Interview: Johnny B (Ten Two)

Photo cred: Ramses Ochoa

Johnny B. from Ten Two recently took the time to do an e-mail interview with us.
Check out what he had to say! His new record, Forth, dropped January 5th, so if you’re interested in discovering more, jam the entire thing below.

1.I first wanted to take the time and thank you for doing this interview with me today. For our readers who haven’t heard of you yet, can you tell us about yourself you’d like us to know?

Thank you for the interest in the interview, I appreciate it! My name is JohnnyB., I perform as a solo artist under the moniker Ten Two. It is the most personal musical project Ive ever undertaken, so I chose a name that was as personal as possible: Ten being the number equivalent to “J” and Two being “B”; my initials. I’ve been writing music for as long as I can remember and love both full band rock and acoustic singer/songwriter stylings. I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself within one style, so what Ive done is released a new album that combines both. Half of “Forth” is my take on alternative rock and the other half is acoustic. Also, although it is a solo project, I’ve had the luxury of some great friends of mine offering to perform as a full band going forward.

2. Let’s talk about what you currently have going on. Any new music or new tours in the works?

I have just released my first Ten Two full length album on January 5th, 2018. The album is entitled “Forth”; a name which I chose as it represents moving forward from all of my previous musical efforts and continuing on from this point. The album is available all over the internet.

3. When you write any new music, can you tell us what the process is like? Describe to us what happens in a typical writing session.

The process of writing music really fluctuates. I may have a riff on the guitar that I like that inspires a full song, or a lyric that expands into a full story. My songs are all relationship based in theme, whether that is of the romantic connotation, or friendship, or family. I’ve always been drawn to human interactions, so that translates to my thoughts written out within lyrics. What I tend to do is write random parts almost all the time in whatever setting I may be in. Nowadays I use my cell phone and keep notes in text messages to myself, voice memos, and videos. If any idea comes to mind I’ll jot it down immediately. I also have several different guitars at my house and I’ll just pick one up and start playing. My writing process is very scattered. I don’t necessarily have any specific writing sessions, just more fits of inspiration really.

4. With the music industry always changing and evolving, what are the things you like and don’t like about it? What aspects of the industry do you feel have hurt or helped your career? If you could change anything about it, what would it be?

I like how accessible music has become within the advent of the internet. I feel it is far easier these days to be an independent musician and get one’s music to the masses. The difficult part is as it always has seemed to be: marketing. I do wish cds were still a popular medium, just because I used to love all of the art that went into the packaging itself. Also, to delve a bit deeper into the industry of music beyond the idea of record labels and such is the ability to create great recordings in a home studio setting. The revolution of technology has allowed me to build a home recording studio that I’d say even 10 years ago would have been unfathomable. I really can’t put a finger on any aspects of the evolution of this industry that has hurt my career, as if I’m being honest the idea of a music “career” is still a goal rather than a reality for me. I’m also not sure what I’d change about it either. Rather than fighting against the changes that I’ve seen I lean more toward attempting to figure out how to exist within the altering music industry landscape. Definitely a tough task, but nothing worth doing is ever easy!

5. Do you have any side projects? If so, what are they?

I don’t have any side projects. I played in a band called Still The Sky’s Limit for about 7 years before I started Ten Two. At first, technically Ten Two was a side, solo project that sprung off of STSL. It was my acoustic outlet. Then STSL disbanded and Ten Two expanded.

6. When you’re performing how do you handle any mistakes on stage if they ever happen? Do you have any stories that stand out to you that you had to make a memorable recovery?

Mistakes are part of the game! I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to think quickly and react during my life of performing live shows. I’ve always just felt so lucky to be playing live music that things such as that have been laughed off. In all of my projects I’ve practiced a ton, so knowing the songs like the back of my hand has definitely helped the ability to counteract any mistakes. In terms of memorable recoveries I can’t recall anything specific off of the top of my head, but to sort of side step the idea of mistakes what has always stood out in my mind is hecklers. My previous band used to play shows at high schools all the time, mostly during the schools’ lunch period, and what stood out there was that there was always one kid that would be the heckler. I always enjoyed those exchanges because it would force me to think on my feet and figure out how to get the heckler involved in the show to the extent that they would inevitably enjoy themselves. Had I made a mistake there those shows could have gone south quickly.

7. How do you decide which songs go into a set when you perform live? Do you change up the sets or stick to a regular set list? Do you have any covers?

I am lucky in that I have written quite a lot of songs that I can choose from that I love to perform. While I have released a full length album, I also have a bevy of other songs written that I can play in addition to the songs on the album. I don’t have a set set, but I do like to make the sets flow as well as possible. The main decisions depend on amount of time I am allotted to perform. I have some standards that I’ll play every show just because I love to play them so much, and then I also try to change it up to keep myself on my toes within the different sets. I have a written list of all of my song titles and I’ll just choose whatever I’m feeling at the time. I also make sure to never choose my own set list based on other performers I’m sharing the show with. Might sound a bit odd, but I always want to base my own enjoyment on my own feel, rather than depending on any sort of outside influences of musical style that I’m performing with. Being an indie musician I’ve played shows with all different kinds of bands and solo artists, different styles abound! To answer your question directly I definitely don’t have a regular set list. I also don’t have any covers that I play. I’ve never really been into cover songs. There are quite a few that I enjoy listening to, and in the past I’ve recorded a few live renditions of cover songs just messing around, but when I pick up a guitar I’m almost always either practicing my own songs or walking in circles in my room writing something new.

8. If you had a choice to go on any bands tour, which tour would you pick and why?

Speaking currently I would like to go on tour with the bands I The Mighty and Emarosa. I’ve been obsessed with their music and I would love to open for either of them. I am extremely impressed with their vocal deliveries and their instrumental work. It would be such a pleasure to be able to tour with them. If by going on tour with any band you are referring to going on tour with them but not performing I would decline any invitation, I would be far too anxious to perform to actually enjoy myself as just a spectator on a tour. I was actually offered a job as a roadie on an arena tour once a few years ago and declined the offer for that very reason.

9. Do you have any advice for any upcoming artists? What’s the best piece of advice someone gave you when you realized you wanted to be a musician?

My advice to anyone attempting to make a career of music is be patient, work all the time, and be prepared for people to not understand your decision to pursue such a difficult endeavor; especially if it takes a long amount of time to get to a point where it begins making sense to outsiders. If its something you really want to do and have the crazed passion for, don’t let anything stop you from it. I have had personal relationships fall apart simply because of the inability to understand why I was so committed to the music. Ultimatums given; didn’t turn out well for those people in my life. Also, I would suggest taking the time and putting in the effort to write the best songs possible. I’ve known a lot of bands that have simply wanted ‘songs’ to play and would rush it. In terms of being given advice, I was actually never given any advice when I realized I wanted to play guitar and sing for the entirety of my life. It was really an intrinsic calling that just built over time. I’ve honestly had a lot of people tell me to do other things rather than pursue the career in music. Ironically, the fact that I have a college degree has actually caused me the most strife in that it has functioned as the catalyst for people to tell me to quit music and ‘get a real job’. I’ve had support from my parents and a handful of close friends over the years, they’re all great people, but not necessarily advice givers.

10. Any last words?

Thank you for taking the time to converse with me about music. I always appreciate delving into the inner workings of the process and discussing this immense love for music that so many of us in the world have!

Ten Two’s latest album can be found below on Spotify: