Johanna's Music Maneuver! 9/5/13

Image compliments of GC Photographics

Johanna Fegan is a bit of a local legend when it comes to the music scene in the city. Her power house vocals do not fail to impress alongside her stage energy and plain raw talent. Johanna has now revealed that after years of hard girl rock she’s looking to her softer side and things are due to mellow out. Johanna began playing music while still at primary school picking up the guitar at the tender age of 8. Immediately she was writing songs but didn’t fancy herself as a singer from the start.

“I developed song writing buzz, started writing a few wee tunes but never thought of myself as a singer but I loved writing. When I was in secondary school in St. Mary’s I wrote a few tunes, one was called ‘Opening number’, ‘No Denial’ and I would just play them on my own. I used to hound my best friend at the time and get her to listen to them but some of them would be while dark and morbid and she would be like: “What are you writing that for?”. 

Even then I still didn’t even think, you know I thought I had a decent enough voice. I used to sit and sing up in my room, like 4 Non Blondes and stuff like that and my mammy would be coming up the straight all: “Would you stop that singing! Everybody can hear ye from down the street!”. So I used to mess about with those kinds of songs, loved the Cranberries. My writing became that type of style.”

Turning her hand to arts of another direction Johanna was interested in acting but funnily enough it was through her performance arts that she really discovered she wanted to do music. “I went to lower sixth and then left to join performance arts because I was more into being an actress at the time. I wanted to go to America and all and do all that craic. I just thought my singing and guitar playing was just a hobby. When I went  performing arts I sang for my audition and I ended up playing my guitar for everyone else to do their auditions so I had awe bit of confidence then because everyone was all: ‘That’s brilliant, you picked that up really quick’ and I was thinking, so I did. One of the tutors David McGookin, he thought I had a really good voice along with my other two tutors Ann and Pauline. He worked with part of the popular music section in the tech and he was all: “Look, I’d love you to record something”. There was one wee place called Church House and there was this wee group of boys and they were working with our show. They were in a really good band called ‘Price’ and they were tight and did all Skunk Anansie and proper rock and that. There were two female singers and we used to go and watch them in the Bound For, I used to just want to be in that band. He had decided to ask them to do the music for my CD, he wanted me to record my own songs. We all ended up recording three of my songs and it sounded really good, that just sent me off on one then, I wanted to do music after that. Then the two girls that were in the band had to leave for uni and that. The boys asked me to join the band, so after that then I was all into rock, girl rock, Alanis  Morissette, No Doubt, Skunk Anansie, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, anything kind of heavy that was my thing, it still kind of is.

Of course with these kind of influences it’s no surprise that the sound Johanna was pitching for was a strong gutsy female vocal but now she’s finding her softer side. “I learnt to sing aggressively because Skunk Anansie, she was a big idol to me. It’s only now, years down the line, 15 years down the line I’m kind of teaching myself to soften up and get more nice softer, more mature , to drag something out from within myself rather than shouting and screaming like a teenager. So, taking a different approach to things now, a lot more mellow in my old age.”

Her journey to a more melodic style of vocal has seen Johanna on a path of discovery of what she is actually capable of. “I’m not smoking anymore so I’m finding I can get those wee notes so I’m really enjoying discovering my voice again, which is exactly what it’s like. It’s like I’m discovering parts of it I’ve never ever been introduced to before because I’ve always been a smoker. Since I joined bands and even after gigs I’d end up wrecking my voice because I had never learned how to warm it up properly until about three years ago, I was just hardcore. I never ever took care of my talent and my throat and stuff. Now at this stage it’s like I’m learning everything I should’ve learnt back then but it’s good, like a new lease of life. I’m a lot more protective now, not as open. When I was younger up until a few years ago I used to give my whole life away through songs. Whether people knew that or not I don’t know, I knew it. In some ways that has helped younger females which gives me back so much, it really does but now I just feel like I want this for me. I want to get real, I want to figure out what my strong parts are and what I enjoy. Times have changed and people are singing differently and I want to evolve with that, not to fit in but to replenish and find myself and touch all elements. I want to be a proper singer and writer. I have found dynamically it can take things to another level. I’ve sat and written more songs but because they’re slower and I’m not giving it the bit, I kind of doubt myself a wee bit in it. Are they going to be as good? Until I’m ready to put them out there and get the reaction then I’ll kind of know myself, it’ll confirm things with me but I’m liking it and I like the change and I’m finding that it’s a change that isn’t just physical it’s internal too. It’s a progression and it’s happening because of the way I’m feeling inside wanting to evolve.

Johanna has mentioned that the all new style won’t be unleashed straight away but rather will be something that will come with time and only when she’s ready. However, there may be a sneaky peak sooner than expected. She will play tonight at Sandinos as part of the IU SHE charity night which is raising funds to help Child Victims of Sex Trafficking in Asia. A worthy cause and great entertainment so do not miss out.