Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1981)
Johnny and the Distractions Making it at an American Tradition It’s an American tradition: the regional cult band. A band plays bars all over a region and, with luck, talent, and sheer hard work, builds a following. Fans of the group predict national fame and fortune: “These guys have gotta make it. They’re at least as good as any other group out there." Occasionally a band will actually manage to break out of cult status and score hits on a national level. Most don’t. A year and a half ago, Johnny and the Distractions —then made up of singer/ rhythm guitarist/frontman Jon Koonce, lead guitarist Billy Feldmann, keyboard player Gregg Perry, bassist Mark Larue Todd, and drum mer Kip Richardson — seemed ready to do it ail They’d been playing bars throughout the Northwest, and their high energy shows had garnered them a fana tical following in Portland, Eugene, and Seattle. Two in dependently pressed singles ( “Deep in the Night/ Diamonds This Time," and “Guys Like Me’V'Rock Me Tonight”) were getting airplay. The songs were good, the playing was hot, and the fans were exper iencing the standard cult dream: Johnny and the Dis tractions would sign a record contract, put out an album, shoot up the charts, and take over the world. But 1979 went out without a record deal, and by the summer of 1980, the band was beginning to stagnate. The live shows were still ex cellent, but there seemed to be no progression. Johnny and the Distractions didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Then ex-Nad guitarist Mark Spangler was added, and Billy Feldmann even tually left the group. Feld mann’s defection was the re sult of an ego clash within the band. He was writing his own songs, songs Koonce says were at odds with the rest of the band’s material: "We did some of 'em, and we made’em fit because we did’em our way, but there were some musical differ ences, changes that needed to be made for his material.” Koonce says that a major part of the problem was due to the band’s heavy schedule: ’’When you're playing five nights a week, you don't have much time to rehearse, which means you can't change things around as much. And when you do the same songs the same way night after night, you get tired of 'em, and they actually start to sound worse. Now we're not playing as much, and we’re making more time to rehearse.'' The effort has helped im mensely. During their most recent appearance here, in early December, Spangler’s place in the band seemed much more clearly defined. Much of the slack created by Feldmann’s departure has been taken up by Gregg Perry’s piano and organ, which Koonce calls "my ul timate weapon. They plow up more dirt than any wall of guitars ever could.” Some erstwhile concert standards have been dropped, while others such as "Octane Twilight" and "City of An gels” (which now boasts a piano-and-vocal opening) have been substantially rear ranged. Koonce promises more changes in the band during 1981. The release of their first album helps the group's momentum. Recorded at Kaye-Smith Studios in Seat tle, the record was originally supposed to be out in Oc tober, but distribution prob lems kept it out of the stores until December. It's an in dependent release, though Koonce hopes a major label will pick it up if it sells well enough. Johnny and the Distrac tions, as the album is known, was cut while Bill Feldmann was still in the group. Span gler plays on only one song, “Broken Heart." Thus, while it gives a good indication of the band's range of material, it’s not a completely accurate representation of their cur rent live sound. The album also brings up the dreaded Bruce Spring steen comparisons. Koonce, through an act of God, hap pens to posess a voice bear ing a remarkable similarity to Springsteen’s. He's been hounded so much by the comparison that he some times brings the subject up himself in interviews just to get it out of the way. He says he doesn't like The River,” Springsteen's latest release — too many “car songs” for his taste. Koonce’s criticism, and his defensiveness about what he calls "the whole Springsteen thing," loses a bit of validity when one ex amines Johnny and the Dis tractions. Of nine songs, three ("Shoulder of the Road," “Octane Twilight”, and "In the Street”) could be pegged as “car songs” from their titles alone. Others mention cars of the street in their lyr ics. Nothing wrong with that — all of them stand up on their own. But when all of it is combined with the picture of the Coupe de Ville on the back cover, one really has to wonder. It would be a mis take to dismiss Koonce as a "Springsteen clone”; he's far more than that, and he deserves to be heard “and judged on his own consider able merits. If he ever wants to escape that label comple tely, however, he would be well advised to find other subject matter for his songs, or at the very least avoid the really unneccessary refer ences in his cover art. You can, however, pick your nits wherever you find them. Johnny and the Dis tractions is still one helluva good album. Bill Feldmann is a wonderful guitarist, and since it may be years before he records his own album, I for one am grateful that his work with the band has been preserved on vinyl. Both "Guys Like Me" and “Rock Me Tonight" appear on the album in versions superior to those on the single. Most im pressive among the rest are “Rosie", "Octane Twilight”, and "Broken Heart," which gives an indication of how Spangler will sound on the next album Johnny and the Distrac tions' next Eugene appear ance is scheduled for Jan uary 22, 23, and 24 at Grand Illusions. At their worst, they still outclass any of the local competition. And at their best, they can hold their own with any band in the country. If they ever make it nation wide, those in attendance can say they sawem when they were still playing bars And if they don't, an evening of non-stop dancing is its own reward. Phil Bernstein Photo by Debb
