Michael Johns' New Record

Kansas City Star music writer Tim Finn sat down with Michael Johns before his performance at the Sprint Center. Michael talks about his upcoming album, which he says will have a bit of an INXS vibe, a little Gnarls Barkley and even, gasp! a little bit of The White Stripes. That whole rock/blues/soul thing.

He's been writing songs with Diane Warren and John Shanks and volunteers that Linda Perry wants to submit some songs. Michael has been hard at work and has recorded the first 8 of the 25 songs for the record. He's also working with some up and coming producers, Ken Andrews, Matt Mahaffey and Dave Cobb.

The first single is due to be released in November. Michael describes it as something you could dance to, a little sexy, and will most likely remind you of Need You Tonight by INXS. Is it November yet?

Ken Andrews - Producer

Ken Andrews is one of Michael Johns' favorite producers of all time. An excellent biography has been written in The Allmusic website by Vincent Jeffries.

Producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ken Andrews began his career as a recording artist in the early '90s after meeting fellow songwriter and musician Greg Edwards. The two Angelinos formed Failure and were signed shortly after they began performing their brand of heavy alt-rock in clubs around L.A. After enduring a creatively unsatisfying experience while working on Failure's debut, Comfort, Andrews felt that the group would be better off if he were to produce their future recordings himself. He was right; the Andrews-produced follow-up Magnified was far superior to Comfort in terms of the material, the musical structures and arrangements, and especially the blending of instruments — what might be called the sonic packaging.

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The career development of Andrews (from just another post-grunge songwriter in an almost indistinguishable band to respected rock artist, in-demand producer, engineer, mixer, and musician) is an amazing testament to his intelligence, talent, and commitment to recording rock music at only the highest level.

I've made a small playlist of songs written and produced by Ken. Enjoy the sonic experience.