Electric Angels - I’ve known Jonathan Daniel from way back in the "Candy" days. Great songwriter. I enjoyed their band. Circus Of Power - They made a couple of good records for RCA. I didn’t know them that well. Cycle Sluts From Hell - They were a lot of fun, more of a novelty act than anything else. I remember every guy in New York had a crush on Rafael. Company Of Wolves - Once again back to Kyf Brewer. Can’t say enough good things about Kyf. _______________________________________________________________________________________ |
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 Who were some of the headliners you got to play with in the Vamps or Skin
and Bones? Any unique stories or memories about these shows?The Vamps opening for Joan Jett in Ocean City, Maryland and Skin n’ Bones opening for Badlands in NYC are two that are etched in my mind. Andy Taylor from Duran Duran fame produced the first Skin & Bones album which was recorded and initially released only in the UK. What was it like to work with a member of Duran Duran and record at the legendary Trident Studios? It was quite a rush to work with someone like Andy Taylor with the reputation he had with Duran Duran. As producer, he wasn’t as hands on as I thought he would be, but overall, a great experience. As far as Trident Studios, as I was recording my lead vocals, I remember looking around and thinking to myself, "This is where The Beatles recorded "Hey Jude" ! Pretty awesome! How come the album didn't get much promotion in the states? Was it ever even released here? Originally we were supposed to be on SBK Records in the states. For some mysterious reason, unbeknownst to us, they pulled out at the last minute. My feeling is that Andy was asking too much money for the rights stateside, but we’ll never know for sure. Our loyal New York fans had to contact London-based companies to track down the recording. We re-packaged and released "Not A Pretty Sight" on cassette and sold it at our shows throughout the Tri-State area. Of note: We have the distinction as being one of the last bands to appear on Vinyl. (note; I assume this is in regards to the Equinox label who originally released "Not A Pretty Sight" in the UK) I remember reading an interview in Kerrang! from around the time you were recording the album. Did you ever get to play any shows while you were recording in England? No we didn’t perform live in the UK. We didn’t know our way around too well, but I remember Andy Taylor always saying, "When in doubt, your Tube Stop is Victoria Station". From our flat we could see Buckingham Palace. I remember taking the Tube to London Palladium where we saw Alice Cooper. It was Thanksgiving 1989, but as you know, in the UK they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. We had the honor of hanging with Ian from The Cult. Great guy! The beer in the UK is "high octane" and sure fuels the fire! How aware were you of bands like The Dogs D'amour and London Quireboys who were huge on the London scene at the time? Dogs D’amour, (as I mentioned earlier, we did some shows with in NYC) Great Guys, love em! London Quireboys were one of my absolute favorites of the 80’s. Spike…what a great singer! I saw them once at the Cat Club in NYC and their stage setting resembled an English Pub. They were fantastic! When you put out Madhouse at 1992, Skin & Bones split up soon after...was there an actual point when you finally saw the writing on the wall that the scene was dying out? Was that why the band broke up? With the emergence of the Seattle scene, it was pretty evident that the hair bands were over. Actually, it was quite a relief, as we felt we had run our course and were looking ahead to new outside projects. |
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You went on to write songs for television and movies, how did you make the transition from glam rocker to Hollywood? What were some of the projects you worked on? Shawn Thompson, a friend I grew up with in Baltimore had relocated to Los Angeles and was working as an actor. I accepted an invitation from him to write songs for an upcoming series he was slated to star in. Little did I know the show turned out to be "The Heights" an Aaron Spelling, FOX Network hit TV series. This led to our collaboration of three songs for the soundtrack of a film starring Shawn titled West From North Goes South. The cast was quite an eclectic bunch including: Phyllis Diller, Larry Linville (Frank Burns from Mash), Tina Louise (Ginger from Gilligan’s Island), LaWanda Page (Aunt Ester from Sanford and Son). Even though The Heights only ran for one season, it really opened the floodgates for the start of my solo career.  What's up with Jimi K. and Mach? Are they still playing?Both Jimi and Mach are living in NYC. Jimi is in a million different bands. Still plays as great as ever. Some of his higher profile gigs include Joan Jett, Blondie, and Enrique Iglesias. These afforded him the opportunity to tour worldwide (Jimi was also recently spotted in the documentary "Tributary" performing as Jimmy Page in a Led Zep tribute act!) Steve, has a band called "Charm School". Pretty cool…a cross between No Doubt and Blondie. They play throughout the NYC area. (Steve Mach has played in a number of NY Punk bands also including the legendary PILLBOX and The Shakes) How did you wind up in Nashville? Tell me about your solo career and your new music? Feel free to plug whatever you want! I am planning my return to the New England/NYC area in the very near future. I’m really not a Southern Gentleman at heart! As far as my solo career (I’m enclosing a catalogue of my complete discography). I left Los Angeles to pursue my solo career. I wasn’t yet ready to return to NYC at the time and I thought "why not Nashville…it’s a music town, I didn’t know much about it, but felt it would allow me the solitude and tranquility to write and put together the pieces of what would eventually become "Johnny Vance" and J. V. Productions. I have since written and recorded five CD’s, put into motion my production company and continue to write for film and TV to this day. All of my professional accomplishments are channeled through NYC and my entertainment attorney, Jeffrey E. Jacobson of NYC’s, The Firm. My heart wasn’t really set in stone in the direction that Skin n’ Bones was headed. For me it was a means to an end, i.e., where I am today, a thinking man’s singer/songwriter in the vein of John Lennon, Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow…etc. _______________________________________________________________________________________  I tracked you down through the internet and checked out your
website...What's your connection with TV legend Tom Poston? I just saw him
on a Chip's re-run the other night!Funny Story: Tom’s daughter, Francesca, was the back-up singer for my group "Giggle" in LA. He graced our presence by actually being in the audience at one of our LA performances! I still keep in touch with Francesca to this day. Unfortunately, her mom, screen legend Jean Sullivan, recently passed away. Tom is still working all over TV and is married to Newhart co-star Suzanne Pleshette, it’s funny to hear Francesca refer to her as "mom". What were your top ten fave albums of the Flash Metal era? Singles? It’s hard for me to come up with 10-Fave Albums from that era, but I can point out a few: 1. I really liked what "Guns and Roses" were doing with "Appetite" and the two "Illusion" albums. 2. I think Def Leppard were the best band of the era! 3. Motley Crue’s "Dr. Feelgood" was a great record. Being an old-schooler, I prefer the legends, i.e., the Stones, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, and Tom Petty, who continued making great music throughout the 1980’s and to this day! If you could induct any 5 people into the Glam Rock Hall of fame who would you choose? 1. Jimi K. Bones: Like I mentioned earlier in this interview, He has such a great sense of fashion that "it’s ridiculous". He make’s any band he’s performing with 100% better. 2. ME, MYSELF and I: Need I say more! My own mother sat thru an entire show at Maxwell’s on Perring Parkway in Baltimore and didn’t recognize me thru the hair and make-up! 3. Steve Whiteman: Taught me everything I knew to be a frontman! 4. Axl! ____________________________________________________________________________________ |
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__________________________________________________________________________ -Adam T Sleaze Home |
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