WATCH: Nothing More’s Jonny Hawkins on whether rock is dead
"Rock was a sinking lake and it turned into a pond," Jonny says
Last updated 10th Jun 2018
Nothing More singer Jonny Hawkins says that the spirit of rock and roll will never die.
Catching up with Kerrang! Radio shortly after smashing the Zippo Encore Stage at Download Festival, Jack Wood asked Jonny about an old interview in which he suggested that rock was dead and whether he still agrees with it.
“(I agree) to a point yes,” Jonny said. “I don’t think the spirit of rock will ever be dead, I think that that is something that was tapped into that was already in humans – rock and roll was just the outlet for it. I don’t think the spirit is ever going to die.
“But in regards to… at least being in the US, I can only speak for where we come from because I know where we’re at more than the rest of the world and the rock and roll in the US over the last 10 to 15 years has been very, very regurgitated and a lot of the bands that were coming out were playing it safe for many years because rock was a sinking lake and it turned into a pond and everybody was just holding on for dear life.
“The spirit of rock and roll is the opposite to that. The spirit is to be completely… (there’s) a lack of abandonment and letting go and just not giving a f--- and just giving it your all. So all the music just started sounding like that spirit that’s the opposite of rock and roll. So I think that that particular spirit of rock and roll has died.”
The gates open
He continued: “The good thing is that just like the real world we all die and people are born again. So I think that it’s going to be reborn and I’d like to think we’re on the forefront of that.
Jonny also opened up about the experience of being nominated for three Grammy Awards this year (Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for ‘Go To War’ and Best Rock Album for ‘The Stories We Tell Ourselves’) and going up against heavyweights like Foo Fighters and Metallica.
“It was pretty surreal,” Jonny explained. “We got the news (of being nominated) and we were actually in Europe driving to Prague and we were all sleep deprived so it felt like a dream.
“And then a day later I was on the phone to my dad catching up and he was freaking out, I couldn’t get him off the phone so that’s when I realised it was a real thing. I was like ‘woah, ok!’
“He found out online actually, like we found out after other people did. We didn’t have cellphone service where we were driving at the time so I think it was announced in the States before we even knew about it.”
Jonny also admitted the Grammy Awards ceremony was somewhat underwhelming: “Honestly, (there was) a lot of hurry up and wait.
“They didn’t give us food, they shut down the concessions and I was really pissed (off) and there was hardly any alcohol. I was like ‘it’s a bunch of musicians’. Maybe that’s why they did it though so many musicians in one area.
“Honestly, it was a cool experience, I’m not going to bash it, the production level was incredible and the professionals that worked there did an amazing job but at the same time, I’ll be honest, it was basically the rap and hip-hop awards and pop as far as the mainstream goes.
“I get it, they’re really catering to ratings and that’s just the mainstream in the US right now. So I felt like it wasn’t as diverse as I’d hoped. I thought it was funny when some of those artists would go up and talk about diversity like politically or racially and I was like ‘where the f--- is rock?!’”
You can watch the full interview here where Jonny talks about how he likes being the underdog and dishes out some advice to up-and-coming bands: