Johhny Dee | Britny Fox | Doro Peche

Johhny Dee | Britny Fox | Doro Peche | Waysted | June 2000 |

This month I have a great interview with the great drummer Johnny Dee

of Britny Fox (now reunited w/second singer....read on..)

I've been a fan of Johnnys since he was in Waysted,

so this was cool to do. Hes a great guy, and is still very busy in many different projects.

so thanks again Johnny for doing this..

enjoy......

J-First off.. your such a great drummer.. I used to play drums and always have been a fan.. tell us how you started playing...age..etc...

J.D.- Well...thanks for the compliments! I showed an interest in music at a very early age but I used to sing back then! Somewhere from there I fell in love with drums and started bugging my father for a kit! After raiding my

sister's record collection and seeing KISS on TV, I was hooked. I started

playing to records and that led to forming garage bands with friends and then playing out live.

J-Then onto the band Waysted..how long were you w/them..and why did that end?

J.D.-I joined Waysted in 1985 through my friend Jimmy DiLella who was playing

keyboards with them at the time. The band had just signed to EMI/Capitol.

We recorded "Save Your Prayers" and toured with Iron Maiden in the US (and

eastern Europe) and Status Quo in Europe. After the Maiden tour in the US,

Paul Chapman was fired by management and things just started to fall apart.

J-How did you hook up Britny Fox?

J.D.-The first real band I was ever in was with Billy and I actually replaced Dean

on drums in a band called World War III, so...I had known the guys forever.

Michael had asked me to join initially when Tony Destra was killed in a car

crash but, I was touring with Waysted at the time. A few months later, as

the Waysted thing was losing steam, I decided to check it out.

J-That was around the beginning of the whole "hair bands" thing..how important

was the "look" for the band?

J.D.-I think it was very important in the sense that it was different enough for

us to get noticed...it all fit together, the name, the look, the songs...it

set us apart from other bands. Unfortunately, it was SO over the top, it

took away from the music and brought on a lot of negative reaction as well.

J-What was your biggest crowd you guys played for?

J.D.-We played a New Year's Eve show in Japan at the Tokyo Dome with Kingdom Come, Ratt & Bon Jovi. 50,000 people...an awesome party at the end of a great year!

J-What was your favorite tour you did? any good stories?

J.D.-I would have to say that the Poison tour is still the most memorable. Just a

great vibe on that tour...and lots of debauchery!

J-Whats the craziest thing a fan has done to meet you?

J.D.-It's amazing what people will do sometimes...and we saw our share of it for

sure. A lot of it is fun but, some people will go to great lengths and make

up some f*cked up stories to meet bands.

J-how did the band get along..were you guys fighting alot..etc?

J.D.-We got along good early on but, once you reach a certain level of success,

there are a lot of variables that change. There is this sort of pressure to

sustain it and when you mix that with egos and stuff it can get out of hand.

But really, it's like any relationship...when you are around people that much

(like on a bus for months), little things start to get on your nerves. You

really have to try to keep things in perspective.

J--Why did Dean leave? was it a big blow out..or an agreement?

J.D.-We tried to work things out but, Dean wanted out and his mind was made up. We had a lot of dates to finish on that tour but, an agreement was impossible. He had another band together before he even got home...lol.

J-How did you find your next singer Tommy?

J.D.-Once the word got out that Dean bailed, we started getting tons of tapesthrough our management. We sorted through them and picked out the bestones...then held some auditions. Tommy's voice was so unique...we really dug it. Then he took some of the musical ideas we had and really made them come to life...that was really what sold us.

J-How was the change w/someone new?

J.D.-It was kind of scary but exciting at the same time. When we started making

new music, it had a whole new energy to it and that was a great feeling.

J-What would you say was one of the best songs you guys did in Britny Fox..w/Dean or Tommy?

J.D.-There are quite a few for different reasons...I think "Long Way to Love" was a good song, cool riff, cool feel, etc. "Girlschool" was cool for what it was and it helped launch the band...thought the video was great. There were also some on the 2nd lp that were cool as well..."Dream On", "Livin' on a Dream", "Long Way from Home" As far as the Tommy songs...my faves are "Louder", "Black and White" and "Over and Out".

J-And what one do you wish you had never recorded?

J.D.-I thought there were quite a few on Boys 'N Heat (side 2)...matter of fact, I

wish that title AND some of those songs had never been recorded!

J-Now.....onward......why did the band finally break up?

J.D.-Unfortunately, we met the same fate as most other bands of that genre at that time. We were trying to support a record with no help from our label, radio or MTV...and for the type of band that we were, that was pretty much impossible.

J-And now your very busy w/other bands...tell us about Uncle Edna..with

Tommy from Britny Fox when was that formed, and did you release any cds?

J.D.-Uncle Edna was born when I added drums to some of Tommy's musical mayhem while staying at his house in Vegas. We went into it with no direction other than making it cool, obnoxius, fun & heavy. Our 5 song ep is currently available on our website: www.uncleedna.com and we hope to release a full-length cd soon.

J-You also played w/Doro..did you record

on any albums..or just tour? tell us what that was like...

J.D.-I joined Doro's band right before the Angels Never Die tour in '93. I had like 2 weeks to learn the whole set and then record a live CD on the 6th show of the tour!!! But, I loved it...it was a great tour with a bunch of great

players/friends. Doro is an awesome vocalist and a great person...and going to Europe is always a blast as well. I played on DORO-Live and did about 8-10 songs on Machine II Machine.

J-Tthen onto LeCompt which also has Billy from Britny Fox...when did that

form..and are you still activly playing with them...?any cds...etc?

J.D.-LeCompt has been around for quite a while in the Philly area. The band was

formed by Mike LeCompt who was in the band Tangier. I joined up after the

first Doro tour I did. Billy got me involved and it's a cool gig...we play a

lot around our home area. We have a few cd's (from before I joined and

after) that are sold at our shows.

J-from the looks of the bands your in..you still get along w/the other members of the Britny Fox...was there ever i time when you didnt..and do you talk to Dean?

J.D.-Apart from the whole Dean thing, the rest of us have always gotten along. We've known each other for a long time and we've been through a lot together. However, I do get a call from Dean every now and then.

J-Do you see a reunion ever happening..w/Dean?

J.D.-Ever since he quit the band he's wanted nothing to do with it...I really

don't know.

J-Not many may know..but you have begun rehersing for a reunion tour w/Tommy...hows that going..and where will the tour go? any new

recording..etc? tell us..tell us...

J.D.-We just finished 4 shows in the PA/NJ area. It was great...especially the hometown show in Philly! We're putting together a live CD (with 2 new studio tracks) which will hopefully be out in August on Spitfire Records. The recordings will be from those shows.

J-You have been staying very busy through the years..is there any other bands I might have missed?....

J.D.-It's a shame but, I've been in some bands that never really got any exposure...one of them was called WORLDS...a killer, aggressive, rude-ass band! It still bums me out that we never released a CD.

J-Also the internet has really been a great way to reach the fans..do you talk to alot of old fans..and do you mind the emails?

J.D.-Yes, it really is great for certain things and that is one of them. I love hooking up with old friends and fans...I don't mind the emails at all.

J-Do you mind if I add your email..for the fans reading this?

J.D.-Go right ahead. It's: Dee02@aol.com

J-Ok now where on the web can we find out more about all the bands your playing

with?

J.D.-There are a bunch of sites on each band but the ones I can remember are:

J-Well thats about it Johnny....thanks so much for doing this..and i hope it was painless....anything you wanna say to your fans reading this?

J.D.-Hope to see you guys on the road this year!

J-Thanks Johhny...and good luck w/all you do!