Johnny Sincerely is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, recording engineer, live sound engineer, burlesque producer, emcee... and so much more. Johnny hails from the Minneapolis/St.Paul area’
He is a gentleman rogue, a troubadour extraordinaire and America’s favorite hopeless romantic. You’ve heard the rumors, and yes... they’re all true.
I discovered Johnny Sincerely when I was looking through new releases on amazon. I tend to look at album covers and based on that; I decide to listen to the music. I knew immediately I had a very good chance of liking the music since I loved the cover shot of Johnny sitting at the piano. I only had to hear the first 30 seconds of the first song to know, yes this was my kind of music. Then I watched the three music videos he made and I was certain I was watching a future Star!
After downloading the album, I did a little research and found out Johnny is a character who had been working as an emcee/entertainer in local burlesque shows until the pandemic closed everything down. This caused him to look for other ways to express his creativity, so he recorded this entire album by himself. I put the music on, and I couldn’t stop listening over and over again. The more I played it, the more complicated and better it got. This Johnny fella was a good musical find.
I reached out to him through his Instagram account and viola, before you know it, I was on the phone talking to him about the creative process and what’s ahead. The critics all agree, Johnny Sincerely has what it takes to stand apart and above!
"Screamin' Jay Hawkins meets Hoagy Carmichael..."
"A Combination of swaggering piano Blues and clever lyrical play…”
"Some Strange Amalgamation of Shakey Graves, Harry Connick Jr. and Bill Murrey’s Nick the Lounge Singer…”
"A strange, honest, and sometimes funny take on the Blue... A distinct voice..."
Alan Mercer: Johnny, your album is a modern masterpiece. I heard on another interview you gave that you wrote every song yourself, and also that some were written before you ever thought of recording this album.
Johnny Sincerely: I think about half of them were already written. Some of them did require a little tweaking to be able to fit into the overall vision, but they all come from the same sensibility for the most part. My musical interests and inspirations are what they are. It wasn’t a big reworking. I started focusing on piano during the pandemic. The guitar had been my main interest before then. So, the songs that I wrote specifically over the pandemic for this album were more piano based and written with that in mind. I wanted to be more of a piano artist, if I can call myself that.
AM: Are you saying you had not played piano before making this record?
JS: I had messed around on the piano and I knew basic chords, but I hadn’t dedicated myself to it at all. I decided to reinvent myself as a piano player, so I spent a lot of time figuring out how to make that work.
AM: But, Johnny, you play every instrument on your album. So, did you teach yourself how to play all those instruments?
JS: I’m entirely self-taught in everything. I’ve never taken a lesson.
AM: That is so impressive.
JS: I’m very focused and I tend to get locked into things. So, I played bass on all the tracks, but I couldn’t just pick up a bass and start playing anything else. Once you know one string instrument pretty well, you can figure out other ones. I have a solo ukulele song and I did know how to play it, but I drilled those chord changes. I play banjo on it, but as more of a percussion instrument. I’m not a banjo player. Once you figure out the different structures, it all falls into place.
AM: You are a recording and live sound engineer, so did you have experience with that?
JS: Yes, I did go to school for audio engineering. I knew the fundamentals, basically. It’s very different when you are recording yourself at home than it is when you are in school or in a recording studio. The fundamentals are there, so it was just a matter of figuring out what worked for the situation and then working with that.
AM: I think the album sounds like a musical number from opening note to closing note with eleven parts. How did you figure out song placement?
JS: It was what song sounds good following the song before. Because I had a strong vision for it, I had confidence that everything would work together, but I didn’t have an album structure in mind when I was putting it all together. I wanted it to ebb and flow and I didn’t want two songs that might sound similar right next to each other.
AM: I absolutely love the three videos you have created and put on YouTube. I love the black & white imagery and the women in the videos.
JS: The three different ladies in the videos are all local burlesque performers.
AM: Those ladies really add a lot to the videos.
JS: I think that art form translates very well to music videos. I want to continue to incorporate that into my art, without it being the focus.
AM: Is that it for videos or might you make another one from the album?
JS: If I do another one, it won’t be a full production kind of thing. To be honest, I’ve moved beyond this album now. I know that’s probably not the best way to promote or handle it in a business sense, but that’s how I feel. I probably should do another video from this album.
AM: That’s a common feeling I hear from artist all the time.
JS: I’ve put together a band now to support the album. I’d like to incorporate that more in any future visual products. We are going to do a concert film in November at a place that has a baby grand piano, so I can play on a real piano. I’m going to put a little production value in that one and release that.
AM: Will the concert be the same songs form the album?
JS: To be quite honest, half of the material we do is songs I’ve written that are not on the album. I think it works better in a live setting. I want to do a more raucous, fun show. I’ve got so much material that I’ve written so there is no shortage of new material that I think will fit better into a live show. When we put this out, there will be songs that may go on a future album that we’ll record with a full band.
AM: I would love to see your live show after reading about your comic skits. It sounds so good. I can’t believe you are so multi-dimensional and didn’t really pursue any of this until more recently.
JS: I also do a solo piano show and I call that neo lounge singer. It’s just me at the piano. I did a four hour show about a month ago. I have some comedic skits and audience participation stuff. Some of that will make its way into the band. That goes back to my days of doing burlesque shows and cabaret shows where I had to come up with short comedic pieces I could do in between acts. A lot of it translates well into a bigger show because it’s coming from the same character and ethos.
AM: I love the comparison of Screaming’ Jay Hawkins mixed with Hoagy Carmichael describing your show.
JS: I figure not a lot of people will know both of those artists. Obviously, music appreciators like you know them. Hopefully it will make people google these artists and learn how wonderful they are. It seems to fit into the theatricality and intensity of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and the songwriting and music sensibility of Hoagy Carmichael. These are both artists I respect greatly. The people that do get both those references are people that will get me.
AM: What has the reaction to the album been? I know it’s only been out about a month.
JS: I couldn’t do an album release show since I didn’t have a band at that time. The reaction has all been online. It’s been nothing but positive. It’s more of a slow burn than a big release. Because I’m starting from scratch, my hope is that people will start to see our live shows and then go back to this album. I’m thinking long term. I’m hoping people will look back at the album and understand it was the foundation of everything that Johnny Sincerely became. It all started with this hermit recording project where he just sat in his house for six months and worked on it. Everything else stemmed from that. I see it as a marathon, not a sprint.
AM: That’s the best way to approach it. Albums have a much longer shelf life now.
JS: With our new music business, it’s not like you have to buy the CD and then you lose it and never hear it again. The music is always there on streaming services and YouTube. It will always be there.
AM: I know this album was influenced by your time working in burlesque. Did you fall into it, or did you pursue that?
JS: Probably both. I fell into it because I was a sound engineer at a venue that hosted burlesque, drag and cabaret type shows and then through that, I got to know that community and fell in love with it. I was in an acoustic duo band that made a lot of noise. Even though we were acoustic, we played up-tempo, so it worked well for us to be musical features in those kinds of shows. That band became the music act of the monthly cabaret shows. They didn’t have a permanent host, so I said if they wanted me to host it I would. So, I started hosting and from there I started producing which led to me producing my own shows following that.
AM: Are you eying any future projects yet?
JS: I have enough material to record a second album, but I want to give it some space. I don’t really want to record the way I did. That was very time intensive and limiting. I’m proud of this album, but I think the next album will be a lot better because I’ll have more resources.
AM: That just makes sense. Shared input makes things better.
JS: For instance, I’m not a drummer at all. I mainly did the drums through a midi drum kit and pushed play, but the drummer I have now with my band is a percussion teacher at a university. He’s fantastic and the bassist is way better and the guitarist is a way better lead guitar than I am. As proud as I am of this album, it’s just step one. We’re only going to grow. So, to answer your question, I want to do a second Johnny Sincerely album. I’m working on a concept album that I’m in the process of writing, for three female vocalists. I would like that to be a stage show almost like a musical, but I don’t know if I want to call it that. That will be recorded, and I would like to perform that at fringe festivals. It’s more of a theater piece than a rock club thing.
AM: Do you like any other styles of music?
JS: I love Outlaw Country music and old school artists like Hank Williams Sr., who is one of my heroes. I have Country music that I’ve written that I would like to do sometime. My only problem is deciding what I want to focus on.
AM: You’re the type of artist who could go a different direction with every album. Why not?
JS: Exactly, why not? Is it the most commercially viable way to go? Probably not, but the moment that enters the equation, I lose interest. We will see. I definitely want to continue this Johnny Sincerely concept and build on that. I will be doing another album that has a similar feel, vibe and character.
AM: Will you self-release again?
JS: I started my own record label to release this, so whatever I do will be released on that. It’s called RisqueEsque Records. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but I like the way it sounds. I want to ride this as far as I can take it.
