Johnny Punani
Everett, Washington, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Wednesday, November 10th was an evening full of anticipation as Studio Seven opened the doors to another all ages punk rock concert. Studio Seven is one of the luckier venues in Seattle area that has a great separation of the bar and all ages area. An appreciated and spacious "21 and up" loft overlooks the stage so your beverages wont interfere with you watching the show.
The kids from Everett, Johnny Punani, opened up with a unique perspective of psychobilly, Smooth Vocals and slower beats are a nice change of pace compared to the overly common "speed metal with a stand up" You'll dig 'em if you like Deadbolt, The Cramps or Meteors songs akin to "Sewer Time Blues," or Love You to Death." Check out their live performance on Zorch Radio Dec 16th!
-Jacob The Pope - KGRG FM
Everett is not known for its all-ages music scene but if it were up to members of the band Johnny Punani, it would be.
Lead singer, Ian Voje, 18, moved to Everett a few years ago from Hawaii and convinced his friend and now drummer Larry Ancheta, 19, to move here too. They, along with the other band members, Nick Baggett, 16, on guitar and Kyle Decory, 18, on upright bass, have been trying to breathe life into the all-ages music scene in Everett ever since. Voje and Ancheta have great memories of Hawaii and want to recreate the scene they experienced while jamming together there.
Voje said, "the scene was really strong for all-ages shows."
They started playing at Everett's Papi's Pizza and were encouraged by the fan support. According to Baggett, Papi's ran into trouble and had to close its doors. Then they had a gig at Hot Topic at the Everett Mall in January and continue to play at Studio Seven, an all-ages club in Seattle, while they look for a more permanent Everett venue.
The guys write their own music and have an eclectic array of songs on their MySpace page. They spent some time as the psychobilly band Voodoo Vampyres and wrote songs like, "Bats" and "Frankenstein Girl," but felt like the psychobilly genre was a bit too limiting.
"It got old, cause the bands sounded all the same," said Voje. Their current style tends more towards rockabilly, like, "Coal Heart," one of the songs they wrote which has a Johnny Cash meets Stray Cats feel to it and showcases Voje's unique voice.
Voje said they are planning to head into the studio this summer and record some new music, including the song, "Punani Twist," which Baggett and Voje played for us in the studio after our interview.
Catch the band live this Saturday night May 9, at Studio Seven in Seattle. - The Clipper
Discography
Johnny Punani EP
Photos
Bio
Johnny Punani Is Basement Rock and Roll band from Seattle Wa. They have a retro sound that derives from their Rockabilly roots, mixed with a bit of 60’s garage and backed by the tounge in cheek lyrics and soothing voice of their singer Ian Voje. The group started in 2007 as a Psychobilly band under the name of The Voodoo Vampyres and opened for major acts such as The Meteors, Frenzy and Mad Sin after a few lineup changes and hiatuses they changed their name to Johnny Punani and broadened their sound. The band is currently a three piece featuring Ian Voje, Kyle Decory and Nick Panchot.
This is a description of the band’s sound written by a Seattle fan-
"It's a California summer, 1965, maybe? The diner parking lot is full of kids gathered around their parents' borrowed Fords, tidy and perfect in their pencil skirts and letterman's jackets. In the far corner of the lot, there's a car that'...s not like the others. It's all dented and dusty, and belongs to that boy, you know the kind I mean? The one that all the other boys skirt around like he's a wild animal who might bite, and all the girls secretly want to kiss, but are too afraid to take home to their parents. Johnny Punani is what's playing on THAT boy's radio." - Jeanne Poremba
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