Daron Letts
Northern News Services
Published Monday, August 11, 2008

THEBACHA/FORT SMITH - Leather-clad rockers Veronica and Dave Johnny, leaders of the hard-rocking Toronto-based band The Johnnys, play electrifying rock and roll that makes fans move and sweat.

The dynamic couple set up recording equipment in their summer shack on the outskirts of Fort Smith this summer. They've laid down drum and bass tracks for their demo, which they'll soon send to Toronto band mates Frank Skinner and Tim Bones as the group prepares to enter the studio in the fall.

The new disc will feature 13 tracks that remain true to the stripped-down, high-energy garage-rock sound the band is known for. There will be more dynamic arrangements with lots of stops and starts, more layered guitar and an old school organ feel on a few tracks.

"It's music to let loose to and forget about your day and forget about your responsibilities for the three minutes that the song is playing," Veronica said. "I like to call it high-voltage rock 'n roll."

The band's tongue-in-cheek sense of humour is showcased in new songs like Bed Bug Banquet, a tune about a horrible hovel Veronica and Dave used to rent in Toronto. Rubber Room is a song about the pressure society exerts on non-conformists.

In their 2007 album I Like It A Lot, songs like I'm Hot (I Get What I Want) and Who's Your Mamma shouted the power of womanhood. The forthcoming album continues the theme of female empowerment with songs like Dona Juana, about a passionate female lover, and Daytime Dancer, which is a tribute to an over-the-hill stripper.

"We try to celebrate women that are off the beaten track," Dave said. "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. People come from all walks of life and they've all got a story to tell. Most people are deserving of respect and a second glance."

When the Johnnys return to Toronto next month they'll be performing at a YWCA fund raising concert called Queens of Noise. The line-up is filled with woman-led and all-woman bands.

"Personally, I just want to see more women out there with guitars on," Veronica said. "It's becoming more and more common but it's not common enough for me. As a female audio engineer and as a female professional in the entertainment industry it's still dominated by men in my view by far. I want to see that equal out a little bit and it's happening, but how many female lead guitar players can you name right of the top of your head?"

Veronica is doing her part to put guitars in women's hands. This summer she is facilitating an informal guitar circle for women and she led a workshop, titled Rock Star 101, for girls aged 12-17 years as part of the Taiga Adventure Camp delivered in Fort Smith by the YWCA. The camp was attended by 80 youth from communities all over the territory.

In her leadership and self esteem-building workshop Veronica covered elements of performance with panache, focusing on how to deal with anxiety, stage presence and breathing techniques.

"These girls were amazing and I feel lucky to have been involved in that," she said.

Veronica also collaborated with songwriter Kiera Kolson, who led her own workshop on hip hop and songwriting, to stage a concert starring the girls in the camp.

"It was a great opportunity to expose our campers to two really awesome and talented women from the North," said camp founder Kirsten Carthew. "Veronica is a very energetic and outgoing person and she's really sympathetic and nurturing, too. She really was able to help the girls individually and as a group to come together to perform their songs with confidence. We had girls who started out shy and feeling a little bit isolated when they arrived and then by the end they were rocking out to these lyrics that they wrote on the stage."

The Johnny's upcoming CD will also feature a single titled You're on the Wrong Damn Side of the Law that addresses struggles between First Nations and the Crown.

"You're not really on the wrong damn side of the law, but you're viewed like that, similar to some of the situations in Ontario where elders are being thrown into jail for standing up for what they believe in peacefully," Veronica explained.

Proceeds from the single will be donated to environmental and First Nations organizations "to raise awareness and to fight" the oil sands development in Northern Alberta, particularly the region around Fort Chipewyan where some members of Veronica's family are from. Veronica is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

"You fight for your land or clean air or water and you're in jail but then there's the corporations that I guess are on the right side of the law and look what they get away with," Dave said. "For the most part we're a fun rock band but there are things going on in the world that have to be commented on and this is the way we do it."

The Johnnys are nominated in seven categories in the Aboriginal People's Choice Awards. The public can vote for the band by logging on to the contest website. Voting closes on Aug. 15.