Poor Johnny. It seems that he scorned a lover, got himself the target of thrash punk songs, and even made it into the band’s name. Who Needs Johnny delivers a debut of scorn for an ex-boyfriend set to pop punk. It’s Joan Jett via Avril Lavigne via the copycat sounds of Krystal Meyers. The guitars crunch, but the vocals remain on top of the mix. Fun stuff despite the anger, resentment, and hurt in the lyrics. The healing seems to come from shouting it out.
What remains to be seen is what will happen next for Who Needs Johnny. My initial question is whether they will be able to move beyond Johnny, find some new source for lyrical inspiration, and find an identity in something besides being Johnny’s ex-girlfriend. Secondly, now it appears that guitarist Aly Clotfelter has left the band. This leaves vocalist/guitarists/bassist Samantha Haedrich (along with drummer Jeremy Colson) to pick up for the next phase.
