First name: Johnny. Last name: Dynamite. But unlike the detective with the same moniker, a noir-baked comic book character from the ‘50s that his grandfather Pete Morisi created, the living, breathing rendering of Johnny Dynamite is laidback, crime-free, and into creating synth-laden songs dripping with guitar tones lifted from Robert Smith’s kitchen of melodies had The Cure figurehead lived on the Sunset Strip in 1985.
Getting his start in New York City as a drummer in bands while also working as a video editor, John Morisi adopted the Johnny Dynamite name, dubbed his band The Bloodsuckers, and debuted his solo self with 2020’s gloriously synthy Heartbroken LP. He dug his heels in with 2021’s Sleeveless, featuring gems like “Can’t Stop My Love,” “Triflin’ Kids” and the incurably addictive “Bats in the Woods.” Dynamite moved to Philly to be closer to the headquarters of Born Losers Records and labelmates Korine, often collaborating with the duo’s Trey Frye.
Back in September, Dynamite released The Tale of Tommy Gunn, a synth-popera about the titular character who moves from NYC to Nashville and can’t seem to shake the down-and-out specter that shadows everything he does. Not all ends well for Tommy Gunn, but Johnny Dynamite and the Bloodsuckers bounced back quickly with the warm weather jam “Straitjacket Summer Love” this spring and set out on a six-week tour across North America.
The trek winds down with a fistful of New England dates over the next few days: Saturday (May 18) at Foam Brewers in Burlington, Vermont, and Sunday (May 19) at The Middle East in Cambridge. (Editor’s Note: Previously scheduled shows in Connecticut and New Hampshire have been cancelled since press time.)
Ahead of the Down East cluster of shows, Dynamite sat down with Vanyaland for a 617 Q&A (Six Questions; One Recommendation; Seven Somethings). Looking like an extra from The Lost Boys with a raging mullet, penchant for headbands, and tinted Windsor glasses that would make Chip Z’Nuff jealous, he talked about that impressive pedigree, the cinematic point of view that affects the music he creates, and how it might be time to lean into a long-held love of hair metal.
:: SIX QUESTIONS
What did the Johnny Dynamite character created by your grandfather represent to you growing up and how did you come to make it your own?
I grew up with my grandfather’s art around my room. I think my dad didn’t really want me to know much about “Johnny Dynamite” though. He was somewhat of a bad-mouthed, R-rated, type of anti-hero. I mostly had his other comics around, such as Peter Cannon…Thunderbolt and Kid Montana. But like any kid growing up, that’s what intrigued me, he wasn’t just a superhero.
My grandfather put himself into the Thunderbolt comic, often using my grandma, my uncles, and my dad as muses for other characters. He would sometimes have them pose so that he could draw them into the panels. I loved that. So, I wanted to honor that lineage and take on the Dynamite name myself.
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Identifying heavily as an East Coast guy, being from NYC, and now living in Philly, how has that informed your sound? Could you ever see yourself making the move to Los Angeles?
I think if it’s informed my sound in any way, I’m not sure if I would notice it. Sometimes a car alarm or an ambulance would make it into a vocal take, but I would say that growing up here has given me plenty of lyrical content. I think it’s something about the ever-changing cityscape. And especially in NYC, the many interactions I would have with strangers on a daily basis. Sometimes you bump into someone, exchange a few words, and something can be taken from that little encounter.
But I’ve been wanting to move to L.A. since I was a little kid. Just driving around the West on this tour, both the coast and the mountains, there’s so much to take in. I think the move will happen as soon as I can afford it.
Your latest song, “Straitjacket Summer Love” sounds like it would’ve been perfect blasting out of boomboxes in 1984, but there’s also a freshness that works in 2024. Is your goal more to have material that is tinged with a retro sound or one that feels timeless?
I’m not really trying to do anything that feels too retro. I was born in the ‘90s though, so a lot of my influences came from that era as well as the ‘80s. I’ve always had an affinity for what could be considered classic rock in the future. Like, growing up, Nirvana was never considered classic rock, but now you turn on your local classic rock radio, and I’m sure you’ll hear a song like “Come as You Are” within the first 30 minutes to an hour. So yeah, it’s kind of that timeless feel that I’m looking for, like just good songwriting, something you gotta really work for.
What is it about that Cure-inspired, wistful guitar sound that keeps you coming back to it?
I got into The Cure in my late teens. I loved how cheery their music was. I also loved the darker aspects too. I feel like their guitar work somehow always did the same thing regardless of how happy or sad the song was, it’s almost like it didn’t care. There’s a few notes they always play, and it’s just so good and so simple. It’s kind of hard to not rip them off if you want to use those notes. To be honest, I try to play a bit more like Johnny Marr, I just can’t play as fast. But he uses all those notes too, kind of in the same way.
Having a foundation in film, do you tend to look through a cinematic lens when you are creating music? For instance, when you are writing a song, is it with the idea that listeners might be able to visualize either the lyrics or the melodies?
All the time! I want the music and the lyrics to help paint an image of a feeling. Sometimes I will visualize a scene or come up with a story, then I’ll write to it, like a metaphor, to disguise what I might be feeling at the moment. I hope it can help others paint their own picture with it.
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When it came out a few years ago, “Bats in the Woods” — one of the greatest songs of the modern age by the way — at Vanyaland we thought we heard a bit of Def Leppard’s “Hysteria” in there. Had we been quarantined too long at the time or is there something to that?
[Laughs] Thank you! I grew up listening to Def Leppard. I love the drums and really everything else about them. When I started the Bloodsuckers, I actually wanted it to be a hair metal band more than anything else, mostly because of Def Leppard. “Bats in the Woods” definitely got a taste of it. I actually started writing “Straitjacket Summer Love” around the time I started playing with the original Bloodsucker lineup in 2019, and I’m starting to think it’s time to be a bit more shameless about it.
:: ONE RECOMMENDATION
If I gotta recommend anything, it’s to think for yourself. It’s something I think a lot about, almost all the time. I’m always trying to check myself and make sure my thoughts aren’t being influenced. I think in this time of hypermedia, it could be hard to get through your own ideas, but it’s important.
:: SEVEN OF SOMETHING
You named your band The Bloodsuckers. Give me seven of your favorite vampire movies in no particular order.
[Laughs] This is a tough one. I think more so than being a fan of vampire movies, I mostly love what the vampire represents. The immortal, the undead, the sorrow of draining others to keep yourself sustained. I think in this society, especially here in America, the vampire is the mascot. I think we have to constantly check ourselves to make sure we are not becoming the mascot. However long a vampire may prosper, they will either live with a lot of remorse or blatantly become a monster.
But to answer your question…
The Lost Boys, literally everything about this movie is perfect. I actually didn’t see this movie until after starting the band and so many people were like “you have to watch it.” I’ve seen it upwards of 20 times since.
Dracula, like the OG Dracula. It’s a classic, I love a good horror movie, I feel like this one barely touches on the actual story, and then it just ends, it’s just an hour and fifteen minutes long. Something incredible about how short old films are, I wish directors would go back to this format for features.
Twilight. I was forced into watching this a couple years back, and it’s pretty awful, but I kind of love it.
Not the movie, but Buffy the Vampire the TV series. She’s such a badass. Claire, my synth player, made me watch this a while ago. We binged it for hours and hours every night and got through a million episodes pretty fast. It just ropes you in.
Renfield was hilarious, it was more of a dark comedy than anything else. I loved the scenes during the group therapy especially, when they took his speeches metaphorically rather than what he was actually talking about. I give it a five out of five.
[Note: At this point, bandmate Claire Wardlaw, who plays synthesizer, saxophone and DJs Dynamite’s set chimes in.]
Wardlaw: My favorite vampire movie is Near Dark. It’s a cowboy vampire movie which is just [*chef’s kiss*]. It’s got punk Bill Paxton and Tangerine Dream did the score. I highly recommend!
[Back to Dynamite]
And for the last one, I’m going to have to go with Vampire in Brooklyn starring Eddie Murphy. What a hit!
JOHNNY DYNAMITE AND THE BLOODSUCKERS + SNOOZER :: Sunday, May 19 at The Middle East Upstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, MA :: 7 p.m., 18-plus, $12 in advance, $15 day of show :: Event info :: Advance Tickets
