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what I’m talkin’
about,” voiced
the singer about
his lyrics. “Like
Paul McCartney said, ‘it kind of comes
out of the sky.’”
Johnson, along with
friend, bandmate and lead
guitarist Adam Walker,
are responsible for all of
NE’s music and arrangements. Walker expressed
that he does most of the
music and Johnson is the
lyrical one. The other two
members, bassist Kiefer
Tindall, and drummer
Trase Sowell, fill in any
empty spaces Johnson or
Walker may have left.
“I write a song, put
it together,” Walker said
about their creation process. “Then, take it to the
guys and get them to fill
it out – then it goes to TJ,
and he fills out the lyrics.”
The sound that comes
out of NE’s song-writing
method is difficult to pin
under a particular genre or sub-genre. They said the
best way to put it is, “If 3 Doors Down and Pantera had
a bastard son; their music would sound like NE.”
That knack for mixing two or more distinctly different musical avenues allows NE to come up with a
range of material that
is “not straight metal,” as Walker put it.
It does lend itself to
a partial explanation
why their shows have
been called “religious
experiences”
more
than once.
“At one show,”
Johnson related, “a
guy said it was like
when you feel the
Holy Spirit in church
– that’s some serious
stuff.”
Another rationale
for the visceral reactions of many NE fans is Johnson’s natural gravitation
toward developing lyrical narratives the audience readily identifies with. When he sings, he conveys a screaming emotional connection to the audience members,
who avidly soak it in.
Some Things Are A Necessary Evil
By Alyce-Hannah Golderer
Photos by Alynah “Lil’ A” Brown
“It may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil,
but one must never label a necessary evil as good.”
~ Margaret Mead
T
he definition of necessary evil in Cambridge
Dictionaries Online is, “something unpleasant
that must be accepted in order to achieve a particular result.” For example, some people believe money is
the root of all evil. However, if you want food, a home
or clothing, you need money. That makes money, and
needing it, necessary evils.
But there is one such thing which isn’t at all “unpleasant,” and doesn’t need to be “accepted” by everyone. This one thing does lead to a “particular result,”
though – the start of a phenomenally great time with
a group of unconventional guys; always ready to make
things happen. The self-proclaimed, heavy American
hard rock and blues metal band from the Augusta, Ga.,
area, Necessary Evil.
Friendly, yet business-oriented, lead singer TJ Johnson, is the one who stamped the term “blues metal” into
the group’s description of its own genre-defying sound.
“Most necessary evils are bad things, like what they
sing about in blues music and Metallica,” Johnson explained, referring to his reasoning behind the label.
“Things of that nature are part of who we (all) are.”
And just being who they are appears to be a prominent characteristic of everyone in NE. They show little
concern for being accepted into the mainstream world.
Instead, the band seems to thrive on its recognition
as being particularly unique within the
CSRA.
The four-member group has been
performing live since
2003, quite a substantial feat for any local
act. Including Johnson, Necessary Evil is
made up of guys who
live, eat and sleep
their art. It’s the central motivating force
for all of them.
Touted by the
pulled-off-the-air,
Augusta radio station
Rock 93.5 as, “metal with a message,” the fellows of NE
agreed with Johnson that one reason they’ve retained
such popularity over the band’s decade-plus stretch, is
all about “never writing the same song twice.”
“I want people to try and keep an open mind of
Page 4
Making real bonds with the people who come to
see them is a crucial factor the guys want very much
to maintain and increase in the future. Walker said the
whole band simply loves relating so well to their audiences, helping them by doing what the guys love most.
“We’ve played many a show and people