In this offering, we are very pleased to get up close and personal with artist and musician Ellei Johndro.
The first record I ever bought with my own money was…
If you wanna talk cassettes or CD’s you’ll get a different answer, but as far as vinyl, I didn’t start properly collecting and purchasing albums until about 6 years ago when I started DJing. I was spinning weekly and preferred playing records which amassed to me buying copious amounts every week. But about a year prior to that, after setting up a proper record playing station at home, my first vinyl purchase was Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman. Essential.
The record that made me want to make music was…
It’s impossible to pick just one; making music is an ebb & flow for me…at an early age Veruca Salt American Thighs was the one album I absolutely had to learn every guitar part and sing along to and definitely kick started to desire to make my own music. It shifted over the years, but the other two albums that definitely built that foundation are L7 Bricks are Heavy and don’t be surprised if you catch me practicing vocals to Victim of Changes off Sad Wings of Destiny, Judas Priest.
The record I’ve played more than any other is…
I actually get teased by the amount I play this album, and I’m not sick of it yet: Pentagram – Relentless
The record that always make me feel good is…
Boston – S/T debut album — you can’t top the first side with More Than a Feeling and Foreplay / Longtime. The entire album is an up beat super charger that’s almost timeless yet transports to me to a different place simultaneously. If I’m tapped on Boston, it’s full on CCR every day all day, specifically Cosmo’s Factory. Pagan Baby, baby! It’s not on that album but whatever; I love that song.
The record I turn to when I’m feeling down is…
If I’m feeling down, I’m definitely not listening to anything that’s a fucking downer. My choice for those unmotivated days of gloom is easily — Motörhead – Overkill…, WAKE UP! But a rainy day or chill vibe calls for Roky Erickson, The Evil One or Thin Lizzy’s Black Rose.
The record with my favorite cover art is…
Album art is hard … but I’m definitely a sucker for hand illustration or the complete other end of the spectrum, extreme simplicity. I have a handful of selects; there’s so many damn good album covers: Nirvana’s Incesticide, Slayer’s Hell Awaits, Mudhoney Superfuzz Bigmuff and the original Iron Maiden are some of my favorites.
But ultimately, if I’m wearing it on my back as a patch and it’s the first one that came to mind — it’s Guns n’ Roses Appetite for Destruction, the original art. Graphic and Cartoonesque. Aliens and Vulgarity.
The strangest LP I own is…
Hands down, The California Raisins. But is that strange though, really? It’s a raisin man. A bunch of ‘em and they can sing the blues.
The rarest LP I own is…
I’m not sure which one would be the rarest. I collect a lot of first edition pressings of noise and grunge from the 90s and European thrash plus I love weird colored and limited edition vinyl. Maybe Tad Salt Lick or L7’s first studio album from 1988. But my 1994 Veruca Salt, American Thighs has a 7” for the hidden track on the original album. I haven’t come across many of those and it’s engraved with the lyrics by Nina & Louise.
The last LP I bought was…
I’ve still have a never-ending list of albums I want to add to my collection, but the latest was the first KADAVAR album and it’s been in pretty heavy rotation since.
Ellei’s band Biker Daughter will be releasing a new EP titled Street Dreamer later this year. You can listen to the single “Bastard Child” here. Be sure to check out Ellei’s chronicles of urban culture and street life on her blog Shadowscene.
http://elleijohndro.com
http://shadowscene.com
https://bikerdaughter.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/lil_helleion
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