The lobby of a hotel nailed in Colonia Condesa was the place to meet with Johnny Indovina, the singer of the legendary band Human Drama, who to celebrate his 30th anniversary will play a special show of more than 3 hours in duration at the Flying Circus of the City of Mexico, the city that gave Indovina a new respite and the strength and inspiration to continue in music.
30 years of Human Drama. From any perspective that's a long time for a band ...
Honestly, even though it's a long time but I can't even rationalize everything I've invested since we started as a band. How come so many years passed? That brings me a lot of nostalgia, but at the same time I feel very good to be together again, the same subjects that we started in 1985 and still feel the same way, you know?
Really? Even after 30 years have passed?
Yes, I promise you. When we are together in the same room, everything is as it has always been.
Love, death, God, darkness, life. They are all topics that you address in most of your topics. How to keep inspiration fresh after more than 3 decades?
I think ... There are so many things going on in this world, so many things to see and so many emotions that we have to deal with day by day that I will never run out of topics to write about. Never. Because they never leave, they are always here, we always have to face them. If not much happens to me today, it does not mean that I cannot reflect and remember something that could have happened to me or someone else more than 10 years ago, examine it and write a song about it.
When you started in music, what exactly were you looking for? What is your goal
I bought an album, around 1973, Lou Reed's 'Berlin' and when I first heard it, something changed inside me. That's when I learned how music has a great effect on the way you feel at that moment, the way it takes you to another place and that was my goal. I wanted to make records that could do that. I didn't want to make background or party music. I wanted to make an album that made you feel like you were reading a book ...
Do you like to read?
No the truth is no.
Not even light novels or something?
No, none of that. I read when I was young but I don't do it anymore. [laughs]
Well ... Last year you released a new solo album. Do you like your solo face better or would you rather do something like Human Drama?
I don't know ... At this moment I write songs that are for me, just like I did for Human Drama until 2004 and in some other projects. I really have no preference, because no matter where they are published, they are still my songs. The only difference is that different people perform them, but the vibe remains the same ...
Human Drama is a band that started in the 80s, a totally different era for the music industry. You miss him?
You already know the answer to that question. If I could go back in time and go back to those days, just change some parts of the music industry, have more control over the internet so that music doesn't lose its value - because now it's free - I would. I would change that. I hate the way music has become totally disposable. You hear something and then you throw it away and then something else, and then another. I can't believe it, I don't like it. Things like Spotify are what I hate. I like those days where I bought my album, a real album and not just listen to one or two songs. There is a reason that artists put 11 songs there! How could a person be happy to hear just one and that's it?
But your music is on those platforms, right? You know, Spotify, Apple Music ...
You are right. As…
Mexican fans really love you. Every time you show up here, you get a great response. A few months ago you were playing at the Bizarro Café for free and there were several hundred people!
Yes, I do. Last year I thought about retiring from music, because I no longer enjoyed it. I came to hate all of this. I hated the whole process, because there are so many barriers. Everything has changed. I couldn't go on doing an album and then a tour, another album, and another tour in an endless cycle. Also, I was very angry with the music business, I just wanted to stop. But I thought about it and decided that instead of leaving the music, I was going to take a step back and answer myself, why do I make music? What do I love about all this? So what I did was sit there - at Café Bizarro - next to my guitar, and play. Why? Because I can. Not for a concert, not to sell tickets or to sell an album, not to play in front of a large audience, or to be on the radio. All he wanted was to play. Where else could I do it than in Mexico City? I played every day, for seven days in a row, I never announced it, I didn't give a press conference. There was no money or anything in between. All he wanted to do was breathe and understand again what he loved about music. I did it because I like it, without any other exectative.
And after all, what does music mean to you?
Communication! A way to share with people. Imagine that we don't know each other very well and suddenly we find ourselves on the street and I say “Hey! Notice that I fell in love and… ”No. That would be very rare. But you can listen to my music and through it we will connect. We would have a conversation even without facing each other. A connection of words and feelings.
Do you like current music?
Uhm ... a couple of little things sound good, not much. The most "new" thing I've heard is Sia, I like a couple of her songs and her videos are great. I like it 'Chandelier', she is amazing.
If we break the music into several pieces, what is the most important piece for Johnny Indovina?
Words. When I hear something from Leonard Cohen, I don't think about guitars or drums, I think about words. For me, it is all about the words and the music behind them, they are just what gives them color.
Finally, Johnny. Ten years after their official separation, you decide to reunite Human Drama for its 30th anniversary and perform at the Flying Circus.
30 years! A few years ago - in 2012, we also performed at the Plaza Condesa, but this is to celebrate our 30th anniversary, because we enjoy being together as a band, so why not do it again? We are getting old, what can we do next? I do not know. So we want to enjoy this great experience and have a good time.