Artist Spotlight: Johnny Key

Mild-mannered singer/songwriter Johnny Key didn’t discover his passion for making music until his mid-twenties, but it is never too late to learn to rock and roll as Johnny’s fans have found out. The naturally talented musician from Chattanooga, Tenn. discusses the wild rollercoaster ride of his experience touring internationally, opening for big name bands, and the risky mission of being a full-time musician.

JK: Well, I have actually played with several iterations of the band Atomic Eyes, the only person remaining from the original was the guitarist.  When you are a struggling artist/musician/band it is really hard to find that balance in your life and to keep your motivation level up, and some of the members just had other things become more important in their lives, which I can totally understand.  But yes, it is a lot different and harder in many respects when you are solo.  You definitely miss the camaraderie. That is such a big thing, it helps you through a lot of the tough times, and we all lean on each other for motivation and inspiration.  Having a band, means having, in most cases, four brains, four hearts and souls being poured into the music, which to me can help make things more interesting and diverse, and since the people listening to you are so diverse, I think it can help the music.  One positive thing about being solo is that you can write whatever you want, and maybe you aren't influenced so much by the styles of the people you are playing with.  I guess there is a sense of freedom in it.  So do I miss it?  Yes.  Would I form another one.  Yes.  I think one of the hardest things about forming a band is finding people you mesh with, who are on the same page musically, stylistically, and who have some common ground with you on your beliefs about life in general.  Otherwise it is going to be very hard to make things work.  And then there is finding someone who has all that, plus the time, drive, and dedication to make things happen.  Forming a band and keeping a band together is not easy.  It takes everyone to make it work.  There are a lot of talented musicians out there, but that is just a small part of it.           

JCH: Which do you like best: performing live, writing songs or recording?

JK: I would say performing live, because that is the opportunity to give your soul and art to people in real time, it's a culmination of all the work that goes on in the background that they don't see.  And it's really a good opportunity to express the passion you feel for the things you are saying.  That is especially true for spiritual music, which is what I consider my music to be.  Yes, there is enjoyment in writing and recording, finding those moments of inspiration, and feeling good about having captured it in a recording, but it is a lot more work than most people realize, and can be very frustrating.  Performing live doesn't seem like work, even though it takes a lot of work to make it happen.  Though you can have your moments of frustration live when things aren't clicking.    

JCH: You took a year off from your day job as an engineer to focus on music. Was that a scary time for you and your family?

JK: Actually it was almost two years, and yes, it was an uncertain time.  It took a lot for me to get up the nerve to leave, and there were those that thought I was a little crazy for doing it.  But money isn't everything, and I just felt like I had to leave to be able to focus more on the music.  Yes, it was a financial struggle that I am still dealing with the effects of, but I was able to get two albums done in that time and play shows that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.  I don't have any regrets about it. 
 
JCH: You started playing guitar and singing comparatively late in life and do you think that hindered you at all? I would imagine that it is easy to feel like a dinosaur when there are all these barely legal aged singers out there in a business that worships youth.

JK: Well, it definitely made things more difficult getting a late start.  I was already married with a daughter, and had a full time job, so I was trying to learn how to play, write, record, in what little time I could find.  I remember early on, when the band would play shows at a local club, and we would rush to get home from work, pack up all our stuff, go play for three hours, get home, unpack everything, and get to bed at like three am, and then have to get up and be at work at eight.  So yeah, I do wish I had gotten an earlier start, when I had more free time.  I would encourage anyone who is younger, without all the responsibilities to take full advantage of that time.  As far as my age affecting the demographic of those that listen to my music, well maybe it has to some extent, but I haven't really seen it. I have gotten feedback from young and old that could relate to the music, so I don't see it having a huge impact.   

JCH: What has kept you from getting discouraged?
 
JK: Oh, trust me, I get discouraged.  I think that is true with anything you are pursuing in life.  It's finding ways to work through that discouragement.  That's when you find out whether you truly love what you are doing, when your passion for it pushed you through all the tough times.  The thing about art, is that it shouldn't be measured, and when you find yourself trying to measure your success, comparing yourself to others, you are headed down the wrong path, you've got to be doing it because you are compelled to, for the love of it, not for what everyone else is going to think about it.  No matter how much success you have, even [with] artists that have a huge following, there are still a lot more people out there that don't care about your music [as much as you] do.  So I guess it comes down to understanding that not everyone is going to like you, and that's o.k.

JCH: Your old band Atomic Eyes talked with some major record companies. Tell me about some of your dealings with record labels. These stories are always the best!

JK: It's hard to get record companies to give you the time of day, so when they show any interest, yes it can be exciting.  Unfortunately it never worked out for us.  Well, I say unfortunately, but it could be fortunate depending on how you look at it.  I have heard some bad things from other bands that were on a major label.  How they control and change you, and they own your music.  It's not all it's cracked up to be.  Columbia showed interest in us after hearing an early four-song EP, and asked for some more material.  We threw some scratch tracks together and sent them and the agent was still interested.  We thought something was about to happen, and then the music industry hit sort of a downturn with the whole internet music boom, where everyone was getting music for free, Napster for example, and the record companies started downsizing to stay afloat. They were dumping bands and agents, and the agent we were working with got laid off.  As a solo artist I had some interest from a major Christian management company, but they said the songs I was writing were a little too secular, and they wanted to know if I could write some material that was more straight forward Christian music, more like Praise and Worship type songs.  I just didn't really feel comfortable with that, so I let it go.  I guess for me personally, I try to write what I feel at the time, and also try to look at things from other people's perspectives, and trying to understand how they feel, Christian or not, which isn't going to always fit into what people are looking for in Christian music.  I guess that's why I've never really felt that was the direction for me.  We are all spiritual beings, whether we accept Christ or not, so in that respect, there is a lot of spiritual music that can be written that doesn't fall in line with what people want in Christian music.     

JCH: What song means the most to you and why?

JK: It's hard to say one song means more to you than the rest. I feel like they all have a place and a time, depending on what you are going through.  But if I had to pick one, I guess it would be “Believe”.  Partly because my wife cried when she first heard me sing that song.  It's a song about hope when things seem hopeless, not being overcome in your weakness.  I think it's something that everyone can relate to at some point in their lives.  Someone wrote me saying it kept them from committing suicide in a dark time.  That kind of blew me away.  When you find out the meaning of a song actually reaches out and touches someone, that's as good as it gets.   

JCH: Do you think you would ever leave the Chattanooga area for a city with a bigger music scene like Atlanta or Nashville?

JK: Yes, I've thought about it.  I know it would be better for me to live in a larger city, where there are more venues, more musicians, just more opportunities in general for something to happen.  But my family is settled here, and I don't feel like it would be right to drag them around for my personal pursuits.  I think it's good for my daughter to grow up in the same school, with the same friends, and family around.

JCH: What are some of your favorite bands right now?

JK: That's a hard one.  I haven't really gotten caught up in one band in particular. There is so much good music out there.  It's more like I'll here a particular song, and think, “Wow, that is amazing.”  I guess I can think of a few bands that I've heard some amazing stuff from the last few years…..Filter, Keane, Travis, Ours, Tori Amos, Audioslave, Alterbridge, David Grey, Tonic. There's just so many.  Some of the older artists that I like are REM, U2, Journey, James Taylor, Elton John, The Police/Sting, Genesis/Phil Collins.      

JCH: Although you are not a ‘Christian singer’ but rather a singer who happens to be a Christian, have you ever had situations that tested your faith or were afraid of compromising who you are spiritually in this very worldly business? 
 
JK: I guess I've been fortunate not to have to deal with much of that.  Our goal as a band, and for me personally, was to really stay focused on the music, and be as professional as possible.  When we were on the road it was so hectic, basically play a show, get to sleep and you are traveling again the next morning.  There just wasn't a lot of time for anything else.  I guess a lot of people get in trouble if they want to go out all night and party, which some of the other people we played with would do on occasion, but I just never felt drawn to that.  Not that I never stayed out late, and yes, there were girls that would flirt with you from time to time, but that was pretty much it.
 
JCH: Do you have a live band that performs with you on gigs? Is it important to you that they be Christians or at least share a lot of your values and morals?

JK: No, I don't have a backing band right now.  I haven't been playing out lately.  The last thing I did was last January, which was a two week tour in Korea with Drowning Pool and Tantric.  Talk about an odd mix.  Acoustic followed by hard core metal.  I actually opened that show by myself, just me and my acoustic guitar.  That was the first time I had played shows by myself and it was a little scary for me, especially opening for such great bands.  But it went better than I expected, the crowd seemed to really enjoy it.  But back to your question, yes, if I do have a band, it is important to share some of the same values and morals.  I mean I am fairly open minded, but you have to have some common ground to make it work.     

JCH: What was your worst gig and which was the best?

JK: Oh, there were so many bad ones. It's hard to say which one was worst.  I guess the one in Atlanta, where we had never seen or played the venue before, and when we got there they had like 10 bands scheduled to play, which they never told us about when they booked us.  We had come all the way from Chattanooga with all our gear.  We waited for a couple of hours, and they kept putting other bands ahead of us.  The sound system was horrible, the place was totally unorganized, and I think everyone in the place was trashed on either drugs or alcohol. We packed our stuff and left without even playing.  The best would probably be opening for Collective Soul in Hawaii at Bayfest.  Great Stage, great sound system, and around 20,000 people in the crowd.  I thought we put on one of our best performances there.   

For more info on this artist, visit: www.johnnykey.com