Who?Jonny Dubowsky is a downtown NYC garage rocker with a sensitive side. Playing gigs at CBGB and the Bitter End since the age of 13, he’s clearly a man with music in his blood — blood he’s willing to spill onstage every night with his latest band, Jonny Lives! Along with guitarist Christian Langdon, bassist Tommy USA, and drummer Jon Weber, Dubowsky breathes new life into a genre tired of the stale, cliched rock put out by those desperate to be hailed as the next incarnation of Iggy.
What’s The Deal? Combining raunchy guitars with catchy pop hooks, the band’s debut album, Get Steady, plays like a soundtrack for the city. It’s full of high-tension, electric exhilaration; all-night party songs offset with the occasional moment of acoustic tranquility. Dubowsky’s strength as a songwriter lies in his ability to translate moments and feelings into melodies and lyrics. The title track is as room-spinningly rocking as Dubowksy must have been the night he scrawled the song’s lyrics under a table in the East Village bar Niagara.
Fun Fact:Dubowsky wrote most of the tracks on Get Steady in his sleep. Since he was a kid growing up in New Jersey, Dubowsky has heard songs in his dreams, but could never recall the tunes when he woke up. He solved the problem by purchasing a small micro-cassette recorder for his bedside. With the recorder in voice activation mode overnight, Dubowsky was able to capture his subconscious songwriting in the vocal equivalent of sleepwalking, many times waking up the next morning completely unaware of the fact that he’d recorded anything at all. ANTHONY D’AMATO
Now Hear This: Jonny Lives! – “Get Steady” DOWNLOAD MP3
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On the Web: jonnylives.com
