Liner Notes: Johnny Starts a Band
1977-1979
In junior high school, my friends and I decided to start a band. The problem was that we didn’t know how to play. I signed up for a guitar class at my school for 7th grade, so by 8th grade I could play basic chords and a few bar chords. The other guys decided to take lessons, too, so by 8th grade we had chosen our instruments for the band. By the time we were in 9th grade we could make noise together, but we were not graceful at all. None of us could read music. And we played as loud and distorted as possible with the junk we were playing through.
Personnel:
Scott Hall—vocals, bass, guitar
Mark Burns (Bernie)—drums
Mark Honda—guitar, bass
1979-1981
Our first band was called The Shit Band. We only did covers of songs. I played guitar, bass, and sang most of the songs, but the one guy who was the best (Honda) would either play bass or guitar depending on the song, and I would play whatever I could and still sing. We attempted covers of The Who, The Kinks, The Monkees, and some 80s rock songs. We were terrible. We were still in high school. One of the songs that we covered was “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” by the Monkees. We continued to play that song in every band I played in. I don’t know if any recordings exist from this time period and I truly hope no recordings ever surface. Around this time I experimented with writing my own songs, but they either hokey or folky–they were not good, or they were folky and the band had no interest in playing them. We experimented with monikers at this point in our “careers”–I was always Johnny something, because we noticed all the real punk rockers had names like Johnny Rotten or Johnny Ramone. I tried to think of something really punk and came up with Johnny Incision. Seemed real punk at the time and became something of an inside joke thereafter. The name would resurface years later, still as a kind of joke.
Personnel:
The Shit Band:
Scott Hall—vocals, bass, guitar
Mark Burns (Bernie)—drums, vocals
Mark Honda—guitar, bass
Rick Gale—guitar, bass, vocals
1981-1983
The next band was Bad Habit. It was basically the same band with the addition of Joe. Joe knew music better than we did, and had good equipment. We sounded better, tried harder to play well, stay on the beat. We all bought and borrowed better equipment. We branched out from three-chord rock and roll songs to include “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Hey, Hey, My, My”—songs that required lead guitar solos and heavy bass parts. We were still switching around the instruments as needed. We even experimented with an original song or two. Still played many of the same songs as The Shit Band. I still sang most of the songs and played bass almost all the time in this band. We played at some parties and garage shows for friends. One highlight was playing at the high school talent show playing “We Got the Beat”–dressed in mini skirts and wigs. Yes, a picture exists. We also played “Johnny B. Goode” to end the night–dressed as dudes, though.
I was always interested in poetry and literature, I think. Dr. Seuss was an early influence, and in high school, I starting reading Nerval, Beaudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Goethe, Hesse, Dylan Thomas, Whitman, Frost, Rimbaud, Shakespeare, and really anyone associated with the music and bands I was listening to at the time. I was hugely influenced by my teachers, by the writers that rock stars said they enjoyed, by the librarian at my school. In eleventh grade, I took a poetry class that helped me tap deeper into my creativity. I wrote more songs, but was probably more interested in writing pure poetry at this point.
Honda and I graduated from high school in June ‘83, and the band split up because we went along different paths. That was the end of Bad Habit as an entity. We would get back together to do a couple shows, but nothing of a permanent nature.
Even though I had started writing my own songs, I never offered them to this band. They were folky, almost like Dylan or Neil Young. That wasn’t really our jam for this band. They were not good songs, anyway. There is really only one good song that dates back to this time that I still love, and am still trying to write: “I Sometimes Feel Like Crying.” This song has only recently been recorded, with what I think were the original words, because I can’t find the notebook I wrote it in–and I just can’t remember the second verse by heart. I have tried so many times to write a new verse, but I am never satisfied with the result. I’m not the same person who wrote that song years ago.
Personnel:
Bad Habit:
Scott Hall—vocals, bass, guitar
Mark Burns (Bernie)—drums, vocals
Mark Honda—guitar, bass
Rick Gale—guitar, bass, vocals
Joe Schertz—guitar, bass, vocals
1983-1985
A few things are interesting during this time.
First, I saw an ad in the local paper for auditions for Jesus Christ Superstar at a local church—Because I had loved that record for many years, I had to audition. I knew all the words and parts already. I had spent years singing along to that album while building model cars in the basement. I just wanted to be in the play, and hoped that they’d like what they heard and saw. The choreographer asked if I wanted to be a dancer–I said “sure, I’ll do anything. I hope that I could get the role of Caiaphus?” I am a baritone, and have a deeper range. Well, I did not get that part. During the casting announcement meeting, they read off the name of each character followed by the person who got the role in order of appearance in the play. When they got to the role of Jesus–a hot flush ran through my body. I felt something strange telling me they were going to say my name. I got the role of Jesus. It was life-changing. Paul, the musical director, worked with me a ton on the vocal delivery and timing. He’s still a friend today. Soon after I performed in Godspell and Joseph and the Amazing Dreamcoat. I loved it all. I had a lead part in all of these shows and, even though it was only local theatre, it forged a new confidence in my singing.
Second, Joe attended a music recording college after high school and decided to follow-up on the rock and roll dream. Over the course of these couple years, we would begin experimenting with recording songs. I remember calling Joe one night, and he was recording one of his own songs at home in his basement, by himself. He asked me to come over and hear it, and maybe record a vocal track. I arrived around 9pm and we worked on this song until about 3am. “Cuz Your Not Here With Me” ended up being 7 minutes long—by the end of the session, I had added keyboard melody, keyboard bass, some moody background singing, and a lead vocal. When I was home from college during Christmas break in 1985, the guys from Bad Habit and I recorded “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.” A version of “Steppin’ Stone” survives today, as well as that original song by Joe.
Third, our friend Vinny attended college for a degree in entertainment business. As his final project, he created a “live rock and roll show” and invited Bad Habit to play at a “club.” Thing is, the club was in the school’s theater and the audience sounds were pumped in to make it seem live. At the time, it was our only performance at a “club” and gave us something to look back on about ten years later when we formed the Darts. Vinny is still a friend today and has been working to bring shows to the Greater Dallas-Fort Worth area for years and years. Maybe you’ve also met him?
Personnel:
Paul McKenzie–musical director for Jesus Christ Superstar
Bad Habit:
Scott Hall—vocals, bass, guitar
Joe Schertz—guitar, bass, vocals
Mark Burns (Bernie)—drums, vocals
Mark Honda—guitar, bass
Recording Engineers:
Joe Schertz
Peter Redin
1985-1996
I didn’t play in any bands for a long time. But, I still wrote, played guitar for myself, played short solo sets at a few shows, and noodled around at a few house parties. Very informal stuff. I was still writing a lot of songs for myself, but nothing too memorable. I saw tons of concerts. I concentrated on my teaching career and found ways to stay engaged in creative outlets on my own. I also spent a great deal of time with friends playing softball and doing a bit of traveling. Earned an MA degree from 92-94, so I was rather busy with other things.
1996-2000
Joe was playing drums in a band with Lee Zukor, and Bernie and I would go see them occasionally. Man, it looked like fun, so we talked about getting together and see what happened. Lee and Joe offered to let us open for them at the Terminal Bar, if Honda, Bernie, and I could get some tunes together by that date. So, we practiced a handful of times and grabbed some oldies off the shelf, like “Steppin’Stone,” and added tunes by the Jam, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Smithereens, and Scofflaws. Overall, we stunk it up loudly and distortedly. BUT–we had a great time. Our efforts had sparked a renewal in my interest. Joe then expressed interest in playing guitar in a band with us, and doing some original songs. We wanted Honda to join, but he was not available for that kind of commitment. So, the three of us guys reformed into a band called The BlueDarts.
The ‘Darts did almost all original songs, about half of which I wrote and brought to the band. I played bass exclusively and sang about half of the songs. Joe wrote several songs as well, and had the recording experience, so we created a CD called, “Get the Match” recorded at Music Tech. With this band, we played venues like Fine Line, 7th St. Entry, O’Gara’s. We eventually recorded another CD that was self-titled. After the first couple of years, we ran into some issues in creativity–we seemed at odds over the musical direction, the roles in the band, and recording took its toll on our momentum. I eventually left and the band continued without me for another year under the name of Diginova, releasing a CD called “Our Hamburg Years.”
Personnel:
The BlueDarts:
Scott Hall—vocals, bass guitar
Mark Burns (Bernie)—drums
Joe Schertz—guitar, vocals
2001-2005
Because Bernie and I are best friends, I sort of poached him from Diginova for a new project that I was dreaming up. Bernie and I wanted to start a new band with a guy named Kurt who I played softball with for several years. We used to go out at the end of softball nights to sing karaoke–Kurt was always a great singer, so we decided to get a guitar player to create a new band. John Gergen was a friend of a friend, and when he tried out for us, we liked him immediately. We started writing songs like crazy–about 20 songs in year one, about 15 songs in year two, about 8 songs in year three. The SwindleKings years were the best musical years and this was by far the most successful band I have been a part of. We played great venues and great nights–we played Halloween shows and New Year’s Eve shows. We opened or played gigs with some famous bands like Johnny Clueless, GB Leighton, Kurt Jorgenson, and once even shared the Fine Line stage with Maroon 5, right before they became mega-famous. We closed the club by playing for an hour after Joni Mitchell/Richie Havens one night. As our creativity declined by the third year, our frustration with each other and animosity grew. We added Eric Moter in year three to round out the sound and bring in some creative ideas, and it really worked well with him on the songs we had already written. But, the old frustrations created two camps that often disagreed on what the music should sound like, or what direction we should go. Our previous successes became the pride that created borders between us. We held our individual ground, no longer united by the excitement and creativity of making new music. Stubbornness defined our efforts more than anything. Efforts at recording were dismal at best, even though we had some great songs that were not on the first CD. It seemed no one was in agreement on what to do next. By 2004 we were done creating and just played out the final live shows that we had booked. And once again, I took a break from playing.
Personnel:
The SwindleKings:
Scott Hall—bass guitar, background vocals
Mark Burns (Bernie)—drums
John Gergen—guitar
Kurt Ronquist—lead vocals, harmonica
Eric Moter—acoustic rhythm guitar, background vocals
2005-2012
Many years passed not playing in bands, or live, and only playing for myself at home, writing songs. The few projects that I was involved with were short term, one-offs. For these projects we attached the name Johnny Incision and the Tumors. This wasn’t really a band. It was a collection of individuals and players that got together once in a while, but a friend named Todd Billings, Bernie, and I were at the heart of all of them. The joke persevered. The only regular thing about it was practice and a show once a year at the high school where I taught. Band Jam was a fundraiser for the TV Studio to buy equipment. The show included 4-5 student bands and one “teacher band” that I was a part of. The name of the band for Band Jam changed every year, but we ourselves kept calling all projects during this time by this name. This was also a time when I was writing country songs, folk songs, techno songs worked out on synths and drum machines, and experimenting with personal recording in my own basement. I never became good at being a recording engineer, ultimately growing frustrated enough to give up on tracked recordings.
Personnel:
Scott Hall—vocals, rhythm guitar
Todd Billings—bass guitar
Mark Burns (Bernie)—drums
Other Personnel (each played 1-2 shows):
Pete St. Martin—lead guitar
Nick Hall—lead guitar
Matt Gallagher—drums
Andy Fischer—lead guitar
Kevin Law–lead guitar
Amy Wakamoto—rhythm guitar
2012-2014
The return of the SwindleKings. Kurt had been playing in a band named Rhino for years. Bernie and I would drop out to see that band occasionally and, on one of those we started talking about the good old days–and maybe playing again. Kurt suggested a reunion show with us opening for Rhino. We got a set together and played the show on May 4, 2012.
The self-called Swindle “Jacks” years were a reunion of sorts–a continuation of the SKs ten years later. We got together for a reunion show and that reignited interest in the band for a short time. We enjoyed playing the old songs, even wrote a few new songs. But, because Kurt was already playing in another band, he could only do the reunion show. So, the other four of us decided to continue the fun and book a few more shows over the next couple years. We were still billed as the SwindleKings, even though we had talked of changing our name and switching around our sound and approach. Eric and I shared the lead vocal duties, switching back and forth on songs that we personally wrote for the SKs or the SJs. The SwindleJacks performed for the last two Band Jam shows. We wrote some great new songs and began recording in 2013, but the project fizzled out before any kind of an album was accomplished. We just stopped in the spring of 2014 after the last Band Jam show. We just went home and never called to schedule another practice. The other three guys did play a few shows with another bass guitarist, but never went by the name SwindleKings. We’ll see what happens, as I’ve never felt that the ‘Kings were completely finished.
Personnel:
Scott Hall—lead and background vocals, bass guitar
Mark Burns (Bernie)—drums
John Gergen—lead guitar
Eric Moter—lead and background vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
2014-2018
I did not focus on music much during these years, though I did continue cataloging ideas and lyrics in my phone as they would occur to me, or when I’d wake up with a song in my head.
2018-Present
I’m currently gigging with my friend and mentor, Jessie Smelter. He has been in the biz for many years as a solo artist and has his own shows and recordings available here. His music is soulful, captivating. On the mellow side, his lyrics speak to family, faith, love, peace, compassion, and beauty.
There’s been some talk between Honda, Bernie, a friend Dave, a friend Lane, and I recently. We’ll see…keep your eyes open and ears to the door. When live music returns…
As always, I continue thinking, writing, talking, waiting for the muse to visit. Writing this helps.
Scott.Hall.Music 