The comprehensive site regarding Johnny Depp and his music!
2nd Annual Sheila Witkin Memorial Reunion Concerts, August 29-30, 2008
"Music was my whole life from the age of 12 on. It was all I ever wanted to do."
-Johnny Depp, 1990
Breaking News:
- November 20, 2009: Johnny's 2008 performance with The Kids gets a nod in the new "Johnny Depp: Sexiest Man Alive" issue of People Magazine, in the form of a small photo included in the spread. Rockin' Out AND the Sexiest Man Alive- who could ask for anything more? The November 30 issue is on newsstands now.
- November 17, 2009: Singer/poet Patti Smith accompanied Johnny to the Museum of Modern Art's film benefit tribute to Tim Burton tonight in New York City. See photo here. Johnny served as a co-chair for the event. Johnny and Patti are longtime friends, and in a BBC1 radio interview on June 30 with Edith Bowman, Johnny divulged, "I think I might play on Patti Smith's next record... just a bit, a song or something." We'll see if that comes to pass!
- November 17, 2009: The Play.com site has now changed the release date of the Babybird's upcoming CD, Ex-Maniac, from February 15 to March 1, 2010, matching the date given by the record label, Unison Music. Play.com has the disc available for pre-order, with the track listing shown. Johnny will be playing guitar on the studio recording of the song, Unloveable, which will be the lead single from the album. Stephen Jones tells The Star (UK), "He came to the studio for four hours and played some stuff over the top. [Unloveable] was the natural one for us to do." A YouTube clip has been posted of the November 10th live performance of the song, featuring producer Bruce Witkin playing in the band. After Johnny was a no-show Nov. 12 at the Babybird London show, the band's frontman Stephen Jones quipped to the photographers who were there waiting, "It's funny you lot normally only stay here for three songs and then leave. We all know why you're here, he's not coming. He's in my hotel naked and buttered up ready for action. Johnny Deep is what I call him!" Tabloids had been posting rumors for weeks that Johnny was "negotiating" to play at this show, but it was never confirmed and seemed highly unlikely. Johnny also directed the music video for Unloveable, which Jones says may "turn out to be a 10-minute short film." The video stars Jones as well as Johnny's Public Enemies costar, Stephen Graham. Filming took place over a 2 day period (most likely Sept. 21-22) at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, and some behind the scenes photos were taken on the 22nd. Babybird is a British indie band that was formed by Jones in 1995; Johnny is a longtime fan and has known Jones for about 6 years. Check the JD Rocks! Videography page for some photos of the video shoot and additional information about the band.
- November 8, 2009 (updated Nov. 13): A post on the Johnny Depp Zone Pit Discussion by member RumLover reports that the print edition of the Sydney Sunday Telegraph features an interview with music producer Hal Willner, in which Willner confirms that the planned Volume 2 of the Rogue's Gallery Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys CD is still on, for release next year, and that it will feature Johnny's participation. No online version of the article can be found at present, though a Paste Magazine article from late October does mention that Tom Waits is planning to record a song for this followup. The prospect of the followup to Rogue's Gallery was previously mentioned in a July 2008 BBC Radio report, in which it was mentioned that Johnny, Keith Richards, Tom Waits, and Shane MacGowan would be among the participants. Several live Rogue's Gallery concerts also took place in the summer of 2008, and one is now planned for the Sydney Opera House on January 28, 2010. See the JD Rocks! Discography for information about the 2006 Rogue's Gallery CD, which was co-produced by Johnny and Gore Verbinski.
- November 2009: When You're Strange, the Doors documentary that features Johnny's narration, has secured theatrical distribution deals for the UK and France, as well as more countries added in November: Germany, Australia, Japan, and Canada, according to director/filmmaker Tom DiCillo. There is as of yet no US distribution deal, but possible deals are still brewing. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film has received an R rating from the MPAA: "Rated for some sexual content including references, nudity, drug material and language." When You're Strange had its first screenings with Johnny's permanent narration on June 21 and June 24, 2009 at the LA Film Festival. There is an official website for the film, which includes a trailer and some short interviews.
- November 2009 Sweeney Todd updates: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street will have several television airings in November and December on Cinemax-related channels- please check out the Sweeney Todd TV Schedule. The film is already available on DVD and Blu-ray. Check out the JD Rocks! Sweeney Todd page, Reviews & Articles, and Photo Galleries for all kinds of goodies about the film. Sweeney Todd is Johnny's first major singing role on film.
- October 2009: The Spike TV Scream Awards were broadcast October 27, at 10 p.m. The awards ceremony took place on October 17, and Johnny presented the Rock Immortal Award to Keith Richards (he also accepted an award for Most Anticipated Film-Alice In Wonderland). Johnny introduced Keith by saying, "Long after humanity incinerates itself in nuclear war, the only things left are cockcroaches... and Keith Richards." Check the JD Rocks! With Friends gallery for photos.
- October 2009: The official Vanessa Paradis website has posted Vanessa's new video, entitled Il y a. The caption under the video reads, "réalisé par JD," meaning that Johnny directed the video. Johnny himself appears in at least one clip. The video is part of Vanessa's promotion of her upcoming Best Of album, which will be released in France on November 16 in digital format and November 23 on CD. Please visit the JD Rocks! Videography page for more info.
- October 2009 YouTube Goodies #1: The original closing credits clip from the Season 2 Finale of 21 Jump Street was posted to YouTube several months ago. Instead of the show's usual closing credits, Holly Robinson sang the old classic, See You In September, featuring among the participants Johnny on guitar and Sal Jenco singing backup. Unfortunately, these closing credits were not included on the DVD release of Season 2. Some caps have been available for years on Kazren's Oh Johnny! site.
- October 2009 YouTube Goodies #2: Some high quality videos of P's performance at SXSW on March 17, 1993 have been posted to YouTube. The info reads: "DaveTV.org brings you P Live at The Austin Music Awards 3/17/93 by davetv.org I was lucky enough to produce & direct this gem. Thanks to my stellar volunteer crew that made this possible. This has never - ever, anywhere, been seen in this entire, unedited, from the master tape version. I decided with the loss of Jim Carroll, and since P did the Jim anthem, I would put this out as my dedication to Jim Carroll. I hope you people do the right thing, enjoy this freely. Please support all the bands & don't sell this. DAVETV: http://www.davetv.org/ and http://www.rawtime.com/" Jim Carroll, rocker and poet who wrote People Who Died, passed away in September at the age of 60, from a heart attack. His troubled youth was chronicled in his autobiography The Basketball Diaries, which later became a film with Leonardo DiCaprio. Some screen caps from these SXSW clips can be found on the P On Stage Photo Gallery. The links to the YouTubes are as follows:
- October 2009: Rumor has it that Johnny attended three Bob Dylan shows at the Hollywood Palladium. Numerous twitters (tweets?) reported spotting him in the balcony; fans on the official Dylan website reported that Johnny was in attendance on October 14th, and the Examiner.com reported the same for both the 13th and the 15th. Johnny has been known to attend Dylan shows in the past, and he has spoken about Dylan as a musical hero of his.
- October 2009: According to the tabloid site, Contact Music, Ozzy Osbourne has expressed interest in Johnny portraying him in a film biopic. Ozzy just wrote an autobiography entitled I Am Ozzy, and he further says, "To have a movie made of my book - maybe with Johnny Depp playing me - I'd like that." I'm sure he would. This is not the first time Johnny has been mentioned with regard to portraying Ozzy in a film; back in 2002, Ozzy's wife Sharon told People magazine: [On the subject of Depp] "I have a dream of who it could be, but I don't know if he'll do it," she said. "He's a brilliant actor." Well, unless we hear otherwise, we can consider this just a Myth.
Current and upcoming releases:
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JD Rocks! Site News:
- Please visit the new JD Rocks! Johnny's Guitars page to see Johnny's many guitars! The page was created in July. Please e-mail me at madscntst@verizon.net if you can give any information about makes or models of any of these guitars.
November '09 updates:
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September '09 updates:
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updated often, so please check back!
Three years ago, I published my first few pages of Johnny Depp Rocks! As a huge fan of Johnny Depp and also a longtime music enthusiast and collector, I had been investigating Johnny's musical background and pursuits, but I grew frustrated when I saw so much false information on the web and in print. I created this site as an attempt to compile accurate information about Johnny's musical side: his bands, live performances, recordings, and videos, as well as his friends in the world of music, and share it freely with all his fans. While the design may be plain, I hope that the information presented here is as accurate and reliable as it can possibly be. Many thanks to all those who have offered feedback or contributed information to help this site to thrive. I always welcome any corrections, additions, or suggestions, and hope that this site will continue to grow whenever there may be more to add! Hope you enjoy!
-Cathy aka MadScntst, July 23, 2009
I am always grateful for corrections or additions to any of the content on this site! I would particularly love any photos or other memorabilia from any of Johnny's live performances, past or present. Please contact me if you can help!
madscntst@verizon.net was 
Created
July
23, 2006