Search - Johnny Dowd :: Cemetery Shoes

Clever, smart, interesting music

Craig H. Kinsley | Richmond, VA USA | 11/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Johnny Dowd makes me appreciate having ears to hear with and a mind to think with. Here is a man who, in a just world, would enjoy the success that more commercial musicians do today; that he does not is a real crime (then again, the world's loss is his fans' gain). His music is deep, dark and thoughtful, but well crafted, like an Alfred Hitchcock film. The tunes take some getting used to, as does his voice, because they cover material not usually associated with today's homogenized and emasculated pop and radio scene. But like most acquired tastes, you wonder how you ever got along without it. He writes music like the moon casts shadows, makes you look over your shoulder, and consider your fate. His albums, including his recent, Cemetary Shoes, deal with topics from the seamy side of life, a portion of the world that is anathema to the Britneys, the Jessicas, and the other pop tarts of music. If you appreciate artistry, thought and challenge, check out the Dowd catalog. Stretch your imagination a little. Take a chance on his music and experience an enveloping warmth that is cognition and emotion melding."

Psychobilly romper room stomp

Rik Woods | 06/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have been listening to the "cemetary shoes" album. Okay now be warned before you rush into Johnny he is considered to be in the Genre of "PSYCHOBILLY" so if you do not have at least a passsing appreciation of Rockabilly, punk, goth, and alt country. So don't blame me if he scares the hell out of you or you just don't get it, but if you can get past any prejudices or dislikes you initially have of the music and really listen to the man, he has something to say and a very unique way of saying it. you can hear a few samples of Johnny on his website at www.johnnydowd.com Here are the lyrics to one of his songs that I really like the words to,



Billy Blu







A crooked little man / lives in the underground

Sometimes he goes up / but mostly he stays down



People call him Billy / William is his name

In the coming darkness / he's the keeper of the flame



He repairs radios / with alien transistors

Cosmic commnication / between brothers and sisters



He has information / unavailable to most

He converses with angels / and sleeps with ghosts



Silence is a sadness / a bird with a song

Billy is a sailor / between right and wrong



A world of light and promise / is beyond his memory

In the present he is occupied / preparing for eternity



Lucifer is coming / don't let the children hear

The devil's in the wood pile / judgment day is near



Things that seem simple / are extremely complicated

When you scratch the surface / of things gold-plated



© Johnny Dowd



I hope the more adventurous of you take a listen and give him half a chance and those less adventurous look at all the pictures of his pretty face (well at least that was the one good thing one young lady could find about him). On another interesting note about Johnny he didn't record his first album until he was 50 years old. Well guess I can't complain I didn't put out my first book until I was 34, and I had twenty odd years of material back logged. Which we can really blame on Bob because I really didn't think much of the "bits" I wrote until I heard SBR and I thought man I want to make statements like that. I look at Johnny's lyrics and it so often reminds me of the ways that I string words together. So take a listen, check out what he says, and always keep an open mind, remember don't judge a book by it's cover (or a book of poetry by it's title)."