Spring Break
Jonny Lives! More Alive Than Ever
CD Review
Ashley McGown
Issue date: 2/28/07 Section: Focus
Stemming from New York City's East Village, Jonny Lives! is a band that utilizes its roots for all they're worth and has been widely recognized as a truly New York band. Spin.com has labeled them, "the soundtrack to the city." They are also referred to as, "downtown bar punks" by "The Village Voice." But can Johnny Lives! transfer their live urban energy into an album that attracts listeners nationwide?
This album proves that Jonny Lives! indeed lives for New York City.
"The East Village of NYC is our muse," said lead singer/guitarist Jonny Dubowsky in the band's press kit.
"People are up to no good every night; there's a copious amount of debauchery going on, and it's all inspiration for our music. The band is out almost every night writing about life as it happens, mostly at 3 a.m., when people are performing lewd acts in public places," he said.
The members of Jonny Lives! have used their urban upbringing, as well as lessons on hotel-trashing and binge drinking from the likes of Dave Grohl, to ingrain a "sleazy, psychedelic groove," as Dubowsky refers to it, in their music.
Although this is the first album put out by Jonny Lives!, Dubowsky has been playing gigs in NYC clubs like CBGB since he was 13. He graduated from New York University with top honors as a philosophy and literature student, which he said has influenced his songwriting. Dubowsky said that Marcel Proust and Walt Whitman have inspired his songwriting just as much as The Rolling Stones and The Kinks.
Like many upcoming bands in this day and age, Jonny Lives! has used the Internet, and sites such as MySpace, as a catalyst for its popularity.
"With the radio dying out, putting your music online is the way to go," said guitarist Christian Langdon, in the band's press kit.
With a spot on the soundtrack of "National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj," a nationwide tour alongside Everclear and a cameo from The Strokes' Nick Valensi on their debut album, it seems as if the internet exposure sure is helping Jonny Lives!
This album proves that Jonny Lives! indeed lives for New York City.
"The East Village of NYC is our muse," said lead singer/guitarist Jonny Dubowsky in the band's press kit.
"People are up to no good every night; there's a copious amount of debauchery going on, and it's all inspiration for our music. The band is out almost every night writing about life as it happens, mostly at 3 a.m., when people are performing lewd acts in public places," he said.
The members of Jonny Lives! have used their urban upbringing, as well as lessons on hotel-trashing and binge drinking from the likes of Dave Grohl, to ingrain a "sleazy, psychedelic groove," as Dubowsky refers to it, in their music.
Although this is the first album put out by Jonny Lives!, Dubowsky has been playing gigs in NYC clubs like CBGB since he was 13. He graduated from New York University with top honors as a philosophy and literature student, which he said has influenced his songwriting. Dubowsky said that Marcel Proust and Walt Whitman have inspired his songwriting just as much as The Rolling Stones and The Kinks.
Like many upcoming bands in this day and age, Jonny Lives! has used the Internet, and sites such as MySpace, as a catalyst for its popularity.
"With the radio dying out, putting your music online is the way to go," said guitarist Christian Langdon, in the band's press kit.
With a spot on the soundtrack of "National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj," a nationwide tour alongside Everclear and a cameo from The Strokes' Nick Valensi on their debut album, it seems as if the internet exposure sure is helping Jonny Lives!
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