By Suzanne Steenkist
The latest musical endeavor by Wayne Janus, called Hell County, was released a few months ago. HC consists of Wayne Janus: guitar & vocals; Robin Houston: drums, and Tony Wachnuik: bass. The CD release party took place at Route 66, and I had the pleasure of being there and now have the pleasure of interviewing Wayne. Raunchy Rock n Roll junkies listen up!
The musicianship is thumping, driving, straight up R&R with Wayne’s guttural grinding vocals. I asked Wayne a few questions and here’s the lowdown “straight from the horse’s mouth.”
SS: What inspired you to write “Porno Junkie” and “Go Go Go” and take such a gritty direction on your new CD?
WJ: “Porno Junkie” was only written instrumentally. The song had no vocal line. There was a hint of having the words Java Junkie as the topic and song title, and there is one line at the end of the third verse that says Java Junkie. We would record live off the floor in the studio, meaning playing the song together with no over dubs or modern trickery. After we got an instrumental take we liked, we would then add the vocals as an overdub. But the lyrics in “Porno Junkie” are 100% ad-libbed right there and then, much like the guitar leads. The words just flowed as I reflected back as a kid checking out the pictures in Playboy magazines.
“Go Go Go” was inspired by the current theme of everyone’s life. We are likely the most over driven life form in the Universe. It’s about racing to the finish line and becoming living more like a statistic than a human being…the opening lyric line says it all.
[OK, so coffee and Porno go in the same category? Let your mind wander.]
SS: Are you planning on touring? If so when and where?
WJ: I’m working on bookings to play out of town. We need to get more connected. I have no down time. I work full time to finance this band and the recordings and I work until at least 1:00 am every morning on the music business and music. Yeah… we need any help we can get. A lot of people talk trash about record labels but unless you have a blatant issue, they are worth their weight in gold!
SS: What do you love or hate most about the Hammer Music scene?
WJ: I want to make sure that my answer pertains to the music scene pertaining to the art of music and not the business of music. So music scene here = art of music. I love the Hamilton music scene because there are many performing musicians who are putting a lot of effort into building their musicianship. The thing I am not found of is hearing so much of this greatness go to waste because they are playing ‘ONLY” cover songs.
My take: If you like honest, hard, gritty rock and roll transport yourself to Hell County!
If you want to catch a live performance by Hell County here are their upcoming gigs:
May 25: City Hall, Hamilton
June 1: Route 66, Hamilton
June 22: Niagara OT Lake @ Frogpond Farm Winery (Festival)
June 28: Rebels Rock, Hamilton
Visit their website for more details.
