Johnny Hunkins' New EP/CD "Trouble In Turn Four" Now Available On-Line!
Click on the Digstation link below to buy the CD for $4.99, or to download individual MP3 tracks for 99 cents each.
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, percussion) and sequenced all the drums and keyboards. Drummer Ryan Hoyle of Collective Soul contributed percussion on several songs (the title track "Talladega Pile-Up," "Shine In," "Rock 'n' Roll Party," "Floyd County Bootleg," and "Henry Jackson"). Also making special appearances are rock/blues guitarists Ryan McGarvey ("Shine In") and Wes Jeans ("Henry Jackson"). All tracks were engineered by Hunkins, and mixed by Bryan Kornaker on Sonar Cakewalk and Samplitude DAWs.
These tracks are excerpted from Talladega Pile-Up—an album that Hunkins plans to release in 2010. As work progresses, tracks will be rotated and updated, so keep checking back to see how things are progressing.
Special Thanks
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd (“I’m gonna beat you go-cart racing. Eventually…”)
- Bryan Kornaker (“Golden ears and the patience of Job!”)
- Shanna and Tambre (“For putting up with this terrible racket”)
- Jack Roush (“Thanks for the indulgence on ‘Pile-Up’”)
- Robert McGaffin (“Only a true friend will carry a trash can full of water through the casino floor of the Flamingo…”)
- Wes Jeans ("He can hand out an ass-whuppin' on guitar, and build a mean small-block.")
- All my friends in the hot rod biz who listen politely without saying anything nasty...
For The Gear Hounds
(Thanks Guitar Center Rancho Cucamonga!)
- 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 11/7/09)
Chris Duarte flew in to lay down tracks for an instrumental prog rock tune for the album called "Let It Eat!" This song is a little different from the rest of the CD because it's got a little harder edge. I liked Chris for the part because he's super talented, he's a really nice guy, and he's also way into cars. I also discovered that he's got a much harder rock edge than anybody thought! (Just listen to the rough mix above to hear what I'm talking about.) Chris appears courtesy of Shrapnel Records and he plays Xotic guitars with GHS strings. His tracks were also recorded through a Motion Sound SRV-112 rotating speaker cab. (I figure a little plug can't hurt!) Next up is to have Ryan Hoyle lay down a killer live drum track to go with all of Chris's exquisite notes.
Speaking of Ryan Hoyle, he's just completed putting live drums to "Over The Edge." Since finishing this track last summer, I haven't been happy with the sequenced drums--they just seemed too plastic. Once mix engineer Bryan Kornaker gets it remixed with the real drums, I'll be posting it above. Ryan will also start working on drums for "Memphis," which also features a Chris Duarte solo. That's a whole lot of new music that will coming this way in the next month or two, so check back soon.
I just got a fresh copy of Wes Jeans' new live album, "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!
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