Blues-based hard rock veterans Junkyard did a show in Fresno, CA at Fulton 55 just before New Year’s Eve and lead singer David Roach was gracious in sitting down for a talk about all things Junkyard-related. Roach discussed the band’s adventures in 2018 and plans for 2019 as well as giving some insight into his writing process. Thanks to David for his time and conversation and also to Status Global MGMT for setting it up.
HI DAVID, THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TALK. I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT HOW JUNKYARD JUST DID SOME SHOWS IN THE U.K. HOW DID THOSE SHOWS GO?
It was fun. We did six shows on our own and we did four shows with Blackberry Smoke, which was interesting. It was cool. Those guys were actually fans of Junkyard back in the day, they’re a few years younger than us and they’re from Atlanta. We did a few shows there and they were good shows. So yeah, and Charlie (Starr) wrote that one song for us from the last album (Till the Wheels Fall Off). It was fun. We kinda got mixed reactions from the crowd. Everybody was like either “interested” or “get ‘em over with,” with equal enthusiasm (laughs).
OK, SO DID YOU HAVE SOME HECKLERS OVER THERE?
Not hecklers. Well, there was this one guy who made some post on their (Blackberry Smoke’s) webpage about “you gotta lose these openers.” But hey, I know what it was like when I went to go see my favorite band and the openers are on and you’re just like “come on” (laughs). And then the shows that we played on our own were all good. But we played a lot of weeknights, which you can’t do much in America anymore because there’s not a whole lot of interest in live rock and roll, seems like, unless you’re a tribute band.
YEAH, THOSE ARE REALLY DOING WELL KNOW, KINDA BLOWS ME AWAY
I think we’d do better if we were a tribute band. You know, you’d get a younger David Roach (laughs).
I DON’T KNOW MAN, YOU GUYS ARE DOING FINE WHERE YOU ARE NOW. BUT WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WENT TO ENGLAND BEFORE THOSE SHOWS?
We were there a couple years ago in August I think
YOU GUYS DID 38 SHOWS THIS YEAR, IS THAT A BUSY YEAR FOR YOU GUYS?
Not as busy as I had hoped to be but, you know, it was busier than we had been in a long time. I’ll take it.
THE LAST TIME YOU CAME THROUGH HERE, THE NEXT PLACE YOU WERE GOING WAS THE MONSTERS OF ROCK CRUISE. HOW DID THAT GO, DID YOU LIKE IT?
It was a good experience but I’m not dying to go back or anything to be honest. It’s like a cesspool of contamination, like a floating petri dish (laughing). I think I got a staph infection (laughs).
I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT THAT’S LIKE BECAUSE, PERSONALLY, I LIKE TO GO TO A SHOW AND THEN HEAD ON HOME, YOU KNOW?
Yeah, that was the thing. You could stay in your cabin and hide if you want but there wasn’t any TV reception, like two channels or something. You know, you’re there so you’ll mix it up with the crowd. But sometimes you need to remove yourself from the scene for a bit.
SO, WHEN YOU’RE WALKING AROUND YOU’VE GOT FANS COMING UP TO YOU WHEN YOU’RE NOT ON STAGE?
Yeah, you know, not crazy. We’re not like Tesla, you know, or someone that we gotta sequester ourselves in our cabin. But it’s good to get out there and talk to everybody. They paid a lot of money and they’re out there so you make yourself available.
HOW LONG WAS IT, A WEEK?
Five days. We played twice. Rockin’ and rollin’ with the waves. I thought Faster Pussycat was going to get electrocuted one night. They were playing by the pool on the deck and it was pretty rocky that night. The waves were splashing around pretty good. It looked like the swimming pool was going to spill over and wash them off the stage.
OK, IN 2019 ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO BE BUSIER?
I hope so, yeah. We were hoping to have an album out in the spring, a new album. Now it looks like it’s going to be pushed back a little further just because, you know, it’s already upon us. And we want to play a lot more too so we’ll see what happens.
HOW’S THE WRITING FOR THAT GOING?
We’re about 40%, 50% there. Maybe a little further. We’ve got a lot of ideas that are almost there and it shouldn’t take too much. A little more focus maybe. We’ve been a little preoccupied the last couple of months. It’ll get done.
We’re talking about maybe releasing a condensed version of the XXX and Joker albums that weren’t really legally put out.
THAT WAS THE STUFF THAT (FORMER GUITAR PLAYER) CHRIS GATES PUT OUT IN ITS RAW FORM?
Yeah. So we’ve got those songs from those two records, like 25 or 30 songs, and we’re going to take 10 or 12 of the best stuff and try to get it out maybe. No promises.
IS WRITING EASIER OR MORE DIFFICULT AT THIS STAGE, AFTER THE BAND HADN’T DONE ANYTHING IN THAT LONG STRETCH?
Yeah, it’s almost like starting over again. The first album, I had 21 years to write and then this last record I had 26 years to write. There was already a lot of material. I had started writing a couple years prior so we had some stuff ready. It’s a little more difficult. It’s like another sophomore slump, which not many bands can say, so it’s pretty cool. But I think it’s going to be good. We’ve got some good ideas.
YOU’RE PLAYING FOUR OR FIVE SONGS FROM YOUR LATEST RECORD, HIGH WATER. HOW DO YOU LIKE PLAYING THOSE SONGS COMPARED WITH THE ONES EVERYBODY KNOWS FROM THE FIRST TWO RECORDS?
I think most of them work fine. And there are some songs from the album that people want to hear that we don’t play. They always want the hit, you know, they always want the Simple Man’s and the Hollywood’s, but they’re pretty receptive to everything. It’s not much of a departure from the old stuff anyway.
YOU WRITE ALL OF THE LYRICS, DON’T YOU? PUT THEM ALL DOWN IN A NOTEBOOK?
Not all of them, but a good part of them.
I’M CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR PROCESS, HOW YOU COME UP WITH THIS STUFF.
I think I posted a picture of it one time. I’ve got, like, napkins and scraps of paper and shit and I’ve got things circled. It’s a mess. I started writing a song today on the airplane on the puke bag. It’s that kind of thing. Whatever’s around, if I get an idea.
IT JUST HITS YOU WHENEVER AND YOU JUST PUT IT DOWN?
Yeah, it’s really hard to sit down and say “well, I should start writing a song.” Something’s gotta hit me and then I gotta get to a piece of paper quick.
DO YOU HAVE MUSIC IN MIND OR IS IT AS SIMPLE AS AN IDEA?
Both ways. A lot of it is that one of the guys has a riff or an idea, or a chorus and a melody, and I go from there and sometimes I have an idea and I will express it phonetically to the guitar player like (makes a guitar progression sound). So, yeah, there’s a lot of ways to skin a cat.
AS A LYRICIST IS THERE SOMEBODY YOU LOOK UP TO?
Bob Dylan… Hank Williams. There’s a million….I always hate to answer these kinds of questions because there is always like 15 guys that I forget. I’m inspired by all kinds of people. Kris Kristofferson wrote some great songs. Bon Scott. I mean, there’s a lot.
I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT BON SCOTT BECAUSE I JUST READ THE BOOK BON: THE LAST HIGHWAY, AND IT’S ESSENTIALLY MAKING THE CASE THAT HE WROTE A LOT OF BACK IN BLACK.
He wrote Back In Black! (laughs) I had a feeling too, because of the sound of that. I mean, not “sonically” sound but…it sounded like Bon. The lyrics sounded like Bon. He was clever and he wrote some cool shit.
THAT’S WHY I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT BON, BECAUSE YOUR STUFF IS CLEVER, IT’S FUNNY, IT’S TURN-OF-A-PHRASE OR IT’S JUST LIFE. HE HAD A LOT OF THAT STUFF GOING ON TOO.
I’m sure we’re all critical of lyrics. You know, you’re putting yourself out there. I’m proud of pretty much everything I’ve done, and there have been some bad ideas too, but they never made it to the record. So I’m pretty solid with everything we’ve put out.
I don’t write 100% of everything, I write probably 75%. I’ll get a fan telling me “I love that line” and I’m like “I didn’t write that one” (laughs), “Ok, I wrote THAT one,” but yeah, about 75%.
HOW ABOUT BEING ON STAGE AND LOOKING INTO THE AUDIENCE AND THEY’RE SINGING IT RIGHT BACK AT YOU?
That’s awesome, yeah. That’s cool. And not just in front of the stage, but talking to people along the way who ask me about a certain line or say something like “that was the soundtrack of my life,” that kind of thing, which is super cool. You always wonder if you reach people like that. You hope you do, but you’re your own worst critic. It’s hard to believe that people actually respond to what you’ve done. When you grow up and you want to be a rock and roll singer you see these guys, and I know the impact that great songs and great artists had on me. So when somebody says they got that feeling from something I wrote it’s incredible.
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