Today we are honored to bring you the final part of a special Cryptic Salutations exclusive!
THE PROMISED LAND!
An in-depth interview with Steinhardt, AKA Schizoid Johnny, the last of the true one man bands, delving into the formation of his iconic 1990 LP 'The Promised Land.'
In this wonderful finale, we chat about the wonders of modular synthesis, performing underage in Michigan bars, and give quintessential album recommendations from Steinhardt's own collection, past and present. We hope you thoroughly enjoy it, and that you stay tuned for our next special project! 🔥
We would also like to give John a huge THANK YOU for being willing to engage in this strange experiment. This was Cryptic Salutations' first step into the world of interviewing! Give his page a like on Facebook to stay up to date with current performance dates, album releases, and photos!
Track: Steinhardt's There's No Ozone
Cryptic Salutations: This wasn't even in my question list but our previous topic brings me to the subject; have you ever messed around with any modular synthesizer setups?
John Steinhardt: No, I haven't yet. I'm always short on money.
CS: Yeah, they're super pricey, but from what I've heard even the most skeptical musicians end up addicted to the vast amount of choice you're given with such setups.
JS: I'm not close minded to any of that stuff. I think it's just great. The more the better. But y'know, here's a story for you though: I went on a tour down in Texas this last year and the first show I did was at a country bar, and I decided to do at least 50% of the night covers, and 50% of the night original. And I tailored the originals so that it was to what kind of music they liked. And in Texas basically, it's more old rock n roll and more country, and then there's Texas country which is a little bit different. So I tailored it to them and I got criticized because I used the voice enhancer and they said "What the hell're you doin'! You sound like you're in studio! You ain't in no studio here, turn that off!" And then they didn't like the effects on the guitar! Y'know, it had to be just simple! And of course, I don't give a shit. It's what I do. If they don't like it, well, go home.
CS: Wow. I bet if you were a local they wouldn't have treated you that way. I've noticed that... Unless you're part of the clique, you're subject to extreme criticism.
JS: Exactly.
CS: How did you go about entering the music business? Did your folks encourage you? Was it something you knew was in you from a young age?
JS: I definitely knew it was in me from a young age, there's no doubt about that. At about age 11, I already knew I wanted to be a musician. Of course I was in grade school band and music choruses and schools, and then by the time I was, oh gosh, 12 or 13, I was already in my first rock band, practicing and rehearsing. We were performing out at youth centers and, of course, in those days, you could play bars in Wisconsin where I grew up. They didn't mind. We don't care if you're 14 or 15 years old, come in and play! There weren't any laws against it. Like right now, there's too many laws about everything, y'know what I mean! They'd say yeah, come on, you can stay, but you're not drinking. Don't even ask for one. If we see you drinking, yeah, you're off stage, but okay fine! But now we've got this law and that law... Yeah. Back then, business was different. It was open to artistic ideas and for creatives. There also just wasn't that many of us, and the technology was new! Even Joey Welz, he said "You know, you should have been here in the 50s! We'd record a song, put it on a 45, the next day we'd take it to the DJ personally, and he'd play it!" I'd go "What!" And he said "Yeah!" And I thought "Man, that's amazing. That would be great." Course you can't do that now, it's gone.
CS: Yep, you'd get thrown out by security if you even tried to approach the DJ!
JS: Oh, well they threw me out of Capitol Records down in Los Angeles once. You know, that big beautiful building down there. Yeah, I tried to get in and get 'em my stuff and they threw me out, the security guy.
CS: Too busy recording Top 40 material I guess.
JS: [laughs] Right!
CS: This one is kind of a two parter. If your younger self had to recommend one quintessential, life changing album, what would it be? And also, your current self?
JS: Hmm. If I remember back, there were a couple. When I was in school and I was starting bands, I had a friend, a girl who used to ride the bus with me. And she would bring me a different album every week. And what really changed me, I think, was The Allman Brothers Live at Fillmore East and also Santana's Abraxas. Now, Santana's Abraxas was really inspirational because of what he did with that band, made of different races, bringing their different sounds from different music genres into rock n roll. And then, The Allman Brothers, using traditional blues, bloomed into a presentable rock-blues flavor. And then, there was another one. Another person. When I was on stage, someone just came in and handed it to me. Chuck Berry's Chess Recordings. Chess Records. And when you listen to his entire work on 2 LP's, you sit back and you're just flabbergasted, like how could this guy have done this? It created rock n roll! That was then. Now, as I think, if I could say something now, I'd go even further back, right to Robert Johnson and the 29 recordings that he made. It says it all, about what a solo artist, a singer songwriter should be. There was only 29 songs recorded, he plays it all on one guitar, and it's amazing. How did he do it? How did he play it? I mean, he created his own style, he learned to play all by himself, and that's exactly what it should be. And there is nothing there, nothing in those works, that says "Buy this! Buy this! Buy me! Like me!" No, I'm doing it because this is who I am. And that's what an artist should be. This is who I am, this is what I am, kiss my ass! Nothing less. So yes, now I look back to Robert Johnson, and the birth of rock n roll. That's where it started, in its purest form. Another inspiration as I look back is another band out of Canada, who somehow, somehow became popular. I don't know how they did it, but Rush. Being the musicians that they are, the song writing skills and lyrics of Neil Peart, the drumming... As a musician you sit back and go, "Wow, this is to be admired!" And that's what I see. The difference between then and now.
CS: Any closing thoughts?
JS: I'd like to thank you for your support, for hearing my message. It only takes one or two here and there to keep an artist going, and it's pretty hard at times, so I appreciate this, and thank you!
CS: I appreciate it as well. What an amazing journey!
Today we are honored to bring you Part 3 of a special Cryptic Salutations exclusive!
THE PROMISED LAND!
An in-depth interview series with Steinhardt, AKA Schizoid Johnny, the last of the true one man bands, delving into the formation of his iconic 1990 LP 'The Promised Land.'
In this section, the second to last, Steinhardt reminisces about taking the album on the road, playing in memorable San Francisco venues, and the evolution of his unique vocal style over the years. We hope you thoroughly enjoy it! 🔥
Track: Steinhardt's Her Name Is...
Stay tuned for the Part 4 Finale, coming on August 7!
Cryptic Salutations: Did you play shows to promote the album? Were you performing just the songs or was it always interspersed with the cover songs?
John Steinhardt: No. What I tried to do, especially in San Francisco, was play a lot of original shows. One of the places I always played was Bouncers Bar, and that's defunct now. It's torn down. They brought in an apartment complex in that area. That was very close to the Bay Bridge, when you come across into San Francisco it was down to the right, probably about eight blocks. I played there, oh my God, a lot of times. There were other clubs I played around California too. And of course I didn't make very much money doing it, so it had to be on an open time when I could schedule it. I had to take time out to do so, but in the 90's I played a lot of those places and slept in the back of a van and washed up in public bathrooms in San Francisco, just so I could play there that weekend. And that was during the time of The Promised Land, and the album that followed it which was The Dream May Be Dead and Gone, which actually appeared on The Promised Land. Those were about the same time period.
CS: That's such dedication, super inspiring. Could you imagine doing that now, with the price of gas and living?
JS: Ugh! Ughh! I'm wondering how I'm even going to afford the fees to accomodate what I'm looking at now with the remaster. With the price we're charging, it could be bad.
CS: Just everything in the name of art, right?
JS: Well, yeah, but when you get on stage, the satisfaction of going into a crowd... Even if it was small... Here's another one, Last Day Saloon in San Francisco. I'd have college kids that knew me. I'd get up on stage, it's just 20 people, but they know your music and they buy your cassette at that time... It's enough to say "Oh, okay, I'll keep writing."
CS: I noticed that there isn't any vocal enhancers listed in the equipment list for The Promised Land. There's a lot of very dynamic voice changes going on throughout the entirety of the record though. Were these voices part of your range or do I just not know the extent of what all this equipment can do?
JS: Oh, no. That was my range then. I don't have that range anymore. My voice is much lower now. Because I sang rock n roll for so many years, I developed cysts in the back of my throat, which caused me to lose almost five notes. I do use a voice enhancer on stage and in albums now, but back then, no. My voice was higher, still a high baritone, and all the screaming you hear is real notes, real falsetto, but that screaming is why the voice went out. It just couldn't take it. I went to a clinic in Denver three times and found out exactly what it was, took pictures. I took, actually, voice lessons in college for my degree in music and the singing of rock and pop is just totally different than what singing should be. The air should flow across the vocal chords so they vibrate very little, and then the air going across the vocal chords produces the sound and the tamber through your nasal cavity and throat. So the problem was, when we sing rock n roll we're actually using the throat to vibrate the vocal chords, and when they vibrate, you wear them out like rubber bands. After a while, they won't stretch anymore. That's what happened to me. So now I sing down low and use a voice enhancer to create the octave above on the songs that I would have to sing higher on. I'm wondering if David Lee Roth can still even sing those high notes, I kind of doubt it.
CS: I'm so glad for these technological advancements, this way you don't have to abandon these old songs or render them unplayable. So awesome.
JS: It is really amazing. It's mind boggling, technology, it really is. That's the good thing about technology that I like, lot of things I don't...
Today we are honored to bring you Part 2 of a special Cryptic Salutations exclusive!
THE PROMISED LAND!
An in-depth interview series with Steinhardt, AKA Schizoid Johnny, the last of the true one man bands, delving into the formation of his iconic 1990 LP 'The Promised Land.'
In this section we speak about the weight of criticism then and now, the strange nature of the commercial music industry, the true definition of 'The Promised Land,' and the current resurgence of vinyl records! We hope you thoroughly enjoy it! 🔥
Track: Steinhardt's Not A He...
Stay tuned for Part 3, coming on August 5!
Cryptic Salutations: At the time of The Promised Land's release, did you get a lot of criticism? Positive or negative? From friends, family, critics, audiences, etc.?
John Steinhardt: Most people didn't understand it. I took the album down to Austin, Texas for SXSW, and I was in a room where you could pick out one song from your album and they'd put it in the stereo and there'd be 3 guys there that were so called 'authorities,' right? And they would give their opinion. And we're all the song writers. So you throw your cassette up there, they pick one up, it goes in, they pick up the next one and it goes in, they say this and that... So, they picked it up and the song was There's No Ozone. It's cranking. Bam, bam bam! And you know the song, it's talking about the ozone going. It's going now, we don't have it! Big holes in there! But I'm talking about this, and it's probably 1995. It got to where the singing starts, then the chorus, and they take it out and say "Well, the intro is too long and it's too boring and no one wants to hear anything about the world dying" or something like that! Then, another time, I took it to a place and they put on my song Deep Within and it just talks about how God is within each of us, no matter what you do. Whatever religion you are, it's god itself. And he listened to it, got to the end of the song and said... "Deep within? Deep within what? What are you talking about?" And I'm going "There you go, you don't get it!" So... there's just been a lot of people who don't get the music.
CS: At the time of the album's conception, did you have any main inspirations? Music, movies, or even just your own environment?
JS: Well, I think I wrote most of that album in California. I was born in Lahoya, and I finally came back to California - I can't remember what year - and toured up and down, and I stayed a lot on the ocean, Pelican Bay... And I played a lot of clubs here and there. And I just remember that it was an inspiring place for me. And of course California has always been a place of new ideas, controversy, and dissent. Almost to the point that now it’s gone too far! But anyways, y'know I'd hear about those things and I'd do research. Like the ozone. Or I would research... What's wrong with crime in America? How come we're not addressing all this stuff in the promised land?! What's this all about, y'know? And after the research I'm like, "Oh my god, I mean... It looks like a plot!" This is part of the American capitalist agenda! We always have to have a lower class so that we always have crime, and we 'try' to fight it back, and that's apparently the way it's always going to be. So... the inspiration just came from... probably just being younger and listening to other people... And meanwhile I'm playing cover music to make a living. There was always an outlet for things I was thinking, and I would sneak these songs in, interspersed with the cover songs, and then people would come up going "What are you playin' that for? What's that about? Okay, go back and play The Beach Boys."
CS: God forbid they have to think, right!
JS: And that's part of the problem! People don't want to think. They just want to sit back and hope everything is great.
CS: They want the easiest, most digestible answer at all times.
JS: Exactly, exactly.
CS: Have you thought about re-releasing The Promised Land on vinyl? I think collectors would really enjoy that!
JS: I have. The company I distribute through, Disc Makers in New Jersey, I called them and asked how much it would be to put on vinyl and how many copies I could actually make at a reasonable price. They do have all the record machines back out of storage and they are putting things on vinyl again. If you know, vinyl is growing by leaps and bounds right now.
CS: Yeah! I'm a collector myself and the wait time for indie releases is just astronomical right now. All the pressing plants seem to be making way for the Top 40 artists whilst the rest just have to patiently wait their turn, whether that's 3 months or an entire year!
JS: Wow! I didn't know that! Well, around the time when Bruce Springstein put out his live album, which was one of the greatest selling albums of all time, it was in the papers that every album made was cassette going to digital CD. And every album no matter what the artist, had 15,000 pressed. No matter what.
CS: I wish it was like that now, equal pressings for everyone. There's a lot of quality control problems at the moment due to the sheer volume companies are pumping them out at, too.
Today we are honored to bring you Part 1 of a special Cryptic Salutations exclusive!
THE PROMISED LAND!
An in-depth interview series with Steinhardt, AKA Schizoid Johnny, the last of the true one man bands, delving into the formation of his iconic 1990 LP 'The Promised Land.'
In this introductory section, we have a fascinating conversation about the album's origin, its production collaborators, and its many inspirations from people to places to events in history. We hope you thoroughly enjoy it! 🔥
Track: Steinhardt's Promised Land
Stay tuned for Part 2, coming on August 3!
Cryptic Salutations: Through what process was The Promised Land recorded? How many cassettes were originally released?
John Steinhardt: The Promised Land was originally recorded in, I do believe, winter of '89-'90, and the basic tracks were laid on a 2-track machine while I performed in Ketchikan, Alaska. And then I came back to, at that time, Carson City Nevada, where I laid down all the tracks using an 8-track sequencer, to a 4-track Cascam cassette. That was the same machine, the Teac Tascam 144, that was used by Bruce Springstein on his Nebraska album. The same type. People that know about recording have always been amazed at that machine and, of course, Bruce Springstein's album because he was able to take that across the United States and record with it. It's probably one of his best. I used that machine also, for that reason. I then mixed it on that using an 8-track sequencer, then using the 4-track, and then mixing it to, at that time, 2-track analog. Some of the recordings were later changed and recorded on 8-track reel to reel at a studio in Grass Valley, California. For instance, The Promised Land, I've Got No Control, and There's No Ozone. Bennett Street Studios. That was 8 track. I made 1,000 cassettes at the time.
CS: What was Joey Welz' involvement? We spoke with him on the phone, and he unfortunately doesn't remember much!
JS: Well, Joey is suffering from brain cancer at present time, so some of his memories are kind of damaged, but he... He was the piano player at the end of Bill Haley & His Comets, and he knows rock n roll going all the way back to the beginnings. And I've always been attracted to early rock n roll. I mean, after jump blues - y'know, it went from big band to jump blues - and then it came into what I really love, and actually what I taught in school, which was that the cool thing about rock n roll is the tolerance between races. You have every race represented within rock n roll. So many different sounds and different artists. That's the cool thing. And he goes back, and he knew all those people. He met them all. That was the thing we had in common. And then when he heard the music, we started working together, promoting. At the time, I got some play in Germany. That was basically because they saw the name, and I have a German name, Steinhardt. So they picked it up right away and started playing it. I played for Midem down in Austin, Texas because that was European. Europeans seem to like my music better than the American DJ's... Don't know why... Don't know why.
CS: Do you think your career has been centered on exploring genres or have you found a spot where you're more comfortable?
JS: Well first of all, I don't set out to do anything. Jackson Pollock was quoted as saying "I don't deny the accident, there is no accident." It is what it is. Whatever flows out of creativity is the way it should be, therefore if you're going to be putting things into a square box and expecting things to happen, they aren't. Then you're going to start creating commerciality and conformity and I never wanted that. I want something that really stands out and is different, and one of the ways I did it was by making sure that I heard everything that I could. And I mean every genre of music, every type, that way when I did create something I'd be sure that it was different, that it stood apart. There were things that made it in, what I call 'earhooks,' that people could relate to, yet I still wanted it to stand apart. So did I attempt any one genre at the time? No. That's probably why in commercial business I failed, because I couldn't sell it. They couldn't relate to it as 'one thing.'
CS: I noticed the quote that you put in The Promised Land cassette liner: "If your work of art is good, if it is true, it will find its echo and make its place - in six months, in six years, or after you are gone. What is the difference?" from Gustave Flaubert. That is very relevant to this situation! I wanted to know if you had the foresight at the time that 30 years in the future, the album truly would leave such an impression, or if you were just doing what felt right at the time.
JS: I always hoped somebody would like it somewhere. I could give you stories about tons of musicians, artists, and song writers who never made it, and they're just as good as anyone else and better! So... I didn't know if it would turn out or not. It really doesn't matter. When I went to Spain in March, Barcelona, I spent a day in the Picasso museum, and then I spent a day in the Miró museum... and it really doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you're popular now or if someone likes it now, because as I stood there I went "You know what, it really is timeless." And the trick is... Can you make your music timeless? You have to ask yourself... What am I hearing now? On the radio, on the internet, on satellite? Is it timeless, or is it just bullshit? And record companies, for the longest time, since the end of my age, that was the decline. Record companies have turned into evil businesses. All they want to do is develop products and develop artists that can generate what they think the public needs based on demographic studies. That's bullshit. That's not art. Then they just want to replace those people and put someone else in. They say "We don't need you." There you go. The day of the artist is kind of gone. It really is. An example, one guy I really love to this day is Gordon Lightfoot out of Canada. Some of his stuff is just immense, but this guy never achieved fame and now it’s all kind of faded out. That's gone. The day of the artist is gone.
