Johnny Whitney (born June 28, 1981) is a singer, author and multi-instrumentalist from Seattle. He is known for being one of two vocalists in the post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers and in the post-punk band Jaguar Love.
Johnny Whitney | |
|---|---|
 Whitney with Jaguar Love in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | June 28, 1981 |
| Origin | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Genres | Post-hardcore, art punk, electronic |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Member of | The Blood Brothers |
| Formerly of | Jaguar Love |
Career
editWhitney met fellow Blood Brothers vocalist Jordan Blilie in the seventh grade, and the two would form the band in 1997.[1] The Blood Brothers released four albums before breaking up in June 2007, although this was not publicly announced until November of that year.[2]
Following The Blood Brothers' breakup, Whitney and the band's guitarist Cody Votolato formed a new band, Jaguar Love, along with Pretty Girls Make Graves drummer Jay Clark.[3] Jaguar Love released two albums before going inactive in 2010.[4]
Whitney has also remixed songs from other artists including "Positive Tension" by Bloc Party and "Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He is also featured on Daryl Palumbo's remix of Cage's song "Shoot Frank".[5]
Dating back to his days in The Blood Brothers, Whitney also operates a clothing company named Crystal City.[6] He also designed the album cover for the band's third album Crimes, which he said took several months to complete while using Photoshop in the band van while on tour.[1]
In the mid-2010s, Whitney quit music and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area to work as a software engineer for Netflix. The Blood Brothers reunited in 2014 and again in 2024 to tour again.[1]
Style
editWhitney's shrieked vocals and screaming have been noted for their self-described "feminine energy", which stood out in a more masculine-heavy hardcore punk scene. The Seattle Weekly once wrote, "Johnny Whitney is biologically male, but the power of his bloodcurdling shriek... is something else entirely."[7] Jordan Billie, his co-vocalist in The Blood Brothers, said that Whitney "was taking some fairly feminine qualities and putting them in a very violent context".[8]
Between ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn (2003) and Crimes (2004), Whitney took vocal lessons to increase his range, which focused on running scales. He was inspired by the course that Cedric Bixler-Zavala took between At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta.[1]
During the peak of The Blood Brothers' popularity in the mid-2000s, Whitney faced public backlash for his appearance and style. He recalled attendees calling him a "faggot" and having a shoe thrown at his head during a show. While playing in Portugal in 2007, Whitney said he was catcalled because spectators believed he was a woman, only to then be booed once he spoke and revealed himself as a man. Speaking in 2024 about the band's influence on the queer and transgender communities, he said: "That's no longer something that's a cultural norm. Just the idea of a band with two singers that are skinny, femmy dudes was disgusting to a lot of mainstream audiences seeing AFI."[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Interview: The Blood Brothers On Their Reunion Tour, Ross Robinson, And Learning To Love Slipknot". Stereogum. 2024-10-01. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Punknews.org (2008-10-27). "Interviews: Jordan Blilie (Past Lives)". www.punknews.org. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Lester, Paul (2008-07-01). "No 342: Jaguar Love". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Staff, C. T. (2010-03-25). "Two new releases by former 'Brothers'". Campus Times. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
- ^ Punknews.org (2006-11-07). "Win stuff from Crystal City Clothing and Wax on Radio". www.punknews.org. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ "Johnny Whitney is biologically male, but the power of his bloodcurdling shriek". Seattle Weekly. 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ Lipez, Zachary (2014-05-20). "Strap On Your White Belts, The Blood Brothers Have Returned: An Interview with Jordan Blilie". VICE. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
- ^ "The Blood Brothers on Returning to the Scene of Their "Crimes" 20 Years Later". FLOOD. Retrieved 2024-12-18.