Heavy Paradise's interview with Johnny Lima!

Johnny Lima is well known as a solo artist. He has released some really strong efforts such as his debut album, "Shine On", "Made In California" and recently the "Livin' Out Loud". Strong hooks, big melodies, very good guitar work and a very charismatic voice are all elements that can describe Lima's music. Below you can read some very interesting things that Johnny Lima told to Heavy Paradise.

-Hello Johnny! Firstly, I would like to thank you for accepting my invitation for this interview. It's great to have artists like you in Heavy Paradise!

Thank you! The pleasure is all mine! I appreciate the support.


-Can you tell me a few things about how you've started?

Well, my parents bought me my first guitar when I was 12. I wanted to do this since I was 4 after seeing Kiss on TV. I just started writing songs as soon as I picked up the guitar. Fast forward a few years, I started singing for a group called Cheshire Cat when I was 19. Then that band evolved into Attitude. It wasn't until I was 25 when I went solo. The rest they say, is history. HAHA!!


-For me, when I hear or read somewhere your name, the first thing that comes in my mind is your second awesome release "Shine On". A great commercial melodic hard rock album and an album that sounds like a 1989 release!. How tough is for an artist to release a good hard rock album in the late 90's or 00's?

Releasing an album is easy. You go into the studio, lay your magic down, and then you press CDs. It's selling them that is the hard part. Although it's much easier to reach a huge amount of people these days thanks to sites like Facebook, Myspace, etc. But it's still extremely hard to sell an album. There's so much music out there for people to choose from.


-I have all your albums and I have to admit that every single release can be rated from very good to excellent! Which of your albums do you like more and why?

I like Made In California and Livin' Out Loud. Mainly because of the songwriting and production. I've grown as a songwriter as well as a producer and it shows in every one of my releases. I think from a songwriting and production standpoint, Livin' Out Loud is my best album. And if my next album doesn't top Livin' Out Loud in my eyes, then it's time for me to quit. As long as I'm progressing as a songwriter and producer, I'll continue to do this.

-As a guitar player and a singer/songwritter, which is more difficult? To write a catchy tune or a riff?

Writing a riff is easy. Writing an entire song could be easy, or it could be a long drawn out process. For me it's both. There's songs that took me less than an hour to write, and then I have songs that took me months. I don't feel like writing is difficult for me though. Coming up with a killer hook is just as natural to me as breathing. Finishing a song is where I run into problems. It's not because it's hard for me, but it's because I'm lazy and easily get sidetracked by other things. HAHAH!


-How do you see the melodic hard rock scene of today?

I think it's fine. Much better than it was in the 90's. However, it's still tough to break into the mainstream. I don't think it's because the style of music. I think it's more because most melodic rock artists don't have a money tree growing in their backyard. It takes lots of money to promote and market an artist. If you have that kind of money, any artist could be huge. Without the money, then the chances of you becoming a huge success is very slim.

-Is there a new melodic band that you've heard recently and impressed you?

My two favorite new bands are The Rasmus and Crashdiet. The Rasmus just blows me away with their songwriting. They've created a great new sound mixing elements of different styles of music. I think "Livin' In A World Without You" is one of the best songs written in the last 10 years. They're very melodic, and I like melody!! Crashdiet's "It's A Miracle" is another one of those songs that really blew my mind. It's nothing really original, but then again, neither is my stuff. Crashdiet puts a new spin on a style of music that I and many others have done for years. But they have a fresh approach and I think that's why so many people love that band, including me. They're this generation's Motley Crue.


-Your recent work "Livin' Out Loud" was an excellent album! But I also have to say that it was a bit heavier than your previous albums. What was the reaction of your fans?

The reaction was fantastic. Both from the fans and the critics. It was definitely a step in the right direction for me. My next album will be a little different. I think with the next one I'm going to bring back more keyboards, but make it even heavier and more melodic. Livin' Out Loud was a straight ahead rock album. Heavily influenced by the styles of AC/DC, Motley Crue, etc. I think I want my next album to be more complex in the production. More complex arrangements, but still have the main ingredients of my sound. So there will still be lots of melody, hooks, and vocals that people have come to expect from my albums.


-With which artists have you shared the stage?

I shared the stage with lots of artists when I performed at the Gods shows in England back in '99 and '00. However, I forget most of them.


-If you had to release an album with covers only, what will they? Which are your influences?

Funny you mention this, as I was having a discussion with some people on my Artist page on Facebook. I was asking them if I were to make a covers album, which songs did they think would be good for it. They gave me a lot of good ideas. Here's just a few that I think would be cool to do:

Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield

If You Could Only See by Tonic


Tough Guys by Reo Speedwagon


I Love Rock 'n Roll by Joan Jett


Lady Strange by Def Leppard
..Just to name a few.

-Tell me what's new in the Johnny Lima camp? Are you recording any new material?

Right now I'm finishing work on Jamie Allen's solo album. Jamie Allen is a singer I met out of Missouri. Great guy and great songwriter. I'm performing on his album as well. I'm doing all the guitars, drums, bass, and keys. As well as the backing vocals. As soon as I'm done with that, I need to prep some of my tracks from Livin' Out Loud because they're going to be released for the ROCKBAND game. And in the near future, I'm going to prep tracks from my other albums as well. For now, it's just going to be tracks from Livin' Out Loud. I'm also going to be working on the new Miss Crazy album but there's no definite date set for that yet. I'm also going to be working on a couple of solo albums. First will possibly be a covers album. Just so I can give some to the fans that will hold them over until I finish a new solo album with original material.


-Any message to your fans?

Thank you very much for all your support. Don't forget to check me out on myspace at www.myspace.com/johnnylima  and come visit my artist page on Facebook. The link is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Johnny-Lima/313910255604 .


-Thax a lot Johnny!

Thank You!