While odds and sods have been released over the decades, "High Water" is a firm statement of the band's 2017, and onward, intent. As singer and founding member David Roach explains, in recent years, JUNKYARD had a blast playing "reunion" shows, which quickly turned into mini-tours through Spain and packed gigs across America. New songs began percolating, and JUNKYARD began writing.
"I had no grand illusions of a magnum opus, or that we'd try and recreate what we were 25 years ago," Roach states. "This album is not a departure; it's a rock 'n' roll record from JUNKYARD with songs about life, love, regret, addiction and memories."
JUNKYARD, who hit MTV and radio hard with their self-titled 1989 Geffen Records debut and singles "Hollywood" and "Simple Man", cement the authenticity their first two records on "High Water", such blunt songs as the soul-searching of "Cut From The Same Cloth" to "We Fuck Like We Fight" (politely abbreviated as "WFLWF" for the politically correct) going down as easy as an aged Kentucky bourbon.
The band members are straight ahead guys, but "High Water" has a few shades of meaning. Guitarist Tim Mosher explains: "It could be interpreted more than one way — like a 'high water mark' or the old phrase come 'hell or high water,' or with the image of the bottle on our CD cover, the actual 'high water,' aka booze!" "High Water" also boasts writing and lead guitar credits from Brian Baker, a JUNKYARD founding member who played with the band more than 25 years, but now plays his trade full time with BAD RELIGION. On the road, JUNKYARD are joined by Jimmy James (THE HANGMEN), with founding member Pat Muzingo and bassist Todd Muscat, who joined the band in 1991, rounding out the lineup.
"The JUNKYARD sound is a pretty classic one: big guitars and drums with David spilling his guts on top," says Mosher, who produced the album. We wanted 'High Water' to sound loose and live, so as far as production goes we weren't trying to re-invent the wheel, just deliver the songs in the best light we could, then mix in some big riffs and throaty vocals and that's 'YARD."
JUNKYARD's classic sound got some help from a fan and friend on "High Water": Charlie Starr from the band BLACKBERRY SMOKE wrote the dramatic, forthright statement "Till The Wheels Fall Off" specifically for JUNKYARD.
As for a theme running through "High Water", Roach jokes "we're not that clever," but describes the album as "a rock 'n' roll record with a nod to punk rock and outlaw country rock." It's a sound that's both timeless and timely.
As always, JUNKYARD steer clear of politics: "I personally prefer to keep politics out of my rock. I understand it's a great platform, and maybe some feel it's your duty to use it to a purpose, but I just feel our music is just for escape."
For his part, lyricist Roach is unafraid to mine his own missteps in song, as he did in the past with 1989 fan favorite, "Hands Off". This go-round, he confesses all via the tune 'Wallet". "That song was inspired by a night I spent with a stranger on the eve of a tour," says Roach. "I met her at [Hollywood bar] Boardners and we went to her place. The next day I snuck off like a rat to go home and pack for the tour. After I left, I realized I left my wallet and had to do the walk of shame to retrieve it. Similar incidents have occurred — before and since to me — and I'm sure, countless others."
The band — and it's legion of longtime fans — is excited that "High Water" brings back JUNKYARD as an ongoing concern. As one of the great guttersnipe L.A. bands of the late '80s — a storied crew that includes GUNS N' ROSES, LITTLE CAESAR, THE HANGMEN — JUNKYARD were proud to be part of "one of the last great rock 'n' roll scenes," as they term it.
"I don't think we dated ourselves too badly in the beginning so a lot of our songs still have some relevance," said Roach. "Also, we were in hibernation a while, we weren't playing while a lot of our contemporaries were. It's not so much longevity as it was people who missed us 20 years ago finally have a chance to see us."
Mosher, who was a fan of the group before joining JUNKYARD in 2000, sees all angles of the JUNKYARD saga...
"Although it's been 17 years since I joined, I'm still 'the new guy,' so with 'High', I wanted to give the fans something I would've wanted as a JUNKYARD fan — a proper third album," said Mosher. "It was important to all of us that the record be a statement of intent that could connect with fans from back in the day as well as hopefully find new ones for whom this might be their first 'YARD record. It's a tall order, but we're up for it."
Testimonials:
"Junkyard is not a band from the 80s junkyard is not a band from the 90s junkyard is rock 'n' roll pure kick ass bar hopping motorcycle ridin' rock n roll that seems as relevant today as when they first started, even more so" - Riki Rachtman
"Junkyard exploded on to the scene in the late 80's and laughed in the face of the Sunset Strip pay to play community. With a punk rock credibility and aesthetic, they look and sounded like AC DC joining a biker gang. They were a beacon of light in a sea of Aqua Net that carried the torch that would eventually light Nirvana's fuse. Some bands have multi-platinum sales, and some bands have multi-platinum legacies...ladies and gentlemen, Junkyard are back to save us again!" - Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray)
"Faded is totally insane. Great riff. Sick lyrics. It's perfect Junkyard. Up there with the best of the best and surpassing some of that a bit. That tune is a classic and is gonna go beyond any fans highest expectations!" - Ryan Adams
David Roach - Vocals
Tim Mosher - Guitar
Todd Muscat - Bass
Patrick Muzingo - Drums
Jimmy James - Guitar
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The veteran hard rockers have a new album on the charts and tour just as its original gritty rock scene is making a comeback.
Junkyard, the veteran East Hollywood rock band whose new album High Water this week cracked Billboard top 25 Hard Rock Album Sales Chart, today announced dates for a US and UK summer tour (full tour dates below).
Over the past two years, the band has been plotting a comeback with its first album since its classic Sixes, Sevens and Nines (Geffen, 1991) which is just now out on the band's new label Acetate Records (Supersuckers, Rhino Bucket, The Hangmen). High Water was produced by the band's guitarist Tim Mosher and engineered by Bruce Witkin (Hollywood Vampires) at Unison Studios with songs co-written by founding member Brain Baker (Bad Religion, Dag Nasty, Minor Threat).
"I was excited to hear that Junkyard was writing new material," Rick Ballard, Acetate's founder, tells Billboard. "I was always a fan of the band and felt like they have more to offer than just the two albums that Geffen released. When I heard the first demos from what finally became High Water I knew it was a project that we had to be involved in."
Junkyard's current line up consists of David Roach, Pat Muzingo, Jimmy James, Todd Muscat and Mosher (full-disclosure: Mosher is a friend and I've had my face melted off by the band many times).
When they formed in 1987, Junkyard was part of an exploding East Hollywood rock scene (i.e. not the Strip) that birthed grittier rock acts with less hairspray and an unwillingness to indulge the Strip's onerous pay-to-play booking policies. The clubs were all east of Crescent Heights Blvd. and included venues like Scream, White Trash A Go Go, Club Lingerie, Raji’s and Anti Club. The band's original line-up consisted of Roach, Muzingo and Baker along with Chris Gates and Clay Anthony,
While the East Hollywood scene's best known purveyors included Guns N' Rosesand Jane's Addiction, the sound was much broader and included bands like The Hangmen, Lions and Ghosts, L.A. Guns, The Nymphs, Faster Pussycat, Broken Homes, Burning Tree and Little Ceasar.
Recently the East Hollywood scene has been having something of a resurgence on several fronts. There's a new documentary, Scenesters: Music, Mayhem & Melrose L.A. A Documentary 1985 -1990 producerd and directed by Desi Benjamin, a former A&R exec at Island and SBK/EMI Records. The film documents not only music from that era but also the fashion and lifestyle.
Many of the East Hollywood's musicians worked by day at the then-trendy boutiques that lined Melrose Avenue and played the clubs by night. This included such artists as Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat, for example, who worked at Retail Slut, Mick Cripps of LA Guns who worked at Let It Rock, Junkyard's Mosher and Baker who worked at Flashfeet of London; and Michael Lockwood of Lions and Ghosts who was employed at the iconic Soap Plant.
"We were all broke and had to make some money," says Mosher, who now works as a composer for film and television. "You couldn't walk down Melrose in the late-1980s and early-90s without seeing some long haired rock musician decked out in leather and eye-liner handing out a flyer for that night's show."
Beyond the documentary, LA Rock Review, a magazine from that period, was a key chronicler of the scene and recently promoted two shows featuring The Nymphs, Broken Glass and Funhouse among others at the Viper Room. A full re-launch of the magazine is in the works.
Meanwhile, bands from that time are still actively touring and recording including Little Ceasar who are supporting Junkyard on their east coast dates; Rhino Bucket who have a new album on Acetate; and the Hangmen, Faster Pussycat and LA Guns are all still rocking.
The motivation behind Junkyard's High Water, which marks the band's first album in 27 years (though there's been bootlegs and singles), is more than just nostalgia, says Mosher. "There's a diehard fan base that never stopped digging us," he says. "During our sporadic touring we would always come across fans asking us when we would release a proper full-length. We've been writing new songs for the last couple of years and looked at this as a chance to do a real third Junkyard album."
The new album also includes a track by Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke, who as a longtime Junkyard fan contributed the song "Till the Wheels Fall Off" to High Water. "It is exactly the right time for a new Junkyard album," Starr said in a statement, "not just because they are one of my favorite bands ever, but because they are a real rock and roll band and always have been."
With rock's changing demographics, it makes sense that Starr and Blackberry Smoke, who are considered an outlaw country standard bearer, would dovetail with Junkyard. Back in the day, Junkyard opened for Lynyrd Skynyrd at the same time bands like the Black Crowes opened for them. There's a historical and natural affinity between country and rock that of course dates back much further.
In addition to Ballard, Junkyard's team includes the Artists Worldwide Agency who put the US/UK tour together. A new single and video for "Styrofoam Cup" is also in the offing with more dates being set for fall.
The band is just back from playing the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland. That show included an appearance by Baker, who most appropriately guested on the band's classic 80s rock anthem "Hollywood."
Junkyard Tour Dates:
5/19/17 @ Blackthorn 51, New York, NY
5/20/17 @ Jewel Nightclub, Manchester, NH
5/21/17 @ The Chance, Poughkeepsie, NY
5/22/17 @ Brass Monkey, Ottawa, Canada
5/23/17 @ The Rockpile, Toronto, Canada
5/25/17 @ Phatheadz, Green Bay, WI
5/26/17 @ The Token Lounge, Westland, MI
5/27/17 @ Courtyard Lounge, Englewood, OH
6/30/17 @ Texas Mist, Austin, TX
7/01/17 @ The Curtain Club, Dallas, TX
8/4/17 @ Bogarts, Cincinnati, OH
8/5/17 @ TBA, Indianapolis, IN
8/23/17 @ The Iron Road, Evesham U.K.
8/24/17 @ Bannermans, Edinburgh, Scotland U.K.
8/25/17 @ The Underworld Camden, London, U.K.
8/26/17 @ Hair Metal Heaven Festival, Hull, U.K.
9/22/17 @ 80’s In The Park Festival, Florida
2/11/18 @ Monsters of Rock Cruise
Source At: Junkyard Rock Band | ⚒ JUNKYARD FORUMS
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