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TOP JOHNNY! (Rock)
AN EDGY, STYLIN' BLEND OF HIGH INTENSITY ROCK, HOUSE AND TECHNO MUSIC
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Other tracks by this artist
Surrender (Rock) 
H.I.P. (Rock)
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TOP JOHNNY!‘s immense sound is forged from a wall of Dance beats, techno-style synthesizers, catchy vocal hooks and searing Rock guitar riffs. Fusing a unique blend of Rock, Dance and Techno music with multimedia and stylishly costumed live performers, TOP JOHNNY! is also positioning itself as a crossover pioneer in the Club/Dance music market by releasing many of its songs in two formats; a “Rock” and a “TJ!’s ClubHouse” version aimed at the DJ, dance and after-hours club markets.
The band also released a music performance video of their album title song “Kick It!’ and constructed a custom multimedia web site where additional TJ’s ClubHouse remixes can be heard: http://www.TOPJOHNNY.com (best viewed at 1024 X 768 screen resolution)
“I love to rock out!" say TJ STAR, "but I also need a great beat! For me, the beat drives everything. And once you’ve got an irresistible groove, you’re more than halfway there. On the other hand the guitars in my music are all about rebellion and excitement! I’ll never grow tired of a good riff or catchy hook that latches on and pulls you in. But the bottom line,” says TJ Star, “is really about the show! If people are going to shell out their hard-earned coin for a concert ticket you’d better deliver ‘cause nothin’ spreads faster than word of a boring show……except maybe a mind-blowing one! I know which end of the spectrum I want to be on.”
""We also believe in giving something back to the world."" says TJ Star. ""That's why early on, my partner Mr. Positive(+) and I made the decision to contribute 10% of our CD, concert ticket and merchandizing sales revenues to the Planet Alert! Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to distribute those funds to local and globally recognized projects having the best chance of achieving lasting solutions to our planet's ecological and humanitarian challenges."" ""I guess in a way, we can say we're saving the planet......one show at a time!"" adds Mr. Positive(+).
TOP JOHNNY! welcomes all inquiries.
Contact: [email protected]
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EXCERPTS OF AN INTERVIEW WITH TJ STAR:
“Tell us about your show and music related goals.”
“A few years ago my partner Mr. Positive(+) asked me to do an exercise to visualize my ideal show. When I did, I saw a sea of people goin’ crazy, heads bopping, fists pumping, dancing and generally going wild with the music. After describing this vision to him in detail he told me “Then you know what you gotta’ do!” And the rest, as they say, is history. Or I should say, Top Johnny!”
“I wanted to make super intense and exciting live music that would floor people. To put on a show that I wished I could have seen when I went to a concert hall. In fact that’s what I was thinking of when I wrote “We Are Live”, which is really the very first Top Johnny! song. I asked myself if I were to walk into a concert hall right now, what would blow ME away? “
“My objective is to inspire people to move to the music, vocally and physically expressing the intensity of the experience. Besides, people these days spend a lot more passive entertainment time at home with their TV’s, DVD’s, video games and the Internet however when they go out to see a concert, they want to feel transformed, invigorated, alive and rejuvenated by the experience. So our objective was and is to have our audiences leave a Top Johnny! show feeling thoroughly satisfied and somehow transformed…. kinda’ like that feeling you get when you leave a movie theater after a really good film and somehow it’s the outside world that appears surreal. To accomplish this, we set our standards high to make sure that a Top Johnny! show was as much a ritual of sight and sound as well as being a high intensity, multimedia extravaganza!”
“My own musical inspirations came from artists like Kiss, C&C; Music Factory, Billy Idol, Public Enemy and Metallica to name a few. I was always blown away by the energy and detail that bands like Kiss put into their show and I guess Top Johnny! became our way to doing more and giving more than most bands think is necessary. I also wanted to do this in the absolute biggest and best way I could because I am not in this business to show people what a clever boy I am but to connect with the audience, hopefully millions of people worldwide. And I also wanted to prove that Top Johnny!’s music and concerts could be edgy and fresh without having to use profanity or crooked sexuality to get our point across.”
“When I was 10 years old, on the cusp of adolescence, Kiss really changed my life. I had no way to channel all of the tumultuous emotions that I was experiencing so basically I was on the path to becoming a real delinquent. That band gave me something to hope for, something to look forward to. I learned the guitar by playing Kiss ALIVE! over and over and over until I could pick out the parts by ear . It kept me out of trouble and in the end gave me a ton of self-confidence. I became a different person as a result of the inspiration Kiss gave me and I hope one day my music will also inspire a young person to pick up a guitar instead of a gun.”
“Why did you call the band “Top Johnny!”?
“Quite simply because of the name’s excitement factor. It possesses pure kinetic energy! And in a way Top Johnny! also represents the average person, who through hard work and perseverance can reach the top of their game. I also felt that it would be a great challenge billing yourself by that name because if you’re going to call yourself Top Johnny! you better not suck! You better be good!, REALLY GOOD!!! So if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing it all the way “to the top”.
“What’s with your TJ’s ClubHouse music style?
“Although my music is predominantly Rock oriented all the songs start with some kind of dance beat, I want to be able to connect to a larger cross section of music lovers out there. By making our music more accessible to Clubs and DJ’s, I hope to also fit into the Dance music category. I love that four-on-the-floor throbbing, tribal beat! I prefer to call it ClubHouse Music instead of Top Johnny!’s live music because it can be thrown in anywhere during a party. I like to think of it as “Party Lube” music and I’m hoping DJs will get off on what we’re doing and eventually spin them in the clubs. I even indicated the beats-per-minute for each song to make it easier for them to sample and slip into their mixes. We are only releasing these songs on our web site although one of them was featured at the end of our debut album “Kick It!”. I put it there as the last song on the CD because if someone doesn’t like Dance music I’m hoping they’ll still find that one track interesting and let the CD loop around and play again. And finally, we are only offering TJ’s ClubHouse music to our fans on the Internet as a bonus for visiting our web site and taking the time to take a closer look at what we’re doing”
What message do you want to get out to your listeners?”
“The message I want to get out is a positive message. Top Johnny! doesn’t focus on negative things or put people down. The message is that there is always a way out, a way to come out on TOP, to persevere through your troubles, to be able to even overcome yourself. Although it’s not introspective music, there are a lot of subjective messages in TJ lyrics and I try to make it point back to the listener. The message is also to look within yourself for what you are looking for. Messages of self-empowerment are mixed with “let’s party!” messages because after all, we’re first and foremost a high intensity party band. But I don’t believe in victimizing anybody or using profanity or language that portrays backward sexuality in order to make my music more impactful. It’s a cheap shot and I think that mindset is inherently negative and as I said earlier, I strive to always deliver a positive message.”
“What drives you personally?”
“Top Johnny! represents a chance for me to live a life-long dream. A chance for me to reinvent myself as the man I always wanted to be when I was growing up. I want Top Johnny! to stand for excellence, truth, respect and fairness. It is completely value driven. Our organization will always strive to be a model of responsible business practices in terms of human rights, environmental concerns and ethical codes of conduct.”
“My goal is also to always ensure that the members of the Top Johnny! organization feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves, to feel accountable to the other members of the band and crew. It is a band of brothers and sisters, working together to realize a common dream.”
“On The Future?”
“We want to give musicians who haven’t had a chance for a fair shot at a real musical career get that shot. In that respect I see Top Johnny! as a great vehicle for a musical collaboration infused with different musical styles and influences as well as being a unique voice in it’s own right. It represents a chance for new talent to be discovered and give the next generation of “top” musicians and artists a fighting chance at fulfilling their career aspirations while providing a fair deal for everyone concerned.”
“I would like Top Johnny! to be a springboard to other projects for myself and any band members who see themselves in an evolving career. I also want to help discover the next “Top Johnny!” For the longer term, I would love one day to pass this torch to someone else and keep alive this dream of intense top quality entertainment coupled with ethically sound business practices.”
“Our aspirations are global and we’re ready to take the show to the four corners of the earth so everyone can experience Top Johnny!’s high intensity party. We want to get this planetary party started!!!”
“And finally, what’s with this Planet Alert! Foundation thing?”
“I’ve always been a firm believer in responsible business practices and in the principle of tithing, of giving back a portion of what you make. From the get go, we decided we needed a vehicle to do this so Mr. Positive(+) set up the Planet Alert! Foundation to make it happen. We believe we can make a difference by giving back to the environment that we all share. And we all share the same genetic code whether we share the same ideologies or not. In the end we made the decision to donate 10% of all our revenues from CD sales, concert tickets and merchandize sales to the Foundation in the hope that we would somehow leave this world in better shape than we found it. I think it was Marshall McLuhan who said - “There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew” and Top Johnny! is proud to count itself amongst that crew. |
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TOP JOHNNY! Lists the following Influences
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KISS, Lynyrd Skynrd, Billy Idol, C& C Music Factory, Metallica
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