From his high school band to opening for Rod Stewart, Johnny Gates has been on quite the musical journey in the lead-up to his forthcoming EP.
A regular fixture at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, he is now focussing on his solo career working with producer David Labrel (Ryan Adams, Lukas Graham).
With his EP ‘not a burnt cd’ due out this autumn, Johnny unveiled new track ‘cliche’ as a taster of the release with an insight into his powerful release.
Speaking on the motivation behind the track, Johnny said: “‘cliché’ is a song I wrote at around 2am in my apartment, immediately after a weekend of hanging with an ex. The song was written in about an hour and I recorded the vocal that night (sorry neighbours!). It’s my favourite song to play live and as a singer/songwriter, I really feel like it represents the true life, not always sunny, storytelling vibe I’m trying to represent as an artist.”
To celebrate the single release, Johnny shared with us five singles that shaped the release.
Ryan Adams – Shiver and Shake
I’m such a massive Ryan Adams fan and, with this specific song, I love how it starts with him playing an electric guitar and then the vocal comes in, the song just builds. The tones and the reverb all really set a mood. There’s something so cool about singer-songwriters playing on electric guitars, and I really wanted to channel that vibe on ‘Cliché’.
Phoebe Bridgers – Smoke Signals
I randomly stumbled upon Phoebe’s stuff when I moved to LA and was instantly just blown away. Her voice drew me in the second I heard it and as a lyricist, it’s the perfect mix of clever and conversation. In ‘Smoke Signals’ (and all of her songs), her storytelling and attention to detail is just so cool and so smart. Every single line just jumps out. “Singing Ace of Spades when Lemmy died, but nothing’s changed, LA’s alright”. I mean come on! That’s just so good! And with ‘Cliché’, it’s about such a specific event, that I wanted as much detail as possible and for it to feel conversational. Oh, and I love those baritone electric hits in the chorus of ‘Smoke Signals’. Phoebe is just so damn good…
Kings Of Leon – Revelry
Caleb Followill is probably my favourite singer out there right now. I’m just obsessed with the dude’s voice. It’s raw, there’s no other way to describe it. On “Revelry’, I love how he uses those falsetto parts. They’re so haunting. I also love how this song just starts with a vocal and an electric. Kings of Leon are by far my favourite band, and I love how they are who they are. I really try to channel that on stage, in the studio, and during the writing process.
Butch Walker – Bed On Fire
I moved to LA a few years ago, and around that time, my band decided to take a break. I really didn’t know what I was going to do, and then I got invited go to a Butch Walker show. He literally blew my mind. He played for like almost two hours, most of it solo, and it just inspired me to go at this thing alone. With ‘Bed On Fire’, he slays it live! His voice is wild and he’s such a good guitar player. The song has its own life live, and that’s exactly how I want these songs to sound like when you come to a show. I want them to just be in the moment, every single time. With Butch, I’ve seen him a few times live now, and even had the opportunity to open for him last fall, he slays. Go see him live when he’s in your city!
Soccer Mommy – Still Clean
So I discovered Soccer Mommy when I saw that she was opening on tour for Phoebe Bridgers. Obviously, the name is rad, and the first song I heard was ‘Still Clean’, and I was all in. I love how it’s just her and her electric. Most of my EP is exactly that, and when I heard ‘Still Clean’, it was really inspiring and honestly refreshing to just hear a song that way. The production stuff happening is super cool too. The random swells and noises and I love that one random chorus that is kind of isolated on acoustic at around 3:13. I think we’ll be hearing a lot more from her!
You can listen to ‘Cliche’ below via Spotify: