Rock City Angels


(updated 11/22/09)
The Rock City Angels were another popular Florida band that moved to LA in the mid 80's.  Johnny was the rhythm guitarist in the band for about 4-6 months in 1986 and continued to sit in with them for about a year.

     The Rock City Angels began as The Abusers in South Florida, with members Bobby Durango (aka Bobby Bondage aka Bobby St. Valentine) and Andy Panik among others.  They played punk rock and opened for bands like Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, and eventually developed into more of a glam band and changed their name to Rock City Angels.  According to a 2007 interview with Andy Panik, the lineup of Bobby, Andy, Jimmy James, Punkee Stevens and Jack Smack moved to LA on June 20, 1986.  Drummer Punkee Stevens quit the band 3 days after the move and then joined Johnny Crash, and Jackie D. ("Ringo") Jukes replaced Stevens as drummer.
     Soon after the move to LA, guitarists Jimmy James and Jack Smack were fired, and Mike Barnett (aka Mike Angel) joined the band.  Because they had always been a two guitar band, another guitarist was needed, and Mike's good friend Johnny Depp became their rhythm guitarist.  Johnny had just returned from filming Platoon in The Philippines.  It was evident from the start that Johnny would make the band; Andy Panik recalls Johnny learning an entire 12 song set during a rehearsal in which he was auditioning.  To this day, Panik describes the lineup of Durango, Panik, Jukes, Barnett and Depp to be the "quintessential" RCA lineup.  Johnny has described the band as "a cross between Muddy Waters and the Sex Pistols", and their site describes them as "an exciting mixture of punk-inspired glam-rock."  According to Andy Panik in a 2009 interview, Johnny only ever recorded one song with the band in the studio for what would have been the band's glam album.
     Johnny had to quit the RCA when he agreed to do the 21 Jump Street Fox TV series, and was replaced by Doug Banx.  Taping for Jump Street began in Vancouver in December of 1986, but since Johnny was not an original cast member it's not certain if he moved to Vancouver this early.  However, by most accounts, Johnny continued to play with the RCA on occasion, even after getting the Jump Street role, through about the summer of 1987, perhaps with Nic Cage and Sal Jenco sometimes sitting in as well.  In a 2009 interview with Nashvillerock.net, Durango even says that Johnny spent time training Banx.  Some live gigs featuring Johnny that have been recalled by Jukes, Durango and Panik, as well as (new) some added by Mike from the janesddiction.org site include:
  • Three to four shows at the Lingerie Club
  • A street fair for the homeless at Thanksgiving, presumably in 1986
  • A festival in Oxnard, CA
  • Several shows at the Scream Club, including one on Valentine's Day 1987, opening for Jane's Addiction
  • Several shows at the Coconut Teaszer
  • A show at the White Trash au Go-Go on July 3 or 4, 1987
(Please see the JD Rocks! Timeline and Live On Stage pages for several specific show dates in 1986 and 1987)
 
      At one point, Mike Barnett got in an ugly confrontation with Bobby Durango.  This, in combination with alleged drug use and many missed rehearsals and sessions on Barnett's part, led to his firing from the band.  According to Panik, Johnny has not been in contact with any of the band members since Barnett was kicked out.  Mike Barnes then joined the RCA as another guitarist.
    In May of 1987, the Rock City Angels were offered a huge record deal from Geffen records, and sent to Tennessee to prepare their debut CD, Young Man's Blues.  The album, recorded in Memphis from Nov. 1987 to Apr. 1988, was released in 1988 by Geffen, and was re-released by Gott Records in 2005.  The album features one song, Mary, in which Johnny co-wrote the music.  The band lineup consisted of:
  • Bobby Durango - vocals
  • Mike Barnes - guitar
  • Doug Banx - guitar
  • Andy Panik - bass
  • Jackie D. Jukes - drums
     But they were dropped from the record label a few years later.  The story of the breakup and the theories about why Geffen dropped them are strange tales indeed, and would best be served by reading the stories yourselves, in the 2006 American Music Press and 2003 Ringo/Bobby interviews that are linked below.

     Ringo Jukes is a significant contributor to the Do It For Johnny documentary, that had its world premiere at the 22nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Jan. 28, 2007.  
SBIFF
    The film also had a screening at the Bug Theatre in Denver and additional film festival screenings throughout '07.  Four Rock City Angels songs are said to be featured, including Johnny's cowriting effort, Mary.

     In 2008, Bobby Durango and Ringo Jukes completed the long-unfinished RCA album, Use Once And Destroy, for release.  It can be purchased from CD Baby.  They have also recently played some unplugged shows at the Tap Room on Beale Street in Memphis.  Ringo also played drums on a recent release by Elam McKnight called Supa Good.  The music is said to be hardcore punk/blues, and was originally going to be used for the film Black Snake Moan.
     new In 2009, Durango revived the Rock City Angels, and they are currently active, playing shows in both Tennessee and South Florida, with the following lineup:
  • Bobby Durango : Vocals
  • Jimmy James : Guitar
  • Pagan Raygun : Guitar
  • Adam G. : Bass
  • Mike Dover : Drums

     Young Man's Blues was ranked at #106 in Chuck Eddy's book "Stairway To Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe."


biographer Randi Reisfeld's account of Johnny's stint in the Rock City Angels:
(thanks Maggy!)

RR12  RR13  RR14

and an earlier mention from the Florida days:

RR3

Here's a mention from the April 1989 issue of 16 magazine, which tells about Johnny's involvement with the band,
as well as his contribution of the music to the song, Mary:

16 magazine


June 12-25, 1987 LA Rocks scans, with several RCA nods (but no direct Johnny content) (thanks to Mike from janesaddiction.com):
  • new Cover
  • new White Trash show review (it is unclear whether Johnny performed at this show. He was said to have played at a show with RCA at this club on July 3 or 4, but that would've been after the print date of this newspaper.  The article also indicates that the RCA changed their name to Delta City Rebels, though if they ever did so, they soon changed it back to RCA)
  • new Signing party article
  • new Photo of RCA

Some Johnny-related RCA magazine blurbs:
Interviews:
     Bobby Durango does an exclusive interview with the Spanish music magazine, "This Is Rock", in the February 2007 issue.  (This is a Spanish language magazine).  
thisisrock

     The original transcript in English of Bobby's replies to "This Is Rock"'s questions for the interview, was compiled by Cat of Gold Coast Live.  The link to this translation has been broken; if anyone has saved it, please contact me so that I can restore it!  
 
Additional RCA links:
    
 
Cover scans, Mary lyrics, and Liner Notes to the
2005 re-release of Young Man's Blues (click to enlarge)

ymbfront   ymb back   mary   ymb thanks

YMB liner1   YMB liner2   YMB liner 3


Scans of pre-Johnny Depp Self-Titled CD aka "The Glam Album" (originally recorded in1984
with additional recording done in 1986; released on New Renaissance Records in 2000)

rca front   rca back


Ads for the Valentine's Day 1987 Scream Club show

scream ad 1   scream ad closeup   scream ad 2


Some other cool RCA-related pix (click to enlarge)

Mary
Lyrics To Mary
fontenoy
The Fontenoy, where Johnny and
several band members lived
illus
From "Johnny Depp:
An Illustrated Story"

club ling
Club Lingerie
The Rock City Angels played here!
barneys
Barney's Beanery
popular haunt of the RCA
RCA
Young Man's Blues-era
Rock City Angels

Have any corrections or additions?  Please e-mail  Photos would be especially appreciated!

Bands

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