Grady Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 12th 2010 1:21PM by Martine Paris
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They fit right into the western landscape of the U.S., donning their cowboy hats and dusting off their steel-toe boots, but when the band members of Grady hit the stage, they're about as heavy as it gets. Looking like true American icons, you'd never suspect their Canadian roots. But once, long ago, frontman Gordie Johnson was a sensation up north as his band, Big Sugar, rocked the charts and hearts of the Canucks.

In 2004, with a strong fan base in Austin, Gordie left his ranch in Alberta and returned to the town he now calls home and set out to repeat his success with Grady. In 2005 the trio was voted Best New Band at the Austin Music Awards.

Now on their third release, 'Good as Dead,' these SXSW mainstays are getting ready to tear up the house. Spinner recently talked with Gordie about his career and his band Grady, where they've been and where they're heading.

When did you know your life would be in music?

I was born in Canada in 1964 and traveled a lot with my dad's car business. We ultimately moved to the motor city. Detroit was a great rock and roll town in the 70s. Rush, Zeppelin. Everyone passed through. I knew my life would be in music from the age of 12. I was working professionally as a musician by the time I was 14. My first year in high school I was getting paid for gigs as a sideman bassist. I played anything and everything from Black Sabbath to jazz to Italian wedding songs. I was very versatile. My parents wanted me to slow down. I went to art school for a year and quit for the college of hard knocks. I was making too much money playing until last call to focus on university. That's when I realized I was already doing what I was meant to be doing.

How did you wind up launching Big Sugar in Canada?

Around 1988, Detroit raised the drinking age to 21, outlawed strip joints and gambling, and the auto industry took a dive. All the gigs dried up so I moved to Toronto to start Big Sugar. We were a 70s arena rock band but we had a reggae sound too. We weren't a jam band, never sounded like modern rock, just very hard to categorize. Back then metal was metal and if you didn't fit neatly into a genre you couldn't get radio play, at least in the States. Our Canadian label was more open, paid for videos and got us into stores. We had an amazing run for over 15 years. Sold more records than there are Canadians. Our last album was in 2000 and we toured the U.S. and Canada through 2003.

Today crossover genres are the norm, what do you think of that?

Now that fans are no longer bound to an album and buy songs one at a time, they are splintering into subgenres that are even more specific. Thrash is very different than hair metal. Not sure that makes it easier because audiences are that much smaller but it definitely makes it more possible to have a unique sound.

How did your band Grady form?

It was 2004. I had done Big Sugar a long time and was ready for a change. Major labels were a sinking ship and I didn't want to be part of big industry anymore. Austin felt like home, a place where it's ok to like everything from blues honky tonk root music to art rock punk. I had many friends here and it seemed like the right place to go. Big Ben was my soundman on Big Sugar. He moved across the border with me and became my bassist. I had been friends forever with Chris Layton, better known as Whipper, the drummer for Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble. We recorded the first album, 'Y.U. So Shady' and in 2005 were named Best New Band at the Austin Music Awards. When Chris left, Billy Maddox stepped in to drum on the second album 'Cup of Cold Poison' but he had health problems and left. Last year, Nina Singh came on board for our third album, 'Good as Dead.'

How did you come up with the band name?

It's my nickname when I'm cranky.

Describe your sound.

Cowboy metal.

What do you think of lo-fi?

The term lo-fi really grates on my nerves because people take it to mean old technology. It's just wrong. Old is not lo-fi. The Beatles used the most expensive state-of-the-art equipment around. If you want high-fidelity, record on a Neve console, Studer tape deck and Neumann mic. If you want lo-fi, record on a cassette player with a cheap condensed mic.

Beatles or Stones?

ZZ Top.

What are your musical influences?

ZZ Top, Black Sabbath, Charlie Mingus, Sly & Robbie, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Blind Willie Johnson, Slayer, Merle Haggard, Behemoth, Mastodon, Billy Gibbons.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Tejano accordion music.

Who was your first celeb crush?

Catherine Deneuve. I had a 1977 Chanel ad of her in a black velvet dress tugging at an earring hanging in my locker. All the other guys had Farrah Fawcett.

What's in your festival survival kit?

A well charged cell phone to text with.

Any vices?

Started drinking Lone Star Beer three years ago. Not so bad is it? Not going to hell for it?

What's the craziest thing that's ever happened on tour?

The worst was when our drummer from Big Sugar died on stage. I now play every song like it's the last.

How do you stay in touch with your fans?

Clink beer bottles together.

What are you most looking forward to at SXSW?

Been to SXSW at least a dozen times. I just stand in the same spot and see everyone I know in crossing. If I have to go venue to venue, I take the pedicab and never tip less than $10. These guys are golden. During SXSW, a taxi can take all night to go just three blocks.

What's next?

Just released 'Good as Dead' in Canada. Next up is making the release happen here in the U.S.

How do you define success?

As long as I can support my family with my music, that's success to me.

Martine Paris is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.