Trying to chew my head.
Johnny MacLeod by The Awesome Ross Taylor.
Happy Thanksgiving (for our Canadian pals.)
The Last Pogo Jumps Again co-director Kire Paputts spent a few hours last Thursday interviewing the song-writing team of Johnny MacLeod and Harri Palm from the original most excellent first-wave new-wave punky-doodle band Johnny & The G-Rays. M.I.A. was drummer Bent Rasmussen (now teaching diving and Ingis in Thailand) and bass-player Robert G. MacDonald. For those of you who remember and those that might be visiting this site for some schooling, Johnny & The G-Rays were distinguished by terrific song-writing and great live shows, and were a big part of that sprawling wild scene that our film is focusing on.
After spending a couple of years in England, Johnny made his way back to Toronto when the whole new-wave thing was starting, and while his O.C.A. (Ontario College of Art) pals were doing their thing, he opted to put a band together called The Country Lads, playing country standards. Sharing a bill with The Eels at an O.C.A. gig, Johnny palled up to Eels’ Bent Rasmussen and Harri Palm; Harri quit the band after the gig, but Bent hung on to watch The Eels transform into an early incarnation of The Diodes. Not long after, both without bands, Harri and Johnny sat around and jammed (yes, you can still use that term and not sound like a fan of The Grateful Dead), recruited Bent, and Johnny & The G-Rays were born. In a quid pro quo kinda deal, Johnny and Harri are going to trade footage with the editors at Pogo H.Q. for our respective projects (a plan is afoot for a G-Rays doc.)
Stay tuned. And enjoy your turkey. Or tofurkey. Or Avocado and Gelatin Turkey. Mmmm…avocado and gelatin turkey…
Tags: bent rasmussen, harri palm, johnny and the g-rays, johnny macleod, Kire Paputts, robert g macdonald, The Diodes, the eels, the last pogo