Exclusive Q&A with Canadian band Johnny Hollow

An exclusive web-chat with Canadian band Johnny Hollow’s cellist, Kitty.

Scout: First of all, tell me how the band came together.

Kitty: The band came together in 2 parts. Janine and I had been working on
musical projects for a while with other people and had decided we
wanted to go our own direction. At the same time she was working on
sound design for Vincent’s Mypetskeleton productions website so
eventually Vincent entered as a our design guru from that direction.
Steve our guitar player just joined the Hollow army about a year and a
half ago.

Scout: Tell us some interesting things which have been going on for the band.

Kitty: Well we’ve just released our first label album so there are lots of
exciting things going on these days. We’ve been working up our live
show playing as often as we can. We are currently in the process of
booking several small mini tours around Canada for the summer. We’ve
been gaining steady airplay around the country but have just been
played on the big rock station here in Toronto 102.1 The Edge. We are
about to be included in a new book by Mick Mercer due out this summer
and we’re working on our first music video. These are exciting times
for the band which up until now was a rather slow moving affair.

Scout: What are some goals for the band over the next 12 months?

Kitty: Well for us getting the live show is top priority. For many years we
were mostly an internet band since most of our fans were overseas.
Bringing our songs to a live audience is so exciting and we hope to be
able to expand this geographically very soon.

Scout: Let’s talk about the creative process. Is it collaborative, or does one
person come in with a skeletal outline for a track, and build from
there?

Kitty: For us the creative process changes for each song. Some songs are more
personal for a particular member so they end up being penned mostly by
one person, while other songs are created through collaboration. I
think it is our varied writing styles that allows the music to change
from song to song so easily.

Scout: What is the most enjoyable part of being in a band? Tell us about
gigging, writing, recording…what’s the best?

Kitty: I can only speak for myself but my favourite part is gigging. With
recordings the final mix is the final mix. If there is something you
don’t like you are stuck with it. While playing live, you can change
anything you want to and keep reinventing the songs over and over. Add
to that the energy from the audience and you can’t top it for me.

Scout: Can you tell me about the name Johnny Hollow? What does it mean?

Kitty: The band meaning has no particular meaning although if we went into
the whole process which is too long there is a reason for it. We like
to think of Johnny as a character that is all that is the very best
and the very worst of the four of us.

Scout: What are some common themes in the band’s mucic?

Kitty: I wouldn’t say we’re terribly overt about any one particular subject
but throughout the album there are touches of politics, personal
demons, failure, deception, hurt, protection, religion .. you know..
really happy stuff. smile.

Scout: How about inspiration? Where do you find it?

Kitty: I think we all find our inspiration in different places. For me I find
it in the people I meet, the things in life I don’t understand and the
parts of me I’m still discovering.

Scout: Tell us some of your career highlights…

Kitty: My career highlights are the moments when I get to meet someone young
that is inspired by the music I create. I remember being them and
thinking that my idols were these unreachable people. It is nice to
give someone a hug, be real to them and hope they pass it on.

Johnny Hollow’s new album, Dirty Hand is available now through Red Eye Records, and online via the band’s website.