artist Johnny and the G-Rays

from Attic Records press release for Johnny and the G-rays LP "Every Twist Reminds" 1980 "We're somewhere between cavemen and spacemen; jumping around with pieces of wood and wire." John MacLeod's eyebrows poke out from under the scraggle of hair that clings to his forehead. His thick lips curl back in a smile, "some of these sounds are billions of years old." This is G-Rays logic. And this is Johnny talking; a brooding enigmatic figure ... a kind of scrawny cage to a smoldering emotional fire. And it's not knowing when it'll flare up and explode that keeps Johnny and his audience on the thread of danger; a balance buoyed by the blend of American rock laced with Continental lyricism that is the G-Rays sound. "Well," says Johnny wryly, it's also an attempt to coax unique tone possibilities from a two-guitar -bass-drums and voices line up." "On stage, I'd say we've stylized what I call the 'Graceful Lurch' in 'who robbed the scarecrow' wardrobes." Stage banter aside, Johnny's musical origins trace back to his early years in Thornhill, Ontario. "With people our age, playing guitars is the mode of expression you can deal in. When I was a young kid, I realized that it was something I could do, that I could be interested in." Johnny began university at 17, and "not finding much success," packed up for England. "It's almost like a hobby isn't it, England to some people. I was there for almost two years and really grew up." Soon Johnny found himself working with trade shows for the likes of Ozzie Clark and Zhandra Rhodes, "and falling in love with these beautiful people who would sort of see me as a guy just dressed in rags not in any romantic sense, but because I couldn't afford any better. It makes you know yourself more, and plus," he winks, "I got this sharp accent over there too." But it was working on the road with British pop bands that fueled his desire to front a group. "I thought, 'well, if they can do this, so can I,' you know?" cont .... /2 Johnny's return to Canada found him at the helm of The Country Lads, an odd assortment playing country standards in sharp contrast to their Ontario College of Art friends caught in the frenzy of the new punk underground. It was ironic that during this nascent period, The Lads shared an OCA bill with The Eels, a punk group featuring two future G-Rays, guitarist Harri Palm and drummer Bent Rasmussen. Palm quit, immediately following the gig, but Bent stayed on to see The Eels re-align themselves into The Diodes. The Finnish-born Harri, 24, met up with Johnny, 26, months later in a bar. Both were without bands. "I was having some difficult times with my life when I ran into him," recalls Johnny. "We were both sitting there drinking and moping, "recalls Harri. "So I went up to Johnny's place where he played me these songs on acoustic guitar. They sounded pretty weird at first but then we just started playing and that's how the G-Rays formed, I guess." The group was rounded out with Denmark-born Bent Rasmussen, 25, on drums ("he's the only cute one in the band," says Johnny. "He believes he's in The Monkees.") and Bob MacDonald, 29, on bass (Bob's background includes working with Harri on Interspecies Recordings for Toronto's famed Music Gallery). The result of these experiences is a striking debut LP produced by Iggy Pop/David Bowie guitarist, Stacy Heydon. John MacLeod's songs are tinged with the murky depth of mystery; like the chilling confessions in "Every Twist Reminds," the title track; the vagueries of "Live With The Shame" and the catalogued surrealism of "The Trails Of My Skin." Some of it rings with an almost rambling beatnik quality; paired as it is to the Yardbirdslike rave-up of "It Can't Be Right" and the Cropper/Stax rhythm tug of "Time Has Made Me Stay." Throughout, it's the gnarled poetry of John MacLeod that is the marrow of the G-Rays, the fire that will not cool. Maybe in the early '60s you could re-invent yourself. Now you can't call yourself Bob Dylan. You can't claim to have bummed around for a million years to be able to write songs. You have to be a bit more real than that. "

Robert Macdonald Bass Player
Harri Palm Guitar Player
John Macleod Lead Vocals/Guitar
Bent Rassmussen Drummer