Evan Johns of H-Bombs passed away on March 11 following complications from surgery. Johns was born July 12, 1956 in Virginia. His music career began in Washington DC where he gained a following for playing reverent rockabilly music. After that, he formed the iconic H-Bombs who blended together multiple genres of of classic American music including country, rockabilly, surf, punk, garage, and cajun.
In the mid-80s, he moved to Texas where he worked on both H-Bombs material and other projects. H-Bombs released records on many labels, including on Alternative Tentacles. Alternative Tentacles is giving away several of Johns' albums for free, which you can get right here. Jello Biafra, head of Alternative Tentacles, issued a statement about Johns to Punknews, which you can read below.
Jello Biafra's statement
"I love Evan Johns. He was a true American original. Long before Slim C., or even my album with Mojo, there was Evan - Our first plunge into the Roots/Americana pond, at a time when "Punk" labels just didn't go there. But how could we not? Stack "Rollin' Through the Night" next to your favorite Creedence album, and see who wins. It'll at least be close, there's that much talent. Great songwriting, an unforgettable voice, and a hornet's nest of guitar chops that almost defy gravity. It was no put-on, that really was his voice. He talked that way too. "Jello?…..Evan Johns!….Gimme a ding-a-ling. Got a bug I wanna put in your ear.." We grew close. Such different backgrounds, but we had a lot more in common than we thought. Good times, great storyteller. "Thrown From a Train" is about a murder he witnessed, riding the rails as a runaway teen.
Sadly, there is no papering over that Evan suffered from serious alcoholism. I got drawn in during a crisis, and watched him age 25 years in 25 minutes, as he laid it all out to me one night. How truly hard it is for a real addict to stay sober, what drives people back, and why. Knowing Evan Johns is probably the closest I'll ever come to knowing Hank Williams, Sr., for better and for worse.. Through it all, a lot more of that talent and soul survived than some folks seem to give him credit for.
Flashes of what drew us to Evan in the first place shine through all his recordings, to this day. So to honor Evan and the H-Bombs, and celebrate his life and legacy, Alternative Tentacles is proud to offer all his music we can; from "Rollin Through the Night" to his recent digital albums, for free download for a limited time only. Hopefully he's joined another dear mutual friend, Candye Kane, 'Rollin' Through the Night' as they 'Ghost Ride in the Sky'….."