Impac Bass: Drum And Drummer.

Impac Bass play the Moonbar on Friday.

Local funk legend ol’ school Johnny has been quietly working away, doing his thang every Saturday night on 4zzzFM with the Funk. Little known to the people of Brisbane is his alter-ego live act, the ferocious drum & bass monster that is Impac Bass. It’s been awhile since Impac has played Brisbane (anyone remember the Zen Warehouse parties?), so it’ll be with fresh ears and minds that the boys hit the Moonbar for Bottom Heavy this Friday night. I had a bit of a chat with Johnny late last week.

When did you first start creating music and why?

“I first started making music as a backlash against my art background, which has taken up a lot of my life until the last few years. I’d bought my first turntables during my first year of uni, but I got my break years before on 4zzzFM doing a graveyard shift in the summer of 92. My music is directly related to art, as another expression it’s just that it’s more open to interpretation than static art can be.”

Can you describe the Impac Bass experience.

“When Impac Bass are on stage it is usually in the form of a drummer, the occassional vocalist and myself orchestrating the aggression. I use a Samplemate2000, ADAT, 12channel mixer, turntable, Korg keyboard a Filterbank and effects rack. Even the drum kit is souped up with two snares and extra percussion.”

How does the live drummer help create drum and bass?

“Generally I used to do these shows with only a drum machine, but nothing compares to the versatility of live acoustic rhythms made on the spot. We still use drum machines live so it’s up to the drummer how he layers things. Jason Bell (aka DJ Paprika) is drumming for Impac Bass now and he really brings half the act.”

You also DJ ol’ skool funk. What’s the funk got that other genres don’t?

“I’ve been doing the funk show on 4zzzFM for a few years now. It’s on from 10pm til midnight every Saturday night. I play authentic 70s funk and disco, with a touch of porn. I love the funk, but you’ll never see me playing it out because I shudder at some requests people make (no, I wont play wild cherry). So to stay in love with the music I keep it strictly at 4zzz.”

“That’s probably why Impac Bass is so different, we embrace technology and industry. We play everything from dub to pure d’n’b surgery. And although Brisbane has some great live electronica, this is just a little more nasty.”