Johnny: part 2.

One of the coolest thing I've observed and learnt about Johnny is his deep respect for his bandmates and his passion and enthusiasm for music and the business in general, even if it does stress him out from time to time! I asked Johnny the following question; Just how cool is it to be in this band and play with such awesome musicians? ...and here's his reply; "It is so much fun. Nate is such a gifted songwriter and guitarist. I was his guitar tech briefly when he was in the Bosstones and would watch in awe. To be next to him every night is truly an honor. Mikey plays the bass the way a bass should be played, not too busy and with rythym and personality. Joe Sirois is without a doubt my favorite drummer, very energetic and animated. Everytime he plays you can tell he loves what he does. Jamie is a great drummer as well. A gifted rock drummer...we're really lucky to have him." The support of The Kickovers already loyal and growing fanbase means the world to Johnny and indeed the whole band...when I asked how Johnny felt about the level of loyalty the fans had shown he replied with; "The loyalty at this early stage is so awesome! If we have a show that I'm not freakin' over or I'm having a bad day, I go to the guest book and it really cheers me up! It really makes us work harder and play for all our fans." The band have been surprised by the fact that Osaka has been so warmly received so soon... "I knew it was a good record and I knew we put on a fun show but I figured it would take a bit longer to catch on." Regarding the online following for The Kickovers and the flattering messages people leave on guestbooks; "It is weird because right out of the gate we had people that seemed to be dedicated fans. I am shy and have a low self esteem so it's pretty cool to read nice things about you." Inspite of being a little shy, Johnny makes an extremely confident musician onstage and off...he just finds it weird when people say stuff online about how cute he is!!!

Outside of the band Johnny is an incredibley loving and devoted father...a complete family man. I once asked how he liked to spend the little spare time he got, did he have any hobbies, etc? The response was typically Johnny; "My hobbies are pretty much my children. Isabella's first birthday is May 29th. Marilyn will be 7 in July." He's also very honest and upfront about his family, making sure they are very much his priority...understandabley he's completely devoted to his kids; "Being a dad is the coolest thing in the world. I have a 7 year old named Marilyn from a previous marriage (I was young, booze was involved, and I was in Reno!) She's the coolest, I teach her to skateboard, she calls me the raddy daddy! At the River Rave she was signing autographs with us and hanging out with all the rock stars. She loved it. She goes to school and gives Kickovers stickers to all her friends, she may be the youngest member of Team K.O! Isabella is my 1 year old daughter, she loves music too. I put her to sleep by playing guitar and singing her Replacements tunes. Fatherhood is the most rewarding thing in the world, when Marilyn was born I had a reason to do something with my life." Isabella is probably the cutest little girl you could ever wish to meet...especially when she's at the side of the stage, with her earplugs in as she's watching her daddy play, she's totally adorable.

A few random facts about Johnny; coincidently he collects snowglobes and other assorted kitsch items...just like I do! Johnny is also responsible for me rediscovering The Pogues after all these years...through a very specific song with strange and coincidental reasons that hold memories from both of our teenage years! He's undeniabley cool...probably the coolest guy on the planet...honestly! I say that all the time because IT'S TRUE! Another strange or useless fact, this time about Johnny's first car; "I owned a '77 Chrysler Cordoba, a pimped out mack daddy luxury car when I was 18." Just how cool is that? Sorry but it's all about the cars, tattoos and music to me! He's also pretty good under pressure, he will of course deny this but after spending quite a lot of hours at the Lost City Angels CD launch shows in Boston on September 21st I actually beg to differ; "You've just seen what it's like being John Rioux for a day!" he announced! Very busy, but he didn't stress out once...well, not that much anyways! I told you; he's good under pressure! I've noticed Johnny is an incredibley busy person...always! So many fingers in so many pies...if he isn't rehearsing and recording with The Kickovers then he's working on one project or another with HRC or LCA...the poor little thing barely has time to sleep! Sadly Rioux's busy schedule has left him no time to tour with The Disasters recently...which sucks...but check out the video for "Give Em The Boot" because it's really funny...well, it makes me laugh!!! My funny story about that video; I was at home, watching TV as you do, when that video came on and I'm sat there thinking "Dude, that's my buddy John on TV..." and I burst out laughing...a few days later I was talking to John about it and he asked me if I laughed at him...after a slight pause I finally gave in and admitted that I did laugh...well, wouldn't you?

Other random stuff; Comments from The Kickovers...Nate; "Johnny is ATTACHED to his cell phone." (very true). Jamie; "Johnny gets freaked out if you use your hands while talking." Mikey; "...stunning good looks, ability to talk on his cell phone and threaten the lives of many with his curious driving techniques." I'm going to keep my mouth shut about Mikey's comment because there are far worse drivers out there...! Mikey also had this to add; "By the way, Johnny is afraid of pie. I on the other hand, am not." Mmmmm, curious! Well, I can't really comment about the pie situation but I will add thats he's definitely not afraid of chocolate!!! But then, who could be afraid of chocolate?

Um...what else can I say without getting into trouble? Did I mention the embarrassing story about when he went to the bathroom in his pants in the 2nd grade? Oops...sorry John!

Onto some real news...Johnny is now playing with the Street Dogs. The Kickovers are taking a hiatus of sorts (well sort of...) and amongst a million other things that occupy his time, Johnny is also lending his bass playing abilities to this new band featuring Mike McColgan, the original singer with the awesome Dropkick Murphys. Street Dogs plan to release their debut CD in late summer 2003 on Crosscheck Records...a debut CD produced by none other than our very own Nate Albert. The CD also features notable contributions by Dropkick Murphys' Ken and Al and Bosstones frontman Dicky Barrett. By all accounts it will blow you away...their demo is pretty amazing to say the least so my advice is to expect great things!

Okay...that last paragraph was written a lifetime ago, or so it seems!!! As I add this the Street Dogs have released their debut CD; "Savin Hill" and it is awesome, lives up to everything I heard from Johnny and Nate during it's recording. I've also had the good fortune to be able to return to Boston in October, and...yes, you guessed it...I got to catch the Street Dogs live at their CD release show. If I ever offer any advice, to anyone who may actually read this stuff, I would recommend catching a Street Dogs show...trust me on this one okay? Photos from that show will be added shortly...well, hopefully!