Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Dave Clennon Discusses Horror Film THE SOUND
    • JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH Movie Minute
    • Robert Randolph Signs with Sun Records, Releases New Single “Sinner” from Upcoming Album Preacher Kids
    • The Floaters: A Heartfelt Comedy That Captures the Magic of Summer Camp
    • Levi Fiehler on “Resident Alien” Season 4: Alien Abductions, Directing Debuts, and Finding Joy in Acting
    • F1 THE MOVIE: IT’S A GO! (Review)
    • Punk Icon Cro-Mags Founder HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS – A Hardcore Legend’s Redemption
    • Monica Barbaro Talks ‘FUBAR’ Season 2: A Blast of Fun and Team Spirit
    AMFM Magazine.tv
    • Features
    • Movies
      1. Movies – Indies
      2. Movie Reviews
      3. Movies- Wide Release
      Featured
      June 11, 20250By christine

      FUBAR: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carrie-Anne Moss Bring Action and Laughs to Netflix’s Hit Series Season 2

      4 Mins Read
      Read More
      Recent
      July 6, 2025

      Dave Clennon Discusses Horror Film THE SOUND

      July 6, 2025

      JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH Movie Minute

      July 4, 2025

      The Floaters: A Heartfelt Comedy That Captures the Magic of Summer Camp

    • Photography
      1. Event Photos
      Featured
      August 23, 20240By christine

      JANE’S ADDICTION At The 713 Music Hall, Houston August 19, 2024

      1 Min Read
      Read More
      Recent
      May 1, 2025

      DISTURBED, DAUGHTRY and NOTHING MORE Photo Collage for 25th Anniversary Tour of “The Sickness”

      November 26, 2024

      ARIZONA Opening For Yellow Card and Third Eye Blind at Dickie’s Arena, Nov. 15, 2024

      November 26, 2024

      CHARLIE CROCKETT At Dickie’s Arena, Nov. 15, 2024

    • ABOUT US
    • Music
      1. Indies
      2. Majors
      3. Reviews
      Featured
      November 25, 20240By christine

      Asia’s #1 Rock Guitarist Tak Matsumoto Talks New Supergroup TMG Release “Crash Down Love” (Interview)

      4 Mins Read
      Read More
      Recent
      July 4, 2025

      Robert Randolph Signs with Sun Records, Releases New Single “Sinner” from Upcoming Album Preacher Kids

      June 23, 2025

      FOREIGNER Honors Latin Fans with Spanish-Language “Quiero Saber Si Es Amor” – I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS

      June 17, 2025

      BLIND MELON Rises Again: Guitarist Christopher Thorn

    • The Wire
    • Literarians
    • Great Conversations Reprised
    • Movie Minute Reviews
    • AMFM Studios LLC
    AMFM Magazine.tv
    You are at:Home»Entertainment»Music»Indies»Johnette Napolitano Interview – Concrete Blond

    Johnette Napolitano Interview – Concrete Blond

    0
    By amfmstudios on July 24, 2018 Indies, LATEST, Music, Video Interviews
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=A1Zf6ImfYW8

    Johnette Napolitano – bass, vocals, guitar
    James Mankey – guitars, bass, vocals
    Gabriel Ramirez Quezada – drums, vocals
    “The thing right now for me,” says Johnette Napolitano, “is to figure out how everything in my life fits together.” The Concrete Blonde singer-songwriter-bassist goes on to say she just graduated tattoo school and a “sewing thing.” It sounds just like what a retired musician might do with herself after decades spent on a record-tour-record cycle. Except Concrete Blonde’s future has never been so cemented. While the critically-lauded trio took two six-year breaks since forming in 1982, they always came back around. In the last few years, says Napolitano, the phone would ring with invitations to perform in Brazil, China and Peru. The prospect of “going places we’ve never been” appealed to her, guitarist James Mankey and drummer Gabriel Ramirez Quezada. And there was always the call of the road and the band’s rabid fans. Even during a “hiatus,” the band would sneak off for little one-week jaunts.

    So when another opportunity to explore new territory – by staying home – came up, the band jumped.

    “Things have changed; nothing’s the same. There are so many new mediums. Something we’ve always wanted to do is just be able to webcast from wherever we are. Finally, it seems like the technology has finally caught up to be able to do that, more or less.” ~ Johnette Napolitano

    Via online webcast promoter/venue StageIt, Concrete Blonde now performs monthly 30-minute shows featuring classics, rarities and, potentially, new songs. All this, live a different location on the last Sunday of each month. The shows are ticketed just like regular gigs. For a lean twenty bucks, fans can tune in to the show on their laptops and watch from the couch Napolitano, Mankey and Quezada play their trademark dark, poetic rock n’ roll. They may even work in bonus material like “Mankey’s Worry of the Day.”

    “The first one was from Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree (Dave from Eagles of Death Metal’s place),” says Napolitano. “This time [August] at SoundBite Studios in LA, and September will be from Stagg Street Studios, where we’ve been recording new material on and off for the last two years. In October, we’ll play a Halloween soundcheck-cast live from Houston. Part of the fun of this is thinking up different locations every month.”
    For a band that, after so long together, still thrills at the chance to play together – just not for grueling night-after-night stretches, it’s a gift. “We rehearse every Sunday,” says Napolitano, “and we have a really good time.” This is what Concrete Blonde wants to present to their fans; the band, in an even more intimate setting than a club, where they’ll deliver the goods in a more casual, communal atmosphere. “We haven’t ever really been that calculating at what we do, and there’s no reason to really be that way now.”

    It’s this ethos – along with Napolitano’s powerfully literate songs and the band’s playful but visceral live performances – that established Concrete Blonde as a fan’s band since their inception in 1982. The band thus ensured their devotees would stand by them through peaks like when Bloodletting’s “Joey” ruled radio, valleys like those six-year Mojave dry spells, and those welcome, thirst-quenching recommencements – like this new era of Concrete Blonde.
    Now there’s almost no limit to the interactions between the band and their fans. While other bands wear down their tires and their bodies on the road, Concrete Blonde can keep this up a lot longer. In doing so, they can continue to build on their rapport with extant fans and win new ones.
    “It’s great on the webcast because there’s a chat room so you can see what songs people want, what they know, what they like,” says Napolitano, “just to galvanize where we stand, just to get the information, because we’re so all over the place. You just have to check your shit every couple years. Especially in the climate now. We’re getting a lot of information off of YouTube as far as what people know, who they think we are, finding us for the first time. It’s crazy what’s going on now, in new media.”

    Concrete Blonde is energized by the potential created by their new online existence which, in a very real way, has brought them full circle. Every band, she says, gets to a point where they get together because there’s something to do. There’s a tour coming up, they need to rehearse, figure out the set. “It’s hard to not be that way because everyone expects you to be that way,” says Napolitano. “We like to have plans up until two or three months in advance. After that – you just can’t plan life like that. And then they call you out of nowhere and they’re like, “You want to go to China? You got to answer now.”
    In this new age of Concrete Blonde, Napolitano hails “a good balance.” The most fun a band can have, she continues, is from slogging it out together in a small space, rehearsing. “You rehearse when you start off as a band, whether you have a gig or not. And everyone’s focused on one thing: ‘I hope we get a gig, man.’ It’s those days that are really cool, because some really good things come out of that.”

    featured
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleKYLEE KATCH ON LATEST COLLABORATION WITH ERICK MORILLO AND ANDREW COLE – COCOON
    Next Article LOVE NEVER DIES: REVIEW
    amfmstudios

    Related Posts

    Featured Music

    Robert Randolph Signs with Sun Records, Releases New Single “Sinner” from Upcoming Album Preacher Kids

    Read More
    Featured Music

    FOREIGNER Honors Latin Fans with Spanish-Language “Quiero Saber Si Es Amor” – I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS

    Read More
    Featured Music

    BLIND MELON Rises Again: Guitarist Christopher Thorn

    Read More

    Comments are closed.

    SEARCH BY CATEGORY
    • MOVIES
    • Music ICON
    • AUTHORS
    July 6, 2025

    JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH Movie Minute

    June 27, 2025

    F1 THE MOVIE: IT’S A GO! (Review)

    June 13, 2025

    Director Dean DeBlois: Bringing HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON To Life In Live Action

    April 9, 2025

    Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup For The Soul) And Children’s Book Author Miriam Laundry On “I CAN Believe In Myself”

    April 8, 2025

    Astrophysicist, Author and Social Entrepreneur Alan Lightman On Achieving Goals And Non-profit Harpswell Work in Southeast Asia

    April 3, 2025

    Wrongfully Imprisoned For 36 Years, Judy Henderson Talks About New Book “WHEN THE LIGHT FINDS US”

    AMFM INSTAGRAM
    Recent Posts
    • Dave Clennon Discusses Horror Film THE SOUND
    • JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH Movie Minute
    • Robert Randolph Signs with Sun Records, Releases New Single “Sinner” from Upcoming Album Preacher Kids
    • The Floaters: A Heartfelt Comedy That Captures the Magic of Summer Camp
    • Levi Fiehler on “Resident Alien” Season 4: Alien Abductions, Directing Debuts, and Finding Joy in Acting
    Archives
    Movie Reviews
    July 6, 20250By christine

    Dave Clennon Discusses Horror Film THE SOUND

    4 Mins Read
    In an engaging conversation with AMFM Magazine, actor Dave Clennon shared insights about his latest project, the horror film The Sound, and reflected on his career, including his iconic role in John Carpenter’s The Thing. Clennon, known for his selective approach to roles, discussed what drew him to The Sound, the film’s intense atmosphere, and
    Read More
    Blockbuster Movies
    July 6, 20250By christine

    JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH Movie Minute

    2 Mins Read
    Review by Paul Salfen This is Paul Salfen with your KLAK Movie Minute. In theaters this weekend is Jurassic World: Rebirth, yet another reboot of the popular dinosaur franchise that Steven Spielberg started over 30 years ago and although it's had its ups and downs, it still never achieved the greatness of the original, which is still
    Read More
    Featured Music
    July 4, 20250By christine

    Robert Randolph Signs with Sun Records, Releases New Single “Sinner” from Upcoming Album Preacher Kids

    5 Mins Read
    Interview by Paul Salfen NASHVILLE, TN (March 28, 2025) — Six-time GRAMMY-nominated pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph, a trailblazer in rock and blues, has embarked on an exciting new chapter by signing with the legendary Sun Records. His debut album with the label, Preacher Kids, is set for release on June 27, 2025, with the
    Read More
    Movie Reviews
    July 4, 20250By christine

    The Floaters: A Heartfelt Comedy That Captures the Magic of Summer Camp

    6 Mins Read
    Interview by Paul Salfen In the vibrant and nostalgic world of The Floaters, a new comedy directed by Rachel Israel, audiences are transported to a Jewish summer camp where misfits, music, and lifelong friendships collide. AMFM Magazine recently sat down with stars Jackie Tohn and Judah Lewis, along with host Paul Salfen, to dive into
    Read More
    Copyright AMFMSTUDIOS LLC
    • About
    • Privacy
    • Contact
    • Cookie Policy (US)
    Copyright AMFMSTUDIOS LLC
    • About
    • Privacy
    • Contact
    • Cookie Policy (US)

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.