Up Close With The American Idols - Michael Johns - Page 2

Okay. What was it like when you went on The Tonight Show and Gene Simmons was there?

It was awesome. We were backstage and he's got his platform shoes on, the whole thing. He's in character, you know. Once we did the [on-air bit], we went back to the dressing room and he gave me some advice and we talked about some things. You know, you don't get to his level of success [and not] have some perspective. And I got to sing a Kiss song on bloody national television - awesome.

Were you expecting to sing that?

We were originally supposed to meet with Smokey Robinson, which would've been cool too. But it would've been definitely a different segment with Smokey.

How are you enjoying the tour so far?

It's great, until 25 minutes ago when I busted my elbow. It's all good. Look, anytime you get to play in front of 10,000 people every night - that's reserved for the U2s, the Madonnas, the Paul McCartneys of the world. I try to instill that in everyone. I'm like, 'Guys I know you're young.' I'm 29 and I'm the oldest guy. Do you know how many records you have to sell to get back to these kind of venues night after night? So hopefully they're listening to me because I'm just soaking it in and loving it - every night.

Do you get to see any of the cities you perform in?

We get days off. We had two days in Portland and that was great. Got to see a bunch of that - played golf, went to the Nike campus. I would love to see more of Seattle. It's been one of my dreams to come here. I honestly think it's the home of the last great era of music. I really believe that. I mean, for me. And I would love to go see some of those old clubs.

You're recording right now, right?

Yeah, I have been since April actually. Working on writing and getting songs submitted. I'm one of those guys, like, if I write it – great. If I collaborate - great. Or if someone comes in and says 'Dude, this song's perfect for you', and I really feel the lyrics and the sentiment, then I'll record it. It's good - it's like a rock/soul record, it's fun as hell. It's kinda Stones-meets-INXS with a bit of Gnarls Barkley kind of stuff.

So who's your favorite artist of all time?

Article Author: Sherry Lipp

Sherry writes mostly music and dvd reviews and on occasion she gets to do an interview. She plays the guitar, enjoys playing with her dog Pepsi and she and her husband are currently in the process of internationally adopting from Poland.

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