Johnny Hunkins

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Gone.mp3

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Released: Dec 10, 2010

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Gone.mp3
3:53
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01 Talladega Pile-Up.mp3
3:35
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10 Memphis.mp3
3:58
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01 We're Gonna Have A Party--V5.0 8-7-11.mp3
5:21
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General Info

Location MORENO VALLEY, California, US
Profile Views: 12257
Last Login: 8/19/2011
Member Since 11/14/2008
Website GrooveyardRecords.com
Record Label Grooveyard Records
Type of Label Indie
Bio
.. ..TALLADEGA PILE-UP....“Call me old fashioned,” says Johnny Hunkins, “but I really miss the music of my high school days. It seems like we never really appreciate the times we live in until they’re gone.” The ‘70s and early ‘80s are history, but in every one of us resides a place where we relive those times—times that are steeped in the music of the era... ..The tracks you’re listening to blend the classic sounds of rock ‘n’ roll at its peak—Skynyrd, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, Boston, Hendrix, Pat Travers, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush—in the cuisinart of Hunkins’ mind. Add a liberal dose of more recent influences, and things get interesting in a hurry... ..Even though music has been his life-long love, it’s been on hiatus for 13 years. “I sold all my guitars and studio gear back in ‘95 when my daughter was born. I was past the point of making it a serious career, and I was burned out on what the radio was playing. I got rid of those guitars never intending to play again. I was ok with that, and needed to raise a family.”.. ..Then a chance meeting in 2007 with rock/blues guitarist, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, changed the game. “I met Kenny by accident,” recounts Hunkins. “I was at a car show, admiring a really sweet Plymouth Duster.” (Hunkins’ day job is editing ..Popular Hot Rodding.. magazine—a muscle car publication.) “I started gushing to this stranger about how cool this Mopar was. I mean everything was just nailed perfectly on this hot rod.” That guy turned out to be Shepherd—the owner of the car. The two became fast friends, sharing a common love of high octane... .."One of the things that friendship did was revive my passion for music,” says Hunkins. In March 2008, he made the decision to take the plunge. “The technology had made such huge gains since 1995. I was really bowled over when I started looking into it. You can outfit a home studio that rivals the best pro studios 20 years ago.” Moreover, the mold of the old music business was broken. People were producing their own CDs and distributing them on the internet, selling song downloads, and being their own label and distribution network. Hunkins: “I don’t even care if I make money on this; just the fact that I can do it is the real buzz.”.. ..These songs were recorded on inexpensive gear, most notably Korg’s D3200 32-track digital work station. (“I’m old school when it comes to that. I gotta have a box I can push buttons on...”) All the keyboards and some of the drum sounds are from a Roland Juno-G, which also contains a 16-track MIDI sequencer. On these song cuts, Hunkins performed all the parts (vocals, guitars, bass, harmonica, keyboards). Drummer Ryan Hoyle of Collective Soul contributed live drums on all songs. Also making special appearances are rock/blues guitarists Ryan McGarvey ("Shine In"), Chris Duarte ("Let It Eat!" and "Memphis"), and Wes Jeans ("Henry Jackson"). All tracks were engineered by Hunkins, and mixed by Bryan Kornaker and Brian Yaskulka... ..These tracks are excerpted from ..Talladega Pile-Up..—an album that Hunkins plans to release later this year. As work progresses, tracks will be rotated and updated, so keep checking back to see how things are progressing... .... ..For The Gear Hounds .... - Korg D3200 32-track digital work station.. - Mackie MR-8 monitors.. - KRK 10s subwoofer.. - Roland Juno-G keyboard/sequencer workstation.. - Fender American Stratocaster.. - Fender Kenny Wayne Shepherd Artist Series '61 Strat.. - Fender Telecaster Deluxe (Mexican).. - Fender Telecaster (Mexican).. - Danelectro double-neck (Baritone/standard).. - Danelectro ‘59.. - Epiphone Sheraton.. - Epiphone Les Paul Standard (slide guitar).. - Gibson Les Paul Custom.. - Fender resonator guitar.. - Line 6 Spider Valve 112 amp with FBV Express 4 pedal board.. - Motion Sound SRV-112 rotating speaker cab.. - Hohner harmonicas (assorted).. - Soundgear SR500 bass.. - Yamaha FGX730 acoustic.. - Rode condenser mics (NT-2A, matched NT5 pair).. - Audix I5 dynamic.. - Shure 520DX “Green Bullet” dispatcher’s mic.. - Assorted percussion instruments .... ....This Just In...(updated 6/4/10).... I've entered the Toyota Music Rock The Space song contest with the title track, "Talladega Pile-Up." There are something like 14,000 entrants already, and many of the songs I've listened to are verey polished. The contest is being run by MySpace, and the most interesting thing I've noticed is that the quality of the song at the contest website is much higher than it is for individual MySpace pages. I'm guessing they must be using a higher-quality codec with less data compression. At some point, folks will be able to vote on their favorite song, so check out the link below, and judge for yourself!.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .."No Return," a new ballad, has just been finished, and I think Brian Yaskulka did an excellent job mixing this. It was originally intended to be a duet with Shannon Curfman, but other commitments prevented her from collaborating. I think it came out well nonetheless, and I hope you enjoy it. This ballad makes a nice bookend to the other ballad, "Gone," and both balance the super-heavy hard rock tracks on the upcoming album... ..Speaking of hard rock tracks, I've started working on another head banger called "Catch Me," which is the story of a macho drag racer who gets suckered into a race by a beautiful young lady, and loses! This tune hits pretty hard in the gut, and features a rip snortin' up-tempo solo in the bridge section. If you like your whiskey straight and your guitars loud, you'll love this song. I expect to be wrapping this one up late June sometime... ....From The Archives.... Here's a cool shot of Chris Duarte and I while we were recording "Let It Eat!" and "Memphis" back in November. In case you're wondering why the guitar playing is so incindiary on those two tunes, now you know why!" ...... ..I just got a fresh copy of Wes Jeans' new live album (out on Grooveyard Records), called "Wes Jeans Live at Music City Texas." If you love your southern rock served up sizzling hot, then this CD is for you. Wes goes through all his faves, like Forest Of The Pine, Dallas, and Champaign & Reefer. You can click on his icon below in the "Friends Space" to hear some of it. I really recommend it and hope it does well!..
Members
....Talladega Pile-Up.. Album Credits.... ..Johnny Hunkins:..lead guitar (all songs), rhythm guitar, lead & backing vocals, bass guitar, percussion, harmonica, keyboards.. ..Ryan Hoyle:..drums on all tracks.. ..Ryan McGarvey:..guest lead guitar on "Shine In".. ..Bryan Kornaker:..mix engineer on "Talladega Pile-Up," "Let It Eat!," "Rock 'n' Roll Party," "Floyd County Bootleg," "Shine In," and "Henry Jackson".. ..Brian Yaskulka:..mix engineer on "Memphis," "Gone," "No Return," and "Over The Edge".. ..Wes Jeans:..guest lead & rhythm guitar on "Henry Jackson".. ..Chris Duarte:..guest lead guitar on "Let It Eat!" & "Memphis"..
Influences
Pat Travers, Frank Marino, Aerosmith, Brian May, Lynyrd Skynryd, Dann Huff, Peter Frampton, Bryan Adams, Jude Cole, Pat Thrall, Johnny & Edgar Winter, Michael Schenker, Boston, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Steve Lukather, Deep Purple, and of course, Eddie Van Halen.
Sounds Like
Rock and Southern Rock from the '70s and '80s