Exclusive Interview with John Armstrong from the Modernettes

By Gillian Callander

Back in 1979 the great punk rock band the Modernettes were formed, fronted by Buck Cherry (John Armstrong), Mary Jo Kopechne on bass and Jughead on drums. Known for such raw pop songs as Confidential, Teen City, Suicide Club and my two favourites Rebel Kind and their big hit Barbra. Now lets fast forward to 2011 with Buck Cherry still in the driver’s seat and a new backing band as his passengers. I was given the opportunity to ask Buck a few questions about his early influences, being a writer and the infamous Barbra.

What is the main difference that you have found playing music in the 70′s in Vancouver to playing music today in the city?

We haven’t played much in Vancouver since we got back together, only two shows. We’ve played mostly out of town, in the States and Japan. The last local show was for Ron Reyes birthday party and that was great but mostly our criteria is, will it be fun? And will it pay anything? Vancouver is notorious for paying bands next to nothing and I’ve done that enough years already.  So unless it’s going to be something we just really want to do for other reasons, like Ron’s birthday, fuck it.

John and the Modernettes play Ron Reyes 50th Birthday Party

2. Who would you say influenced you the most to make you pick up a guitar and write music?

When I was about 15 I discovered the Dolls, Iggy,  Roxy Music, TRex, Slade, Mott the Hoople, the whole early 70s glam pantheon, and I was already a huge Stones fan. I spent one summer where the only record I listened to was Exile on Main Street. But meeting Art Bergmann was key because he wrote original songs and played them in a band, and he was very, very good. So I saw that you could do it even if you weren’t from New York or London, and Gord Nicholl and I started our first band. We had to play mostly original songs because other people’s material was too difficult – we studied the three and four-chord songs of bands like the Kinks (and early Stones) and the one-hit wonder garage bands to learn songwriting. As a consequence I never have written songs that require great skill to play.

3. Your playing now with Adam Sabla, Hayz Fisher and Doug Doughnut. How did you all come together and now be playing as the Modernettes?

Del Cowsill was a friend of a friend and he was working on my house with me one summer. He hurt his arm and sent Hayz as a replacement. Hayz and I became friends immediately and he introduced me to Adam and within the hour I thought, I need to play with these guys. By the time Gord and I opened the studio (The Suicide Club) we were writing songs and playing regularly. We weren’t going to call it Modernettes but then the Japan tour came up and they were only interested if we used the old name, and it stuck after that. Ryan Betts played drums for that tour and the other shows that year but he’s in about four bands and we rarely play here so we set him free, like a baby racoon, and recruited Doug Doughnut who is an inspired basher and just generally a good man to have behind you.

The original line up of The Modernettes; Mary Jo Kopechne, Jughead and Buck Cherry

4. What was the inspiration behind the song Barbra? Was there an actual girl named Barbra who you liked in your home room class? Just curious

Nope, I was sitting with a friend and he was quite drunk and obsessively playing this Jan and Dean compilation over and over, side one through side four, then back to side one – I said, “Jesus, lay off. Play something else” and he said, “When you can write a song as good as Dead Man’s Curve or Ride The Wild Surf, then you can tell me to take this off”. Strangely, I was just as drunk as he was so I took my bottle of tequila upstairs and wrote Barbra, misspelling it due to alcohol and because it scanned better that way. Like most people in the punk scene I hated high school for the most part – Barbra is all the girls who wouldn’t talk to you or even acknowledge your existence. Now that I am a punk rock legend though ……. actually  they don’t give a shit now, either.

John performing with band mate Adam Sabla

5. Your also an accomplished writer, publishing a book in 2001 called Guilty of Everything which describes the early days of the Vancouver punk scene. You mentioned before that you are currently writing a new book. Can you discuss with us what this book is about?

Guilty of Everything is moving ahead as a movie after several years of work by the people who bought the rights, and I really believe they’ll do something good – they get it, which you really wouldn’t expect generally. My second book came out about four years ago, called Wages which is about working for a living and the bizarre series of jobs I’ve had in my life. Paperboy, bible camp instructor, caddy, chicken executioner, porn video marketer, reporter …. strangely I forgot to include the summer I spent opening and locking up a graveyard. I had to unlock the gates at 7 a.m. and then go back at 11 p.m. and lock it up again, and check all the mausoleums to make sure no-one was hiding. That was a little weird with a head full of mushrooms.

The new book is called A Series of Dogs and is about the dogs in my life. It’s heartwarming and wise and inspirational …… no, I can’t lie to you. It’s a book about dogs and people and life and death. Some of those things I like more than others.

6. What is in the near future plans for the Modernettes? Any chances of any shows coming up?

Trying to line up a tour of  the West Coast and some shows back East, then a return to Japan. I feel bad we couldn’t do the earthquake benefit Billy Bonito organized but I just couldn’t get to town for it.

New album coming out this year, much delayed due to me moving away from the city. No gigs planned except at my own birthday party in August.