Nice Guy Johnny shares his dark side in this exclusive interview

Ever meet a “nice” guy with a dark side? Well, the New Jersey trio Nice Guy Johnny embodies both through their music. In this exclusive interview, NGJ frontman John Knehr shares his evolution from playing various styles of blues mixed with rockabilly, and how his late brother-in-law, Chester Bennington, turned on the light to his dark side. 

His new single, “Highway 95,” an acoustic retro-blues ditty, gives us a sample of his new album, Americana, expected to release next February. Read more below about how this blues artist found the light in Dark Americana music…

Now that you’ve been playing and recording music for the past 25 years, how has your music evolved over that period to what is now described as “dark Americana”?

25 years ago, I had a blues band called John E.K. and The Memphis Storm. We were young and it was the first time in a recording studio. We had been playing the songs live for almost a year so when we went into the studio to record “Meet The Storm,” and we cut everything in one take! Then we all looked at each other saying out loud “That’s it?” We had cassettes and Cds made. We sold just under a 1,000 copies in 2 maybe 3 months. We were a 3 piece band–myself on guitar and vocals with bass and drums. I don’t know if other bands go through this, but every time we record an album, guys leave! It’s like some kind of strange curse. The music I started writing was upbeat, fun, dance your ass off music. 

Over this 25 year journey, I started pursuing it as a career, writing all kinds of songs trying to get one to be noticed. I’d kid with my guys, “I’ll write a song in every style until someone notices.” So I wrote fast blues, slow blues, surf blues, 60s style based blues and as we shopped it, over the years we’d always hear “you don’t fit into a box.” I thought that was great but as it turns out, it’s not really. Someone always wants to compare you to someone else. 

I put music down for a few years after the ’08 meltdown. A few record labels had said they loved our stuff but with iTunes catching on and the economy in the toilet, we were told it would be 2 years before they could get an album out. So that was when I decided to put it down and at the time, I thought for good. A year or so goes by and I got a call from my late brother-in-law, Chester Bennington. After talking to my wife, he was as unhappy as my wife was, I had been only listening to talk radio! Chester went on to explain that Linkin Park’s most successful songs were from a dark place a place of pain and inner turmoil. The first song I wrote in this new style was “The Raven,” a song about suicide. How ironic, fast forwarding to this year. But he was right. I’ve adopted a Johnny Cash style of telling a story in my new music with an old country sound like the Sun Records days and a lot of them are from that dark hurtful place people feel everyday. 

What was your inspiration for your latest track “Highway 95”?

Believe it or not in the late 80s, before I picked up the guitar for the second time, I was pursuing a career as a tournament fisherman. I was traveling with a group of fellow fishermen in a convoy of truck and boats down Rt. 95 talking on our CB radios busting chops and someone said imagine if we saw a beautiful hitchhiker? Would you pick her up? That kind of single guys looking for love and a girl. I started singing over the CB “Heading Down Highway 95 feeling good it’s great to be alive.” After a few more trips I had a song that just sat there for years. Later when I had my second construction accident, I took a songwriting course. I knew how to play guitar and could write a little but I didn’t know how to put it together. As soon as they helped me figure that out, it was off to the races writing songs.  

I read that you were heavily involved in sports early in life but was “forced” to return to music after two major accidents. How did music help you recover?  And did you ever regret leaving sports?

As a kid I took piano for 8/9 years and in the 6th grade I learned how to play the guitar from a nun at the Catholic school I was attending. I joined football my freshmen year to get out of playing piano, I had enough of playing Bach and Beethoven – I wanted to learn Billy Joel and Elton John but couldn’t because we lived were no modern piano teachers taught. 

I was OK in football, a much better baseball player, but I hated the politics it came with in such a small school, so I quit everything by junior year. I’d rather be in the outdoors hunting, fishing, hiking etc. So when I learned of tournament fishing when I got out of high school, I was hooked and I was on my way to pursue a career in fishing when I blew out my lower back (the first time). I had taken a bad fall off a step ladder which led to 6 surgeries on my right arm and my first back surgery. It was also the end of my fishing career. The doctors had told me I was going to lose the use of my arm if I didn’t have the surgeries and if there was anything else I could do to help my hand to do it. That’s when I picked up the guitar for the 2nd time hoping to maintain dexterity. I can’t finger pick or completely close my hand but I can hold a pick. Songwriting, or the beginning of my songwriting, also provided me with a great release.  

How did the making of your upcoming fifth album, Americana, compare with your four previous albums in terms of the songwriting and recording process?  Was it easier or more challenging?

The making of this album has been a lot of fun, I’ve always wanted to try and record an album by myself. I play guitar, keys, a little harp and a banjo. It’s been fun because for the first time I’ve been able to get what I hear in my head out on tape. A year earlier I had a 5/6 piece band. I was playing rhythm guitar, Greg Lwowski played lead, Kurt Colon on bass and I had a drummer and two sax players. I always wanted to record a live album. So with my new look and new sounding band, we did just that. Last September, we released “Down But Not Out.” And the curse continued. The drummer left, so I cut the sax players. We were back to 3 pieces again, two guitars and a stand up bass. But then Kurt took a leave of absence and then there were two. Greg and I played for the next 8 months, just the two of us and a bass drum. But then something started to happen, people loved the new sound.

I always wanted to record by myself, so I started recording Americana. Then Kurt rejoined our happy little duo, and we’re now two acoustic guitars a stand up bass and bass drum – exactly the sound I’d been hearing in my head and recording in the studio. Add the songs off the live album and some of the new ones that deal with suicide, a dream about my own funeral a song, I wrote about the movie “The Hateful 8” and a song “Hey Buddy” about a made up cheating girlfriend who gets killed in the end by her lover (that’s the twist)…and Dark Americana was born! 

What can fans expect from a Nice Guy Johnny live show?

 We’ve gone all in on our new sound. It’s like a dark country/ alternative. We do play some covers (Johnny Cash, Waylon, Petty, Traveling Wilburys). Messing around with the guys a few weeks back, I was kidding around saying we’re like some dark moonshine band, we should start wearing overalls and finish the whole transformation. To my surprise they agreed and loved it and the fans have really loved it as well. Last week a gentleman came up to us and said you have a way of bringing out a long lost emotion for each person and it’s different for each person. He went on to say whether it be with one of your originals or a cover that people haven’t heard in forever. I thought that was the best compliment you could get. 

I’ve always loved performing, everything else is second for me and the guys. You’ll find three guys playing their asses off having the time of their life and for me this second go around, I’m really not going to take it for granted, not that I ever have, but another back surgery is out there calling like a faded name on the wind. When that day gets here, I don’t know what will happen, and God willing, it won’t be for a long, long time. 

In the meantime, my two boys Jake (almost 13) and Ben (11) have been able to come out and see old Dad play his songs and see people dance and sing along. That must be great for them to experience that! They both have started playing instruments – Jake a sax because you can’t have enough sax, and Ben a Baritone, because you need that bottom end. I kid with them that they’ll retire off my music when I’m gone. 

What do you have coming up for 2018 in addition to your new album release?

I’m getting to the point in my career that I really want to play music festivals. That’s our goal, get up and play a rip roaring, kick ass set and leave them wanting more!! So I’m hoping Americana does well naturally. It’s great being an independent artist now, although there are a lot of us but maybe we’ll get to travel a little more and play festivals. No matter what, we’ll be playing somewhere. I’m always writing so I could totally see another album in 2019. With the way music has changed in 25 years there’s one thing that’s changed with the internet –  my music will live on long after I’m gone and that’s pretty cool when you think of it! 

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to ask about our little old band from NJ!

For more info:  niceguyjohnny.cool