Johnny Bartlett

The Continental: I haven't had a chance to hear The Saturn V yet. Tell me a bit about your new combo.

It's kinda undefinable as it mixes up a lot of stuff, but imagine if Gary Usher were the driving force behind the Kingsmen and you have a pretty good idea of what we sound like. Action-packed, baby, Action-packed. Guitar, organ, bass, drums and the big fella, Orbit, up front. Set up 5 microphones and we make like wheels.

The Continental: How many songs do you have in your repertoire? What covers do you like to play? We can do about 3 sets worth of material, cuz that's what's required for fraternity and sorority parties. That's where the bread is, man. We do showcase gigs around town at The Bottom of the Hill, Paradise Lounge, the Club Hangover and the Mad Dog in the Fog (to name a few), but the real green backs are to be had playing the frats at Berkeley and Stanford.

The Continental: What's a typical Saturn V gig like?

Like I said, we all shout into the mics, Orbit does it more than the rest of us. But we usually tear it up pretty good and try to get the crowd twisting. When the crowd sees Orbit twisting, it's all over; it's completely contagious. Twist ye must.

The Continental: Any plans for coming up to the Northwest?

We would love to hit the Northwest, especially because we're really influence by the Northwest sound of the Wailers, Don & the Goodtimes, the aforementioned Kingsmen, Dave Lewis et al. But we don't have anything lined up as of yet.

The Continental: How long have you been playing guitar?

I picked up the guitar when I was 15. It was by total default as me and a couple of high school friends decided to start a punk band. We picked a name (The Dangling Genitals) then we picked what instruments we would learn, and I was the last to pick. But I'm glad I stuck on guitar. I dig it.

The Continental: Who are/were some of your guitar playing idols?

In the beginning, I wanted to play just like Johnny Ramone. That was it. So for years I never played a solo, just played power chords. Then I got into surf music and of course Dick Dale, Jim Masoner (Lively Ones), Duane Eddy and those types started influencing me.

The Continental: How important is using vintage gear to you? What gear do you currently use?

It is soooooo important to me. I'll tell you something, I'm not a very good guitarist, but one thing I can do is achieve great tone. And there is only one way to get great tone, use great equipment. And there is no finer equipment than some of the stuff they were making in the 50s and 60s. The equipment I always keep coming back to is my '64 Fender Showman Amp with 1 15" JBL D130F speaker, a Fender Reverb Unit and my '62 Fender Jazzmaster or

'62 Jaguar. That's a big tone. I occasionally use my '57 Fender Bandmaster with 3-10" speakers when I want a dirtier sound. I must also admit that I'm prone to using my '62 reissue Stratocaster that I threw some Vintage

Reissue pick-ups in. That guitar plays so great and sounds amazingly good, but not as good as my Jazzmaster.

I'm also in a Rockabilly band called the Sugar King Boys. I use basically the same set-up for that except I substitute a tube Echo-Plex for the reverb unit. I also occasionally use a Telecaster with that band.

The Continental: Why did you leave The Phantom Surfers?

Well, it's all amicable. Those guys are the greatest, but being in a band for 8 and a half years is a long time. I found that we basically had different ideas on what direction we were headed. I thought the fidelity of the last record, The Great Surf Crash... was the best yet, however I wasn't in favor of all the material picked to do. I'm not super pleased with that album. I thought it would have be a much stronger package if a few songs had been chopped off. Well, that's what makes a horse race. On the last day of recording I realized that I wasn't having very much fun in the band anymore and in an effort to salvage my friendship with them I thought I should bow out. If I stayed any longer I would have surely gotten in big fights with them and ended up hating them all. I consider my years with the Phantom Surfers invaluable. When Mike Lucas and I started the band back in January of 1988 I don't think either one of us could have envisioned it snow-balling into what it has become. Anyway, being in 3 bands at the time, running a record label, working more than full time, something had to give. It just happened to be the Phantom Surfers.

The Continental: Tell me about your appearances at Garage Shock (since I didn't get in). Any funny stories?

I've had a blast at every Garage Shock (I think we have played at every one except one, but I went to that one as a spectator). It's always a lot of fun cause it's the musical equivalent to going to a convention, where everyone can talk shop, see old friends, check out bands you may not get to see everyday and generally have a ball.

The Continental: What's the scene like in San Francisco?

Well, San Francisco is the greatest. One of the great things about The City is that virtually every band that tours will come through here. We also have such a stable club scene. There are always plenty of clubs to play/go to, so it's possible to build a relationship with the people booking clubs. The City is very alive, and though it's un-Godly expensive to live here, I can't imagine living anywhere else. I grew up just south of The City in San Mateo, so I haven't really lived outside the Bay Area. Also, we have great local bands, most of which involve Russell Quan. The Maybellines, The Count Backwurds, The Dukes of Hamburg are all fantastic and are a benefit to the San Francisco Sound.

The Continental: What do you think about today's surf and instro scene?

Well, I like some of it, and I hate most of it. It's just like anything from Rockabilly to Garage music, some people know how to do it correctly and others don't get it. So, I hate to admit that I hate most of today's surf bands because not many people are doing it right. It's all in the details. I'll mention a few of the bands that I think are really it right - The Boss Martians, The Untamed Youth, The Fathoms, The Huntington Cads, The Bomboras. I'm sure I'm leaving some out, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind.

The Continental: What's it like running Hillsdale Records? Have things been going pretty good for the label?

Running Hillsdale is one of my favorite things in the world. I wish I had started earlier. Unfortunately I don't run it so much as a business, but more like a public service. I'm too busy to do it as much as I'd like, and when I get an order from my catalog I try to send some kind of extra bonus, like a record or poster or something. My goal with the label is to have some kid in 30 years call me and tell me how much he likes Hillsdale Records and understand what the hell I've been trying to do, which is put out records by people that understand what Rock & Roll is all about. That's it.

The Continental: How do you decide what to release on Hillsdale? Do you approach bands or do they approach you?

A little of both. If I go see a band that knocks my socks off, I'll ask 'em if they wanna do a record. Other times, I'll get a tape in the mail, or some records or something. The King Normals, for example, sent me (along with a bunch of other labels) a demo tape. I was the only one who responded to their letter. I understood what they were trying to do with their brand of Beat music. So I put it out cause I really liked it. I only put out stuff I like. Fortune and Maltese sent me their first two self released EPs and I flipped, but big time. I immediately sat down and wrote a letter to Mr. Fortune and said "Let's do something together, cause we're on the same wave length." It happens like that.

The Continental: Tell me about your NW Instros 7". Where did you get the tapes for that? Any interesting stories?

Yeah, my good friend and Northwest A&R man, Jeff Miller - proprietor of Golden Oldies Record Store in Tacoma, is the king of tracking down Northwest bands. He is the best historian on the subject, as he's talked to everyone who ever cut a record in the Northwest. He's got stories. Anyway, one time as I was on my way to Garage Shock I made my regular stop at Golden Oldies (THE BEST RECORDS STORE IN THE WORLD) and the guy workin' there was playing this way out tape. I inquired who it was and he casually said "Oh, these are just some acetates I have, they were never released." I wigged out and told him that he needed to release 'em. He said "I don't know anything about doin' that." The rest is history. One of the cats on that record, Ray Michelsen, played with everyone up there, was in a band with Gerry Roslie (sp?) before the Sonics. Another great story is that the guitarist on the Ray Michelsen and the Vikings song "Plastic Coat" is a guy named Pierre Oulette, who ended up playing guitar with Don & the Goodtimes and filling in with Paul Revere and the Raiders. He sent me a letter and a check trying to buy copies of the record. I saved his check as a souvenir and sent him a bunch of copies of the record. He's a big wig in a Portland advertising agency now. My favorite thing is being the first label to release something by a band (like the King Normals, the Trashwomen, and the Sprague Brothers). I don't mind putting my money where my mouth is. No sir.

The Continental: How big is your personal record collection right now (I read your interview and saw the photos in Incredibly Strange Music)?

I don't know exactly, but I think I have about 4000 LPs and maybe twice that many 45s. I just recently moved and it is such a pain to move records.

The Continental: What is the most embarrassing record in your collection?

I don't know. I don't have too many records that I'm ashamed to own. I have a Psychedelic Furs record that I got when I was 15, I had it autographed so it's hard to part with. I'm hoping they will have resurgence in popularity to drive the value of that thing up so I can sell it.

The Continental: What are a few of your record collecting strategies?

Buy it as cheaply as possible. If you've been jonesing for a record for a long time and finally see it, buy it. Go to record swaps (that's my favorite place to get records, especially diggin' through the .25 cent boxes.

The Continental: Which record in your collection could you never part with?

There are too many that fit that category. Any Bo Diddley record. Mickey Baker's "Wildest Guitar" LP. "Competition Coupe" by the Astronauts.

The Continental: What's your stand on the whole lo-fi debate?

I'm a huge Milkshakes fan. So if that's considered lo-fi, I can accept that. But when people start recording lo-fi on purpose, instead of it being a by-product of poverty or the DIY attitude, then I find it intolerable. I don't like things recorded antiseptically clean without warmth. I like the hi-fidelity of the late '50s and '60s recordings. Those recordings are so clean, but warm and full of nice analog reverb and echo. New recordings that are clean usually aren't what I consider hi-fidelity. I think that the records that come out of Toe Rag studios in London are consistently GREAT! The last Kaisers album is the best sounding modern recording. Tubes, that's what it's about, tubes. (Translation for English people: "Valves, that's what it's about, valves.")

The Continental: What's coming up for Hillsdale Records and The Saturn V?

Next up on Hillsdale is a Jackie & The Cedrics 45 "TV Hop" b/w "Bird Dog" (2 vocal numbers that really shake) then another Northwest single by a Spokane band called the Spokane Mystics recorded in 1965. Two originals that sound so great and typically Northwest. It's really great stuff. Another discovery of Jeff Miller's. His cousin played guitar in this combo. Never released before. Then maybe a Sprague Brothers album.

Back to interview page.