Hailing from Ealing, West London, John O’Shea is a rock’n’roll singer, writer and lyricist whose sound harks back to the illustrious heyday of guitar music and whose message is as relevant as ever. I caught up with John to talk about his new release, ‘Rock is Alive’, and discuss his upcoming album, inspirations and what he’s listening to right now.
Words by LITM
LITM) Tell us about ‘Rock is Alive’.
John O’Shea) It is my first amazing single off my even more amazing album, Offer Subject To Status. At the core of everything I do is melody and truth. So, yeah, if you don’t like songs with a melody you can remember, a chorus you can sing along to, with lyrics that actually mean something, then one, you’re obviously an idiot and two, you’re definitely not gonna like any of my stuff!
Specifically, ‘Rock is Alive’ has taken on different meanings for me as time has gone by. The song was written at the tail end of rock’n’roll being one of the prominent genres in the charts and popular culture. Historically rock’n’roll has always evolved and rejuvenated to keep relevant, be it the Sixties British Invasion, Seventies punk, Eighties grunge, Nineties Britpop and Noughties indie. But, something went wrong in the 2010s.
I have a lot of friends who say: “There are great bands out there, you just need to look for them.” Fuck that shit. Imagine a world where The Beatles’ career never left The Cavern! That’s basically what these people are saying and it’s strangling the life out of the genre. The fact is, mainstream music fans didn’t have to go looking for The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin or Nirvana. These bands were so great that the world couldn’t help but take notice.
Personally I think, deep down, rock fans are conscious of the fact that a new rock band/artist hasn’t broken through into the mainstream in the past 10 years, which is the first time this has happened in the genre’s history. I’m going to change that and that’s what ‘Rock is Alive’ is about.
How would you explain this lack of rock heroes – what can be done?
The most important thing for me is promoting singer-songwriters. The great irony is that, in terms of performers, popular music has never been more diverse but the music itself has never been more generic. This is due to the big record companies using the same handful of producers and writers for all their major artists, which, regardless of who the performer is, is why everything sounds the bloody same.
What’s also changed is how people consume music and how they see genres. Before the internet, people listened to the radio, bought music or went to clubs or gigs, and that was it. If you were lucky enough to have shitloads of money then maybe you could afford to buy lots of music from different types of artists and genres and broaden your musical tastes. Most people, however, didn’t have that luxury, so naturally they would spend their hard-earned money on the handful of artists they liked, which made them very loyal, not only to the artist, but to that genre.
Now that’s all changed. Now everyone is able to listen and stream any artist from any genre, without it hitting their pockets, which is great. But as a result I don’t think people experience music and see artists in the narrow way they may have done in the pre-internet days. Today I think most people just like what they like and genre doesn’t come into it, whereas, before the internet, people were probably more genre specific in their tastes.
Nonetheless, rock’n’roll has slipped through the net, it’s not present any more. You can blame streaming, you can blame talent shows or social media, blah blah blah, but the other genres are faced with the same challenges. The truth is the rock artists and bands of the past 10 years just haven’t been good enough. It’s not about rock’n’roll being the dominant genre, nor should it be. It’s about putting rock’n’roll back on the map, being part of the mix and relevant again, through great music that connects, inspires and brings people together. Ultimately I want the industry to focus on singer-songwriters and composers from all backgrounds and genres – that way we’ll have a genuinely diverse and creative music industry again.
What’s your own songwriting process?
Umm... that’s a tough one for me to explain. I can’t read and write music, so I would never call myself a songwriter in the traditional sense. For me, songs are living and breathing entities, they’re real. The great songs have existed from the dawn of time, sitting in the collective subconscious mind of human history, waiting patiently for someone to come along and clothe them and give them a voice. So it’s not a case of writing a song, it’s a case of waiting for the song to present itself to me. And you can’t force that; you have to wait until it’s ready. And when it is ready to present itself to me, I listen to what the song wants, how the song wants to be presented, what the song wants to say and how it wants to say it. I am the servant to the song.
What would you consider to be your greatest career achievement?
My album, Offer Subject to Status. Not many people can stroll into a studio and smash out a 14-track album, with no fillers, that they wrote, arranged and produced on their own. But I can.
The fact that I made the album on my own meant I didn’t compromise on a single thing. Every note, every chord, every word is there because I want it to be there. The album also gave me the opportunity to work with some amazing people. Darren Jones engineered and recorded the album, Frank Arkwright mastered it and the genius that is Brian Cannon did the artwork. I couldn’t have asked for more... well, except for it to get a mainstream release. I didn’t make the album to collect dust; I made it for the world to hear.
If you could curate a festival, who would the three headliners be?
Like I said, I don’t think people are genre specific any more, so I’d like a festival to have a good mixture of styles. First up, Lady Gaga. This is a no brainer for me – underneath her pop veneer is a seriously talented songwriter with an outstanding voice. I definitely think she’s moved beyond being a pop star and has evolved into an artist of genuine worth. I know pop stars latch on social movements to enhance their careers and keep them relevant but I don’t think there’s an insincere bone in Gaga’s body and her talent will always keep her relevant.
Next up is Kendrick Lamar, he’s so fucking great it blows my mind. His storytelling and use of characters is second to none. I know some rock fans look down on hip-hop but I think the music industry owes hip-hop a great debt. With the onset of streaming, the music industry gravitated towards just focusing on singles, which is a tragedy. The album is what separates the fakes, the chancers and wannabes from the artists and geniuses of this world. Let’s face it, rock hasn’t produced an album of cultural significance for bloody ages but thankfully rap stars still hold the album in high esteem and it’s because of the commercial success of hip-hop that the album is still prominent in the music industry. And no one exemplifies that better than Kendrick Lamar.
Last but certainly not least, John O’Shea. I may have recorded one album, but I’ve written over 10, all of them absolute belters. I’ve got the songs and talent to make rock’n’roll great again.
What else are you listening to right now?
Liam Gallagher’s Why Me? Why Not. There was always that question: “If Noel left Oasis and took the songs with him, what would Liam do?” After listening to this album it sounds like Liam is doing very nicely thank you. Cosmic.
Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Whatever Kanye has become, that doesn’t take away from the fact that this album is a work of genius. It’s a genuinely innovative album, and I hear something new every time I listen to it.