(updated 11/22/08)
Johnny was a member of The Kids from late 1980 until their breakup in the summer of 1984. He and his bandmates have reunited a number of times, most recently in 2008.
The Kids is the main band that Johnny belonged to
in the
early 80's. It is the one that moved from South
Florida to LA in
search of fame and fortune.
The Kids started out as The Kydz, in mid 1978, as can be seen in this article saved by early member Gio Ardizzola:
Mitch Perry reminisces briefly about
the early days of The Kids (before Johnny joined) in this 1986 Guitar
Magazine article:
Later incarnations of the band included guitarists (in rough chronological order) Marco, Joey Malone (who remained with the band for the duration), Cosmo, and George Mazzola, and keyboard player Larry Dermer. By 1980, the Kids were an established band, making a big name for themselves in the South Florida music scene. Johnny's ambition was to become a member, and after auditioning for them, he joined as lead guitarist in late 1980. The lineup at this time was the most stable and successful incarnation of the band:
Johnny mentions The Kids in the January 24, 2008 issue of Rolling Stone:
The band recorded at least 5 demos:
I Wanna Be Me b/w Time To Explain was released on Aria records as a 7 inch single. Both songs were written by Bruce Witkin:
I Don't Care and Time Is The Key were performed live on 10/17/81 and released on the K-102 Homegrown Rock Festival album:
Johnny is said to have written the following Kids
songs, according to Randi Reisfeld's 1989 biography:
On Dec. 1, 1983, the band moved to LA on the advice of promoter Don Ray, and had some modest success. But competition was fierce, and between Johnny's first acting role in A Nightmare On Elm Street, and other band members leaving LA, the band split up by July of 1984.
In May of 1985, possibly while Johnny was filming Private Resort in Florida, The Kids got together for a reunion show at the Button South in Hallandale. Jimmy Gambone replaced Joey Malone on guitar for the show. Also in 1985, the song Time To Explain was included in the movie The Legend Of Billie Jean. Here is a screen capture of the closing credits from the movie (click to enlarge):
The Kids started out as The Kydz, in mid 1978, as can be seen in this article saved by early member Gio Ardizzola:
An early lineup consisted of:
- Bruce Witkin - bass, keyboards and lead vocals
- Bill "Beano" Hanti - drums
- Mitch Brownstein (aka Perry) - keyboards, guitar and some lead vocals
- Gio (George) Ardizzola - lead guitar and some lead vocals
Later incarnations of the band included guitarists (in rough chronological order) Marco, Joey Malone (who remained with the band for the duration), Cosmo, and George Mazzola, and keyboard player Larry Dermer. By 1980, the Kids were an established band, making a big name for themselves in the South Florida music scene. Johnny's ambition was to become a member, and after auditioning for them, he joined as lead guitarist in late 1980. The lineup at this time was the most stable and successful incarnation of the band:
- Bruce Witkin - bass and lead vocals
- Johnny Depp - lead guitar
- Joey Malone - guitar and background vocals
- Bill "Beano" Hanti - drums
Johnny mentions The Kids in the January 24, 2008 issue of Rolling Stone:
The band recorded at least 5 demos:
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Download Maybe Someday mp3 Download Time To Explain mp3 Download Backstage Girl mp3 Download I Wanna Be Me excerpt in Real Media format (thanks Lynn and our friends at the Zone and Deppography!) |
I Wanna Be Me b/w Time To Explain was released on Aria records as a 7 inch single. Both songs were written by Bruce Witkin:
I Don't Care and Time Is The Key were performed live on 10/17/81 and released on the K-102 Homegrown Rock Festival album:
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Download Time Is The Key mp3 |
- Everything I Need
- Nothin' For Nothin'
- Backdoor Girl [sic]
On Dec. 1, 1983, the band moved to LA on the advice of promoter Don Ray, and had some modest success. But competition was fierce, and between Johnny's first acting role in A Nightmare On Elm Street, and other band members leaving LA, the band split up by July of 1984.
In May of 1985, possibly while Johnny was filming Private Resort in Florida, The Kids got together for a reunion show at the Button South in Hallandale. Jimmy Gambone replaced Joey Malone on guitar for the show. Also in 1985, the song Time To Explain was included in the movie The Legend Of Billie Jean. Here is a screen capture of the closing credits from the movie (click to enlarge):
The Kids
reunited in 1996 (possibly during Donnie Brasco filming) and again in
2002.
On January 28, 2007, Bruce, Joey, Beano and Johnny reunited once again for a special performance at the Sheila Witkin Memorial Reunion Concert in Pompano Beach, Florida. Sheila Witkin was a manager and driving force behind a number of the major bands that were playing in South Florida in the 70's and 80's. Sheila passed away in 2006, and this concert was in tribute to her and also to raise money for charitable causes near and dear to Sheila's heart. A young local band called Blank Tape began the proceedings, performing a great set, joined by Bruce Witkin's daughter Veronica. After amazing sets by Charlie Pickett, Critical Mass, Z-Cars, Slyder, and Tight Squeeze (The Cichlids unfortunately had to bow out), as well as a special performance by Tomey Sellars and a video montage, The Kids took the stage and played a 2 hour set of both original songs and cover tunes. Toward the end of the set they were joined by The Romantics and members of the other bands. The highly successful event raised over $30,000 for the Dan Marino Foundation and the Sheila Witkin Foundation. See the Photo Gallery for stage photos from the show.
The show and the South Florida music scene on which it was based is the subject of a feature documentary called Rock And A Hard Place: Another Night At The Agora. The film had its World Premiere on April 12, 2008 at the Palm Beach International Film Festival and also screened in August in conjunction with the Ft. Lauderdale Int'l Film Fest. The trailer is now online (see below), and more information about the documentary is coming soon! Check the Rock And A Hard Place: Another Night At The Agora official site and the Johnny Depp Rocks! Documentaries page for any updates.
YouTube of Veronica Witkin and The Kids performing Brand New Cadillac
YouTube of the original trailer for Another Night At The Agora
More Information on the charities associated with the show:
On January 28, 2007, Bruce, Joey, Beano and Johnny reunited once again for a special performance at the Sheila Witkin Memorial Reunion Concert in Pompano Beach, Florida. Sheila Witkin was a manager and driving force behind a number of the major bands that were playing in South Florida in the 70's and 80's. Sheila passed away in 2006, and this concert was in tribute to her and also to raise money for charitable causes near and dear to Sheila's heart. A young local band called Blank Tape began the proceedings, performing a great set, joined by Bruce Witkin's daughter Veronica. After amazing sets by Charlie Pickett, Critical Mass, Z-Cars, Slyder, and Tight Squeeze (The Cichlids unfortunately had to bow out), as well as a special performance by Tomey Sellars and a video montage, The Kids took the stage and played a 2 hour set of both original songs and cover tunes. Toward the end of the set they were joined by The Romantics and members of the other bands. The highly successful event raised over $30,000 for the Dan Marino Foundation and the Sheila Witkin Foundation. See the Photo Gallery for stage photos from the show.
The show and the South Florida music scene on which it was based is the subject of a feature documentary called Rock And A Hard Place: Another Night At The Agora. The film had its World Premiere on April 12, 2008 at the Palm Beach International Film Festival and also screened in August in conjunction with the Ft. Lauderdale Int'l Film Fest. The trailer is now online (see below), and more information about the documentary is coming soon! Check the Rock And A Hard Place: Another Night At The Agora official site and the Johnny Depp Rocks! Documentaries page for any updates.
YouTube of Veronica Witkin and The Kids performing Brand New Cadillac
YouTube of the original trailer for Another Night At The Agora
Some scans from the
2007 show (click to
enlarge)
 Kids setlist 1 |
 Kidssetlist |
 Can't Believe lyrics |
 Precious Lyrics 1 |
 Precious Lyrics 2 |
 Program Cover |
 Program Back |
 Ticket |
 Program: Kids p. 1 |
 Program: Kids p. 2 |
More Information on the charities associated with the show:
On August 22, 2008, Johnny, Joey, Bruce and Beano
were
interviewed on the Paul and Young Ron Morning Show on Miami's Big 105.9
FM radio station to promote a pair of
shows for the Second Annual Sheila Witkin Memorial Concert on August 29
and 30, 2008. The Kids headlined both nights.
The concerts paid tribute to Sheila Witkin, as well as South Florida musicians Bruno Martinez and George Mazzola, who passed away recently. George Mazzola was once a member of The Kids. Some excellent memorabilia was auctioned off, including signed guitars and football jerseys, with proceeds going to the Dan Marino Foundation.
August 29 band lineup:
Blank Tape, Charlie Pickett, Slyder,
Tight Squeeze, The Romantics, and The Kids.
The Kids' setlist (revised with many thanks to Natalie and the Johnny Depp Zone): Make Up Your Mind / Time To Explain / You Only Wanna Be With Me / Can't Believe / Dungeon Of Love / Lonely / Nothing's For Nothing / Single Vision / Babe / The Man That Knows Too Much / Don’t Wait Up For Me / Precious / Be My Baby / (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding / Mystery Dance / Pipeline~Brand New Cadillac (featuring Vee Witkin) // "Sheila" (sung to the tune of Gloria; this song was a jam with all the other musicians on stage) )
(If anyone happened to snag the written setlist and could scan a copy for this site, it would be much appreciated!)
August 30 band lineup: The Combination (featuring members of Screaming Sneakers, Tar And The Nicoteens, and Roll-N-Pinz), Mad As Birds (featuring Debbie and Susan from The Cichlids), Critical Mass, The Reactions, Z-Cars, My Dolls (featuring Vee Witkin), and The Kids.
The Kids' setlist (revised with many thanks to Natalie and the Zone): Make Up Your Mind / Time To Explain / You Only Wanna Be With Me / Can't Believe / Lonely / Precious (may have been skipped) / Be My Baby / Got The Time / Single Vision / Don't Wait Up For Me / Dungeon of Love / Babe / From A Whisper To A Scream // encores with all the other musicians on stage: C'mon Everybody / "Sheila" (sung to the tune of Gloria) / Dizzy Miss Lizzy / Long Tall Sally (the last song was performed after Johnny had left the stage)
The Kids' setlist (revised with many thanks to Natalie and the Johnny Depp Zone): Make Up Your Mind / Time To Explain / You Only Wanna Be With Me / Can't Believe / Dungeon Of Love / Lonely / Nothing's For Nothing / Single Vision / Babe / The Man That Knows Too Much / Don’t Wait Up For Me / Precious / Be My Baby / (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding / Mystery Dance / Pipeline~Brand New Cadillac (featuring Vee Witkin) // "Sheila" (sung to the tune of Gloria; this song was a jam with all the other musicians on stage) )
(If anyone happened to snag the written setlist and could scan a copy for this site, it would be much appreciated!)
August 30 band lineup: The Combination (featuring members of Screaming Sneakers, Tar And The Nicoteens, and Roll-N-Pinz), Mad As Birds (featuring Debbie and Susan from The Cichlids), Critical Mass, The Reactions, Z-Cars, My Dolls (featuring Vee Witkin), and The Kids.
The Kids' setlist (revised with many thanks to Natalie and the Zone): Make Up Your Mind / Time To Explain / You Only Wanna Be With Me / Can't Believe / Lonely / Precious (may have been skipped) / Be My Baby / Got The Time / Single Vision / Don't Wait Up For Me / Dungeon of Love / Babe / From A Whisper To A Scream // encores with all the other musicians on stage: C'mon Everybody / "Sheila" (sung to the tune of Gloria) / Dizzy Miss Lizzy / Long Tall Sally (the last song was performed after Johnny had left the stage)
(If anyone happened to snag the written setlist and could scan a copy
for this site, it would be much appreciated!)
The concerts paid tribute to Sheila Witkin, as well as South Florida musicians Bruno Martinez and George Mazzola, who passed away recently. George Mazzola was once a member of The Kids. Some excellent memorabilia was auctioned off, including signed guitars and football jerseys, with proceeds going to the Dan Marino Foundation.
Some articles about the 2008
shows:
November 2008 Spin
- Rolling Stone, Sept. 2, 2008 and in print Oct. 2, 2008
- Last Night: Sheila Witkin Memorial Reunion Concert at Club Cinema, Broward-Palm Beach New Times, Sept. 1, 2008
- Johnny Depp Rocks The House, Miami Herald, Aug. 31, 2008
- Johnny Fue Rockero Por Una Noche, newspaper article from Chile, Aug. 31, 2008
- Johnny Depp Plays Like a Kid Again, E! Online, Aug. 30, 2008
- Johnny Depp Rocks Out for a Good Cause, People Magazine, Aug. 30, 2008
- Johnny Depp, the Kids make them scream at Club Cinema, Sun-Sentinel, Aug. 30, 2008
- Johnny
Depp To Play Pompano Beach, Sun-Sentinel, Aug. 29, 2008
- Rockin' and Relivin' Johnny Depp joins his South Florida high school band for reunion concert, Sun-Sentinel, Aug. 28, 2008
- Slashing Depp returns to rock, Palm Beach Post, Aug. 27, 2008
Some scans from the 2008
Program:
 Program Cover |
 Aboutthe Show |
 About Sheila |
 A word from Bruce |
 The Kids |
 Mel T p. 1 |
 Mel T p. 2 |
 Mel T p. 3 |
 Rock & A Hard Place |
 Program Back |
 Bruno Martinez |
In Memory Of |
 George Mazzola |
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Kidsography
The following songs are known or thought to be part
of The Kids' repertoire. This is a work in progress and
certainly
not meant to be a comprehensive listing! Any additions or
corrections would be greatly appreciated!
Originals:
These are songs that are known or thought to be Kids originals. The list is taken from known or reported setlists, known demos, and anecdotes. Some titles may be incorrect or incomplete. The songs Time To Explain, Tell Me What You Want, The Man That Knows Too Much, and I Wanna Be Me have definitive songwriter credits to Bruce Witkin (the first three are in the US Copyright records and the last has the songwriter credit on the 7" single. See the Johnny Depp Rocks! Bruce Witkin page for more info). The songs Everything I Need, Nothin' For Nothin' [sic], Backdoor Girl [sic] are claimed in Randi Reisfeld's 1989 biography to be penned by Johnny Depp. With these exceptions, there are currently no composer credits for most of these songs. If any are discovered to be covers, the information will be corrected.
These are covers that have been performed by The Kids, either back in the day or at the 2007-2008 Sheila Witkin benefits (or both!) In parentheses are the musicians or bands that popularized the song (not necessarily the composer).
Originals:
These are songs that are known or thought to be Kids originals. The list is taken from known or reported setlists, known demos, and anecdotes. Some titles may be incorrect or incomplete. The songs Time To Explain, Tell Me What You Want, The Man That Knows Too Much, and I Wanna Be Me have definitive songwriter credits to Bruce Witkin (the first three are in the US Copyright records and the last has the songwriter credit on the 7" single. See the Johnny Depp Rocks! Bruce Witkin page for more info). The songs Everything I Need, Nothin' For Nothin' [sic], Backdoor Girl [sic] are claimed in Randi Reisfeld's 1989 biography to be penned by Johnny Depp. With these exceptions, there are currently no composer credits for most of these songs. If any are discovered to be covers, the information will be corrected.
- Babe
- Backstage Girl (aka Backdoor Girl [sic]??)
- Can't Believe
- Dungeon of Love
- Everything I Need
- Gonna Love Ya
- Good Times
- I Can't Take You
- I Don't Care
- I Got You
- I Wanna Be Me
- I'll Forget
You
- Lonely
- Maybe Someday (You’ll Come Back To Me)
- Make Up Your Mind
- My Time Has Come
- Nothing's For Nothing
- One Track
Mind
- Runaway
- Say No More
- Single Vision
- Tell Me What You Want
- The Man That Knows Too Much
- Time Is The Key
- Time To Explain
- You Only Wanna Be With Me
These are covers that have been performed by The Kids, either back in the day or at the 2007-2008 Sheila Witkin benefits (or both!) In parentheses are the musicians or bands that popularized the song (not necessarily the composer).
- Be My Baby (The Ronettes)
- Brand New Cadillac (The Clash)
- C’mon Everybody (Eddie Cochran)
- Dizzy Miss Lizzy (The Beatles et al.)
- Don't Wait Up For Me (The Beat)
- From A Whisper To A Scream (Elvis Costello)
- Glad All Over (The Dave Clark Five)
- Gloria (modified to Sheila) (Them/Van Morrison)
- Got The Time (Joe Jackson)
- I Want You Back (Jackson 5)
- I Will Follow (U2)
- I’m The Man (Joe Jackson)
- Long Tall Sally (Little Richard)
- Money (That’s What I Want) (The Beatles et al.)
- Mystery Dance (Elvis Costello)
- No Matter What (Badfinger)
- Pipeline (The Ventures et al.)
- Precious (The Pretenders)
- Radio, Radio (Elvis Costello)
- Train In Vain (The Clash)
- What I Like About You (The Romantics)
- (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding (Nick Lowe, also Elvis Costello)
In 1989, 16
Magazine reporter Randi Reisfeld wrote an early biography of Johnny
that included a history of The Kids
(thanks to Maggy!)
Here are some great vintage teen magazine articles about The Kids...
(thanks to Maggy!)
Here are some great vintage teen magazine articles about The Kids...
- Sept. 1988 Bop: Bruce and Suzanne Witkin p. 1
- Sept. 1988 Bop: Bruce and Suzanne Witkin p. 2
- Sept. 1988 Bop: Bruce and Suzanne Witkin p. 3
- Oct. 1988 Bop: Bruce and Suzanne Witkin p. 1
- Oct. 1988 Bop: Bruce and Suzanne Witkin p. 2
- Oct. 1988 Bop: Bruce and Suzanne Witkin p. 3
- (Oct. Bop thanks to Maggy!)
...And
some other article excerpts describing The Kids
Here was a quiz question from the November 1988 Bop teen
magazine:
- August 1988 Teen magazine mention (which erroneously states that the Rock City Angels were the band that Johnny went to LA with- it was The Kids)
Here are some other related sites:
- Trailer for Hogzilla, an upcoming film featuring Joey Malone
- Bruce Witkin's page on adam-ant.net
- Gio Ardizzola (early Kydz member)'s MySpace page
- George Mazzola's band, The Smoken Band (sadly, George passed away in Fall '07; my deepest condolences to his loved ones)
- CD Baby site for Smoken describing the song Once Upon A Time as being about Johnny
- Mitch Perry's site
Don't forget to check out
these sections of 
Six Gun Method
After moving to LA, The Kids were said to have changed their name to Six Gun Method.
However, they didn't stay together for very long after the move!
To date, I have not found citations for any live
gigs in
which the band was billed as Six Gun Method. Johnny recalls
the
band opening for Billy Idol, The Busboys, and The Romantics after the
move to LA. Please contact me if you have any information,
newspaper articles, flyers, or photos from this period!
Have
any corrections or additions? Please 
Photos would be
especially appreciated!
Photos would be
especially appreciated!
