Utter Trash--Ironhead

Hard Headed

An interview with Johnny Sonic and Angela Fox of Ironhead

By Bob Ignizio

Guitarist/vocalist Johnny Sonic and bassist/backup vocalist Angela Fox spent 7 years playing in the North Carolina based hard charging rock & roll band The Runarounds. When they decided to move to Virginia Beach, Virginia a year and a half ago, they left behind both their old drummer and their old name. Although the band’s sound has naturally progressed somewhat since the 2001 The Runarounds album ‘Easy Action’, Johnny and Angela, along with new drummer Mark Metal, are still serving up the raw and raunchy goods on their soon to be released debut under the Ironhead moniker.

Utter Trash: You two were previously in a band called The Runarounds. Is Ironhead just a continuation of that band, or do you see it as something different? Also, why did you change the name?
Johnny Sonic: Ironhead is something different. We were the Runarounds since 1997 and went thru a lot of member changes through the years. We were ready for something new and exciting. We were a bit bored of the name and ready to give it a rest.

UT: There's a definite stylistic difference between The Runarounds and what you're doing now. How would you describe the band's shift in sound, and what motivated it?
JS: I don't really see it as a shift in musical style or genre. It’s just a natural progression of my music. I never really consciously thought about it, it’s just the songs that came out of me at the time. How I was feeling when I wrote each song has a lot to do with each song. If we were still calling ourselves the Runarounds, our album would probably sound the same as the new Ironhead album.

UT: Does Angela ever sing lead vocals with Ironhead, or do she save that for her other band, Angela Fox and the SpeedQueens?
Angela Fox: I just sing back-up vocals in Ironhead. I save all my screaming for The SpeedQueens. I like not singing in Ironhead because I don’t have to be near a microphone and I can just go crazy on stage. The SpeedQueens are just a side project. Johnny plays guitar, I sing and two other guys play bass and drums. It is really, really fast, evil punk rock n roll. It's really raw and I do a lot of screaming. You can check out some of our new songs at www.iron-head.net/speedqueens.htm.

UT: Tell me a bit about the new Ironhead full length CD. How did you hook up with your producer, and what do you feel he brought to the recording process? Do you have a label lined up to release it yet, or do you plan on going the DIY route?
JS: I think anybody who likes Rock N' Roll should like this album. Also, old Runarounds fans should like it because about 1/2 of the songs are songs we made when we were still the Runarounds, they were just never released. It’s a very diverse album, and the songs have a lot of different moods. So many changes were taking place during my life over the span of time these songs were being written, and you can hear it in the music. We met Sal Canzonieri at an Electric Frankenstein show in Virginia Beach and gave him a demo CD. He really liked our songs, but didn’t think the production was very good. Sal wanted to get involved and offered to produce our upcoming album. He has been a great person to work with and is one of the smartest people I have ever met. He knows what sound we are going for and knows how to get it. We have been Electric Frankenstein fans for years, so we feel really honored to have him working with us. As far as labels, we’re still finishing up the CD so we won't actually release the album until the spring of 2005. We’re talking to a few different labels, but nothing is set in stone yet. We do have a couple of 7 inches coming out before then, though. One is on No Balls Records in Germany and the other is on SpeedKing Records (USA).

UT: When you're not playing music, what do you do? Do you have a straight job?
JS: I do a lot of nothing in my spare time. When I’m not playing music I write a lot of new material. I am currently unemployed.

UT: What would you say are the major influences on your sound, and what do you think seperates Ironhead from other bands playing similar styles?
JS: We are influenced by bands such as Kiss, The Dead Boys, AC/DC, Motorhead, Hanoi Rocks...too many to name, really. Each one of us likes so many different great bands and brings those influences into our sound. I think that is why it is hard to put a label on the music we play, because we are influenced by so many different bands. We combine some 60's garage rock with some 70's punk and also 80's hard rock. I think that makes our sound quite unique. You may hear one song that reminds you of The Dead Boys, another that reminds you of The Music Machine and another that reminds you of Guns N' Roses. Some songs you may not be able to compare to anything you have ever heard before. We don’t set a lot of rules as far as the music we play. As long as it is rock n' roll!!! I think that’s what makes us different.

UT: What's the one thing you'd most like to accomplish with the band?
JS: Play some fucking rock n' roll, put some records out and tour, tour and tour...and have a good fucking time doing it!

UT: Any plans for touring in the near future? How much time out of the year do you normally spend on the road?
JS: We will be doing our second European tour in April and May of 2005 with Electric Frankenstein and a band from Sweden called The Dollhouse. The tour is for a charity and it’s called "Save The Children OF War Tour 2005". A lot of the money we make will go to help buy prosthetic arms and legs for children that have been injured during the wars and from stepping on mines. It is for a great cause and we are really looking forward to it. We will be playing in France, England, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Italy. We try to tour as much as possible.

UT: Anything else you want to add?
JS: DU KANNST MEINEN SCHWANZ LUTSCHEN, WENN DIR NICHT GEFÄLLT WAS ICH MACHE! (Editor’s Note: The preceding is a quote from Lemmy of Motorhead that came from a bootleg German interview. Even though I took two years of German in High School, I have no idea of the translation. Damn those public schools!)