Johnny De Courcy Can't Not Play Music

Photo by Justin Tyler Close

Singer-songwriter Johnny De Courcy reminds me of a hippy moonchild. The kind of guy who would date a woman named Belly Button or go on a ritualistic cleanse that required him to eat only garlic for three weeks. Even when Johnny was playing in metal bands like Skull Fist and Black Wizard, he still had this dreamy, mysterious quality about him. He was theatrical. He never took anything too seriously, yet he was always very serious. He was big into performance. Between manning an artist live/work space on the Downtown East side of Vancouver and working at his screen-printing company Pin Hole Printing, Johnny is always creating something.

Last year, Mr. Moonchild decided to ditch the metal scene and do what he really loved to do: pop music. He released a solo EP, Bad Teeth (Green Burrito Records), and since then, has formed a new band called Johnny and the Death Rangers. Their debut LP drops in the fall and, naturally, Johnny is releasing it himself. I decided to talk to him about his artistic upbringing, Sunset Strip fantasies, and his occasional cross-dressing.

Noisey: You come from a big family that is very artistic. Your father is an artist, your sister designs jewelry, your older brother is a photographer, your younger brother is a musical instructor as well as model. Did this play a part in your interest in music?
Johnny De Courcy: Yes, my parents are both artists and we all grew up very liberal. They put us in piano lessons when we were very young so that helped a lot, I think. They are really supportive of whatever we choose to do.

How many kids in your family again?
Seven, including me.

You guys should have done a Jackson 5 or Partridge Family thing.
Or Michael De Courcy’s Family Jewels.

Do you ever write songs about your family?
Yes, there is a song on my new album called "The Artist," which is about my dad.

What as the first song you ever wrote by yourself? Do you remember it?
It was way back when I was 15 and really into hair metal. I don’t remember the title, but it was about going into the club with a full wallet and talking to girls on the Sunset Strip. I think my dad has the original lyric sheet somewhere.

Had you ever actually been to the Sunset Strip at this point in time?
No, but I did play the Whisky-A-Go-Go when I was 19 and playing in a metal band.

Really?
I moved to Toronto when I was 19 to play in a band called Skull Fist and we were going to take over the world—you know, long hair, shredding, and beer drinking-style. We booked some shows in Los Angeles and flew down there and played and walked around for about five days. That was the time I smoked my first menthol cigarette too. I was in love.

After seeing you in Black Wizard, then hearing your solo stuff, I feel like your new band, Johnny and the Death Rangers, has really let you come into your own. It's pure pop and has a 90s-Built-to-Spill-meets-Oasis-heroic-melody kind of thing to it.
Well, it is my own now. The guys in my band now are cool with just playing my songs, which is what I struggled with in [my previous band] Black Wizard. I wanted to go in one direction and they wanted to go in another. But now, it’s nice to have complete control over everything. It’s a lot of work, but essential to me right now.

I want to ask about the cover of your solo album Bad Teeth because it totally reminds me of John Frusciante's first solo album cover. Do you know that cover? You both are cross-dressing.
[John Frusciante’s cover] is a cool one. People used to mistake me for a girl a lot when I was younger. I had really long hair and a baby face. I looked exactly like my little sister.

So, why the cross-dressing? Is it statement thing, or are you just doing your take on bell hooks, like, “Heels are for everybody?"
It was more of a performance thing. I enjoy dressing up and it was a way to stand out, I think. Sometimes, it would bring bad attention.

How so?
I would get yelled at walking down the street to a show or at the show other people would yell me at. That or people wouldn’t even talk to me because I was wearing makeup and a wig. One time at a Black Wizard show, after we played, a guy came up to buy merch and he ask our drummer’s girlfriend to sell it to him instead of me. He wouldn’t even look at me, but he wanted to buy my band’s merch. I could tell that it was because I was dressed in drag. And I’m like, “Come on man are you serious?”

He was probably threatened by how hot he thought you were.
He should have given me his number, then.

Why do you play music?
Because I can't not play music.

Do you think you could still play music if you never did it for an audience ever again?
That’s tough, because a big part of the joy I get from music is sharing it with people. I love performing. I don't think there would be much of a point if I couldn’t share it. I think that music is such an important part of this world.

@myszkaway