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 6, 2009: According to The Star (UK), Johnny will play guitar on the Babybird song, Unloveable, which will be the lead single from their upcoming album, Ex-Maniac. Babybird's frontman Stephen Jones says, "He came to the studio for four hours and played some stuff over the top. [Unloveable] was the natural one for us to do." Play.com now has Ex-Maniac available for pre-order, with the track listing shown and a UK release date of February 15, 2010 (The record label, Unison Music, shows a release date of March 1, 2010, but perhaps that is the US release date). 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. Johnny's former Kids bandmate, Bruce Witkin, is a co-owner of the Unison label. Check the JD Rocks! Videography page for some photos of the video shoot and additional information about the band. Added note: rumors have been flying for a couple of weeks that Johnny will play a live gig with Babybird in London on November 12. While anything is possible, and I would always love to hear news of Johnny performing live on stage, these rumors have been reported mainly in tabloids and should therefore be treated with some hefty grains of salt.
- October 27, 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." Photo below, and check the JD Rocks! With Friends gallery for more:
- October 15, 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.
- 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 YouTube Goodies #1: This isn't news, but is something I wasn't aware of until just recently: 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, but I haven't heard the actual song before now. Very cool!
- 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: When You're Strange, the Doors documentary that features Johnny's narration, has gotten a UK distribution deal with The Works UK Distribution, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is expected to be released there in 2010. The film also has a French distributor, MK2. There is as of yet no US distribution deal, but word is that possible deals are still brewing for the US as well as Germany, Australia, Japan and other countries. The film will next screen at the Mar del Plata in Argentina on November 11 and 13. 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. Nicki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily first broke the news that Johnny would narrate the documentary, and the formal announcement was made on Feb. 7 at the Berlin Film Festival. There is an official website for the film, which includes a trailer and some short interviews.
- 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.
- Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers: Pandemonium Ensues (CD). Johnny contributes spoken voice to the song Too Close To The Sun. The CD is available in all record stores.
- Vanessa Paradis: Il y a (video). Johnny directed this video, which was released on Vanessa's web site on October 15.
- When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors. Johnny provides narration; the film premiered with his narration on June 21, 2009 at the LA Film Festival. See the JD Rocks! Documentaries page for news about film festivals occurring this fall. Theatrical releases in the UK, France, and hopefully the US are expected in 2010.
- Babybird: Unloveable (video): Johnny directed this video, which was reportedly filmed on September 21-22, 2009, and will be related to an upcoming UK tour in November and the release of the Ex-Maniac CD (see below). See the JD Rocks! Videography page for more.
- Babybird: Ex-Maniac (CD). According to The Star (UK), Johnny will play guitar on the CD's lead single, Unloveable, which is set for release in the UK on February 15, 2010. See Play.com for the track listing and UK pre-order information.
- Patti Smith (upcoming CD). 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." Johnny and Patti have a longstanding friendship; they were spotted together last spring on the Rum Diary set in Puerto Rico, and arriving in Nice, France, in August. Some believe she makes a cameo in Vanessa Paradis' new video, Il y a, which Johnny directed. Is it possible that they're working together on a record now? We will just have to wait and see.
- Rock And A Hard Place: Another Night At The Agora (documentary). This documentary about the South Florida music scene, which features Johnny in archive footage, recent concert footage, and interviews, screened at a few Florida film festivals in 2008, but still has yet to see a theatrical or DVD release, or even screenings in other locations. Here is hoping that the film will move forward in 2010.
- Do It For Johnny (documentary).
This film about the quest of filmmakers to bring a script and
guitar to Johnny did the film festival circuit in 2007, and by 2008 had
secured some foreign distribution deals. The filmmakers had
spoken of the film becoming available in the US in early 2009, but so
far, to my knowledge, that has not happened. Perhaps we will hear
more next year.
- Please visit the new JD Rocks! Johnny's Guitars page to see Johnny's many guitars! The page was created in July and updated in August and September. 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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October '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