Johnny Lloyd Rollins

His biggest fan

Ventura says goodbye to a talent it never knew

by Michel Cicero

If drastic times call for drastic measures, then it's not so surprising that one of Ventura County's most gifted and least known singer songwriters is heading for greener pastures without even one local club date under his belt. Johnny Lloyd Rollins won't be the first musician to fall victim to California's savage economy, but he might be the only one to bail out just days after releasing his first CD recording.

Let's Be Poor Together, turns low budget to high concept with three crisp, no frills songs packaged in sleeves Rollins fashioned from grocery bags. While sheer survival for the 20-something has necessitated a certain resourcefulness (camping at Kinkos on a Friday night, buying glue sticks in bulk) his well-nurtured metro side spares no expense on image. And if his songs imply a taste for humble pie, let that be no reflection on his personality-Rollins is the first one to sing his own praises.

On, "Take Your Watch Off," a gentle anthem for self-actualization, Rollins urges, "Stretch your arms out, and hold up both your hands/Become your biggest fan." No one could accuse him of not taking his own advice and rightfully so; he's that good. He's also terribly attractive, annoyingly intelligent and for someone so self-assured, surprisingly likable.

Yet being all that doesn't guarantee success in a world in love with mediocrity-where a song sells for, well, a song. Rollins' has traversed some rough terrain to get this, his first recording project completed. It was in fact the failure of his various bands that ultimately gave him the push he needed to fly solo. That's not to say the bands he played in (the Bang, Columbia) were without merit, it's just that his talent stands alone and the addition of other instruments, other people, was an encumbrance rather than a complement.

An unabashed fan of Brit pop, Rollins writes with an irrefutable nod to Paul McCartney using working class themes and characters that have an almost Dickensian feel. The songs are refreshingly optimistic yet never cloying, humorous but not cynical. Songs for a time such as this. Songs for a post-911 era, though not intentionally so.

With only a couple of appearances at a Ventura open-mic, Rollins is leaving before we got to know him. Leaving the high cost of living, the smoggy sunsets and a music scene that hasn't had an opportunity to reject him.

Life is often cruel in its timing and accordingly upon completion of the recording of Let's Be Poor Together Rollins was handed a lucrative career opportunity in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas that has nothing to do with music. Most musicians rue their day jobs and many are made to choose between money and music but Rollins plans to use his income to support his songwriting habit. The move is more our loss than his, but there's a lot Rollins will miss about Ventura and he hopes to return with a recording contract in hand. He may have what it takes to catch the music industry's roving eye; the question is how will he sing about being poor when he's not anymore?
- Ventura County Reporter

The melodic echo of Johnny Lloyd Rollins’ voice will linger in your thoughts long after you’ve heard him sing. With tunes like Let’s Be Poor Together and One Day at a Time, he poetically blends together ideas of human mortality and realistic optimism that will leave listeners happily pondering their pasts and futures at the same time. His straightforward guitar arrangements and whimsical, yet slightly bittersweet, lyrics will permeate your soul, resulting in a feeling of nostalgia that is comfortably haunting and quite heartwarming. Johnny’s pitch perfect vocal register, which possesses a Brit-pop/Elliott Smith-like quality, is clearly the essence of his work as it glides above the rhythmic backdrop of his band. Whether you’re sipping a morning latte or enjoying summer drinks on a patio, if you listen just once to his small compilation of songs, you’ll surely agree that Johnny Lloyd Rollins is a perfect example of soothing lyrical loveliness at its finest. - Blonde Music Review