don't click here

An interview with Johnny Gioeli of Crush 40

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by EmerlForgotten, Feb 23, 2019.

  1. EmerlForgotten

    EmerlForgotten

    Sonic Music Curator Member
    76
    8
    8
    1. You recently returned to the Sonic franchise with Crush 40 for the song “Green Light Ride” (for Team Sonic Racing). How does it feel to be back doing music for Sonic after such a long hiatus?

    It feels GREAT! I must say, I have no complaints as I have contributed for over 25 years to Sonic related games…..!! Where did the time go!?!? But it was so cool and so fun to get creative in the music gaming world again and put the Crush40 signature sound in the game once again!

    2. Is there any particular reason why Crush 40 wasn't involved with Sonic games since 2011?

    Well, the industry changed unfortunately. Budget cuts, slow sales etc… This made the industry turn to more “canned music” Blaaaaaahhhhhhhh!! BUT, its what had to be done to keep the budgets in order. I'm very expensive!!!! hahahahaha


    3. In the past, Crush 40 did their own versions of songs from various Sonic games, usually in the soundtrack albums (i.e. “His World”, “Free”, “All Hail Shadow”, etc.). How did these versions come to be? Did SEGA want these specific songs on their soundtrack albums or was this something that you and Mr. Senoue decided on?

    Yes, this was usually an idea from Jun. He would call me or write me and say “I would love to re-make the song “X”. And I would say…… LET'S GO! It was as simple as that.


    4. There's a demo of “Open Your Heart” floating around the internet featuring Ezio Sakamoto as the original vocalist. How did you come about being involved with the song and, as a result, the rest of the Sonic franchise?

    I am truly not familiar with that demo although it rings a bell. You are testing my old memory!!! hahaha I do remember having to mimic the basic melody and then made my signature sound for this song. This was a BIG ONE for Crush40 and even lives strongly today on so many playlists. I love it.


    5. On a similar subject, are there existing demos for Crush 40 songs that we may not have heard yet (as of now, the community has heard demos for “Sonic Heroes”, “Live & Learn”, and “Open Your Heart”)? If so, is there any chance the community would be able to hear them? There is quite an interest in the community for such rarities.

    Actually we don't have an archives of completed songs that never got released. We DO HAVE TONS of music ideas that just never made it to the world. With Crush40 we always look for a platform such as a game to tie in our music. That's who we are. We can certainly make a new album and I'm sure it would be well received, but for us, we love when it works with a game.


    6. Shadow The Hedgehog was a drastic tonal shift for the Sonic franchise. How different of an experience was recording the heavier music for this game compared to other Sonic titles?

    I was nervous about this actually. I didn't quite understand what Sega was doing with this “experiment”. BUT, who the heck am I ???? hahahahahaha It worked SO WELL and I loved adding the heaviness and a more serious approach to SHAAAAADOW……


    7. When making songs for the Sonic franchise, is it usually an exclusive effort by Crush 40 or is there input from other composers (i.e. Tomoya Ohtani, Kenichi Tokoi, Fumie Kumatani, etc.)?

    Usually, its Jun writing me and saying “We have a new game to work on”. It's called “……….” and this is the overall feel for the game. Then, he sends me his musical scene ideas and I sit in the studio after reading and viewing storyboards (because the game isn't finished!) and I get busy….. Usually, the words and melody pours out of me. I LOVE creating like this because the “feel” and the “outcome” is basically in front of you, you just have to finish it. It's like scoring a motion picture. Same thing in my eyes.


    8. Does Crush 40 have any plans to make more music outside of the Sonic franchise? I very much enjoyed “Rise Again” and “2 Nights 2 Remember”.

    ya know, I would love this. It's just really hard to make it happen with both Jun and my busy ass schedules. We did this way back when to prove that we can be a “band” as well. And we're just not gaming music makers. hahaha


    9. Crush 40 has been very good about performing for their fans. Would another live album be in your radar?

    I don't think so. I think there are so many NEW gamers that have no clue how cool this old school sound and band is. I think we'll focus on the “best of” and with this album add a twist to a few classic songs. I LOVE DOING THIS. So, take a song like “live and learn” and modernize it or strip it down to an acoustic feel….something like that. This is all in the works.


    10. Being in different bands, is it difficult to balance your music output with so many different projects?

    It's not difficult to manage mentally. It is difficult to manage from a time perspective. I'm touring a lot these days having some Billboard Top 100 charting albums with Hardline and Axel Rudi Pell. When you have a successful album, you must tour to round out the success.


    11. Your solo album “One Voice” was recently released. It seems like the sound of the album is an amalgamation of all your previous work. At what point did you decide you wanted to pursue a solo project? What were your inspirations for such an endeavor?

    It was all inspired by Joe Barber, a family friend who was in a diving accident and became paralyzed. It was such a SHOCK. I had to do something…and I did. “One Voice” is a dedication and benefit album made primarily for the Barber family. It was spawned on Frontiers Records and I added “pledge Music” to bring the world together for this cause. It was an amazing outpouring of love and generosity. An amazing time period for me. And…… I love this album. Certainly has a little Crush40 feel……


    12. Last question, Mr. Gioeli. Out of all the songs you've performed for the Sonic franchise, which would you say was the most memorable to record?

    Live and Learn….. FOR SURE!!!!! I had no idea if my work was good on this song!! I would ask Jun… “Jun, is this good”? hahahahaha WHO KNEW it would catapult our career and literally change the lives of so many. We all grew up with this song and the memories that surround it. Just a mind blowing experience for me. And it STILL lives today.


    Thanks so much for your support….your questions…and your love for Crush40. Thank you so much!

    -Johnny
     
  2. Sonic Warrior TJ

    Sonic Warrior TJ

    Have an ice time Member
    3,370
    202
    43
    GA
    That was a cool little read. Thanks for conducting the interview! Funny how he also wasn't so sure about the direction SEGA was heading in when they announced Shadow's game.
     
  3. Another Crush 40 "best of" with bonus tracks in the works?

    My body is ready.
     
  4. XCubed

    XCubed

    Will Someday Own a Rent-A-Center Oldbie
    Star struckkkk. Thank goodness we are in the future and Apple Music is a thing. This interview was wonderful!
     
  5. EmerlForgotten

    EmerlForgotten

    Sonic Music Curator Member
    76
    8
    8
    It was great having the opportunity to interview him. I'm currently trying to get in contact with some more artists who have worked on the Sonic franchise and doing interviews with them (I've already done Sandy Cressman from Sonic Boom and this interview).
     
  6. HEDGESMFG

    HEDGESMFG

    Oldbie
    1,283
    1,224
    93
    Great interview.

    A lot of people made fun of the sonic soundtrack back in the day, but in reality even the infamous Sonic "buttrock" became very popular over time ("I am... all of me" remains one of the most viewed Sonic videos, despite how infamously panned that game is), and I truly do think Sonic music remains some of the best in the industry, even in the lesser loved titles. Only rivaled perhaps by the best of the Rockman franchise, Metroid, and a few others.
     
  7. EmerlForgotten

    EmerlForgotten

    Sonic Music Curator Member
    76
    8
    8
    Great find!
     
  8. XCubed

    XCubed

    Will Someday Own a Rent-A-Center Oldbie
    PLEASE let this be released to Apple Music/Spotify/Amazon! No one has CD players anymore!
     
  9. Considering The Best of Crush 40 eventually went to iTunes with bonus tracks, I'm sure your wishes will be answered.
     
  10. Antheraea

    Antheraea

    Bug Hunter Member
    Yo, I have a question:

    Where can I find this?!
     
  11. [youtube]http://www.youtube....h?v=PQ7Qj2xygj8[/youtube]
     
  12. Chibisteven

    Chibisteven

    Member
    1,364
    39
    28
    US
    I own a few CD players and have CD drives in my computer for digital audio extraction and very old games.
     
  13. Antheraea

    Antheraea

    Bug Hunter Member
    this...gives me amazing JAM Project Super Robot Wars vibes, and it's amazing how much the feel changes simply by swapping out the vocalist. ty!
     
  14. Super Egg

    Super Egg

    Master of MS Paint. Member
    313
    0
    16
    Tomball, TEXAS
    Sonic 2 beta 3 hoax
    If y'all ever get the opportunity to interview Johnny ever again, ask him about Queen. I heard from someone who has worked with him in the past that Johnny was in the running to do a Queen+(insert musician), but due to scheduling conflicts the music partnership didn't happen. I'm kinda fuzzy on it, but be interesting to see if the story can be confirmed.

    Otherwise, cool interview,glad he took the time to talk with y'all.

    One of these days I guess I should chroniclize an interesting discussion I had with Jun Senoue at SXSW this past year.
     
  15. Aerosol

    Aerosol

    Not here. Moderator
    11,163
    573
    93
    Not where I want to be.
    Sonic (?): Coming summer of 2055...?
    What's wrong with this link?
     
  16. RDNexus

    RDNexus

    Member
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ7Qj2xygj8

    There. Should do now.
     
  17. Nova

    Nova

    Member
    3,755
    178
    43
    the lyrics in that description are

    a trip
     
  18. Aerosol

    Aerosol

    Not here. Moderator
    11,163
    573
    93
    Not where I want to be.
    Sonic (?): Coming summer of 2055...?
    Cheers.

    Also wow. That's...different.
     
  19. I figure this is a good a place as any to post this, but apparently the new Crush 40 collection album's tracklist got announced by Wavemaster, and it's honestly kind of underwhelming. For an album called "The Ultimate Crush 40 Collection" having barely over half of Crush 40's songs on the album is rather weak, considering how tiny their discography really is. (There's 17 tracks on the CD, Crush 40 literally has 33 songs to their name, game themes, covers, and all.)