Punk Globe: Tell us about your music making process.

John: It’s simple – I have an idea in my head, then I record it. I don’t sit down and try to ‘find’ a song. I have an idea, I know what it should sound like, and then I record it. Songs are vehicles. They take you places and then dump you by the side of the road on fire. You feel alone. You feel high. You feel downtrodden. You feel incensed. Most of my songs are arguments. I argue against myself and the world. I fight against death. I spend too much time in graveyards. Usually, I record the whole song, all the parts etc, then I take it to the band, they reject it and we re-work it in a format that works for us to play it live. Often we record songs which we never play live because some songs won’t let you play them. They exist in some alternative space between life and death. Notes from the Brink etc. Though I do sometimes think it would be good to play all our stuff live, it would probably kill me. Some of the songs are too hard, too lonely, too true. Mostly we just play the ones which have the highest energy and we ditch all the others. Anger is energy! 

Punk Globe: Who are some of your favorite indie artists?

John: Depends what you mean by indie really, but I love bands like The Drones from Australia, The Cosmic Psychos, Radio Birdman, Beasts of Bourbon etc, maybe you’d describe those as cult bands. Defo into bands like Viagra Boys at the moment, and saw the Lambrini Girls do an awesome set at Rebellion festival. Overall for me however the big hitters are still Dylan, Waits, Cohen, Zevon, Cave. Saw PIL again last night and they were great.  

Punk Globe: How often do you do live performances? 

John: For me, never enough. I enjoy playing with the band, which is harder to coordinate with 5 members etc, and higher costs. I need volume. I do solo shows, duo shows and guest stuff with other bands, but really my passion is for the Vistic 5 piece punk-rock band. I miss it when I don’t. I ought to say thank you more for every time we get to play. We did a bunch of festivals this year – the particular highlight being Rebellion Festival – and we do club shows throughout the year, a favorite place being Duffy’s Bar in Leicester which is always great, and The Golden Lion in Bristol. 

Punk Globe: Favorite local venues?

John: The Golden Lion, The Red Lion, The Thunderbolt, the Fleece, Crofters, Louie, Wolfs etc. There are so many in Bris! 

Punk Globe: What advice would you give new artists starting out?

John: Work hard, be excellent. 

Punk Globe: How often do you rehearse? 

John: Not enough. Everyone’s so busy! We usually ‘cram’ once we’ve got a few gigs booked.  

Punk Globe: Other than music what else do you like to do? 

John: Read books, watch films, listen to music. Reading Tolstoy’s heartbreaking last novel at the moment, alongside a biography of Bonhoeffer. Really into Korean films and series. I’m also slightly too addicted to doom scrolling on Twitter. (Don’t do it kids!) 

Punk Globe: Favorite local restaurant? 

 John: Renatos. But it closed during Covid and I’m petitioning for them to reopen! Otherwise, La Panza (in Thomas Chatterton’s beautiful old house) or Molto Buono on Park St.  

Punk Globe: Tell us a memorable music moment. 

John: So many. Briefly: Accidentally pissing off Mike Scott from The Waterboys by offering him a cigarette backstage. Playing Glastonbury Festival Pilton Party before Florence and The Machine. Playing gigs in Europe with the Vistic band (and others). Almost getting killed by Russian Sailors in Lithuania. Surviving decapitation out of the top of a tour bus with Crippled Black Phoenix. 

Punk Globe: Any upcoming shows or releases we should know about?

John: We’ve got our Humanz are Bastardz EP launch in Bristol on 11th Nov at the Red Lion (with some great other local punk bands), we’re playing Duffy’s Leicester on 4th Nov, and London Spice of Life on 2nd Dec. I’m doing a bunch of other solo and duo shows around then too.