Features

Jeris Johnson: The 10 songs that changed my life

From AC/DC to Ashnikko, TikTok star Jeris Johnson’s musical tastes come from just about everywhere. Well, apart from karaoke…

Jeris Johnson: The 10 songs that changed my life
Words:
Jeris Johnson

He’s remixed Bring Me The Horizon and reworked Papa Roach, and now TikTok star Jeris Johnson is gearing up to release his debut album of original material, I WANT BLOOD / i want love. Self-described as the “saviour” of rock, the musician’s futuristic aspirations come from years of loving the genre as he tells us in these 10 mini trips down memory lane – even if the first gig he ever went to smelled of dying onions…

The first song I ever remember hearingPapa Roach – Last Resort

“I have absolutely zero memory of the first song I remember hearing, but when I think back to the first song that made an impression on me it is 100 per cent Last Resort. I was warming up for my first football game when I was like seven or some shit, and one of the dads came and parked his truck right by us, cranked that fucking stereo, and I heard Last Resort and rock/metal music in general for the first time.”

The song that properly got me into musicGreen Day – Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

“I remember watching this Green Day thing on TV and seeing them play that song in a stadium. Something about hearing, like, 100,000 people singing that one just flipped a switch in my brain and I remember just laying in bed that night thinking about how badly I wanted that. I didn’t even know why either.”

The song that reminds me of my first gigSomething by Lamb Of God…

“The first proper show I ever went to was Lamb Of God. I think I was like 14? I remember the smell. What the fuck. Dying onions rotting in a graveyard of dumpster sludge. Literally the worst-smelling concert I’ve ever attended to this day. But goddamn it was so fun. I can’t remember what song it was, but we did a wall of death and I had no idea that even existed. I loved it. I also remember this dude climbing to the top of one of the beams in the venue. Cool guy.”

The song that inspired me to be a musicianAC/DC – Back In Black

“It was the first song I learned on guitar when I was young, and it was so hard that I initially gave up for like two months. I came back to it and just decided I wasn’t gonna give up, no matter how long it took. I think getting over that initial hurdle really inspired me to just keep going to the next thing, and the next thing, and the next…”

The song I love to sing at karaokeUm. Nothing…

“Karaoke is for old people. What even is that?”

The song that always picks me up when I’m downSematary – God’s Light Burns Upon My Flesh

“It’s so fucking ridiculous and groundbreaking, I just smile every single time I hear it.”

The song that I can’t listen to anymoreJeris Johnson – Anything from before 2020

“Literally any of my songs pre-2020. So painful. Obviously that’s ultimately a good thing because if you don’t hate your old music you aren’t progressing or pushing anything further. And that’s what life is all about.”

The song that I’m most proud ofJeris Johnson – I WANT BLOOD / i want love

“It’s the title-track and opening song from my album. And I just feel like I time travelled into the future and made it there and then brought it back with me. Sounds like I smoked crack with my AI girlfriend. It’s also the set up for the whole message of the album, and the two sides of my sound, and personality.”

The song that I wish I’d writtenAshnikko – Daisy

“Goddamn I love that fucking song. So catchy, so sonically cool and interesting. Melodically dark, catchy as fuck. It just scratches all the right parts of my brain and the first time I heard it I literally remember thinking to myself, ‘I wish this was my song.’”

The song I want played at my funeralJeris Johnson – Whatever my biggest song is…

“Whatever my biggest hit song is and everyone’s gotta mosh, even if it’s acoustic.”

I WANT BLOOD / i want love is out now.

Check out more:

Now read these

The best of Kerrang! delivered straight to your inbox three times a week. What are you waiting for?