01/11/2009

The Toy Hearts Interview: Hannah Johnson

The Toy Hearts are a Birmingham-based group who play some superbly uplifting bluegrass and western swing. Consisting of several Johnson family members - Sisters, Hannah (lead vocal/mandolin) and Sophia (guitar/harmony vocals) and their father, Stewart (banjo/dobro). Their history is one of pure dedication the their musical craft and the UK's burgeoning bluegrass scene, with dad's involment stretching back to the 60's. The group's recent album was the critically acclaimed 'When I Cut Loose', however, there's a new one on its way. Here's a few questions we set for Hannah -

Was there ever a time you didn't want to continue the bluegrass family tradition?

No, this has never crossed my mind, the fact that we are a family never really been a focus for me.  I consider both my father and sister to be excellent musicians and that is the primary reason I want to play with them. 

My personal opinion of the bluegrass family tradition, is that it is something truly special and sacred, The Del McCoury band, The Issacs, The Cox Family, The Cherryholmes are some of my all time favourite bluegrass acts.  I see the fact that we are a family as an added bonus and i can't honestly think of a reaon why it would be something i would not want to continue with.    

What are you listening to at the moment? (This goes for everyone).

David Mayfield's brand new CD (self entitled) - He is the guitar player with the awesome Cadillac Sky and will be producing The Toy Hearts 3rd album, which i am really excited about!
The Lonesome River Band - No Turning Back
Melody Gardot - My One and Only Thrill
Paulo Nutini - Sunny Side Up
The Hot Club of Cow Town - Wishful Thinking
Nerina Pallot - The Graduate

Not all bluegrass!

You made a switch from rythmn guitar to mandolin for the group. Was the change over tricky?

Our mandolin player had left and we were stuck.  I thought it would be something I could do, primarily to help hold down the rhythm. The band has been together now for 8 years and the most important thing is that as a trio (dad, sister and myself) are as tight as we can be live.  After experiencing commitment issues with other musicians over the years, this was something i took up to help with our dynamics.  It has been tricky, as the tuning and cord positions are different (they are the same as the fiddle, not guitar).  I still have a lot more learning to do and probably feel more comfortable at the moment with the title of singer/songwriter rather than mandolin player! 

Can you explain your involment with the EBMA please?

I have actually just finished from my post as the GB representative for EBMA as I now have too busy a schedule with The Toy Hearts.  Within this position, I did the opportunity to travel to Buhl in Germany to attend the first ever European Summit on bluegrass music in February 2009.  The role primarily involved establishing and mainting strong links within the European bluegrass scene and to help promote bluegrass music in Great Britain.

You recently graduated as a 'Leader Of Bluegrass'. What did that entail?

I was completely honoured to take part in the course.  25 people worldwide get selected to do the course each year and i was one of them!  It was held at BMI, Music Row, Nashville and I went over in March 2009 for the three day course.  I can honestly say that it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done and the most intense few days that I have ever had.  It is hard to put in to words, i learnt so much!  In short (if I can) Leadership Bluegrass is a course that explores all aspects of the bluegrass world, with a wide array of guest speakers coming in to talk to you about their related profession within the bluegrass business.  Artists, producers, teachers, luthiers, managers and maerketing experts (to name but a few) were all there for us to learn from and pose questions to.  There was lots of brainstorming and many group exersizes that all help in making you understand the bluegrass music industry better and how to make your role within in it, work best for you.  I made some wonderful friends on this trip, who I know that I will be in contact for a very long time. I am very proud to have completed this course for both myself and The Toy Hearts.  

What's next for the band?

Well, we have an exciting tour coming up in December, which will actually be the first ever touring bluegrass show in Germany, with I think around 15 dates.  We are very excited to be on the same bill as The Steep Canyon Rangers who are good friends and excellent musicians from North Carolina.  They are currently touring with Steve Martin (the actor) who has recently made a bluegrass flavoured album entitled 'The Crow'.  We also need to finish writing and complete the recording of our third album in Nashville in January 10... again we are all very excited about this.  We have a wonderful engineer and producer and I am particularly thrilled about some of the special guests that will be performing on it!

Then, hopefully this summer will see the band doing more touring, with possibly a three month period of that being in the USA.  I would hope that we also get to play in Europe again, I love travelling and feel very blessed that the band has enabled me to see and play in some very beautiful parts of the world.

http://toyhearts.co.uk

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