My buddy Travis came up with (as far as I know) the name, Johnny Clash. A google search reveals that others have come up with it as well (that’s synchronicity for you). Anyways, to me it’s a bit of a pun that pays homage to a couple of music greats: Johnny Cash and The Clash. I am a very big fan of both.
This image I created combines visual styles that many would associate with each artist along with a vinyl record, which was the medium used to distribute their unique sounds throughout the world in their day.
Though the two don’t seem to have much in common at first glance (one being an American country artist and the other an English punk group) they are more alike than you might think. First of all, Clash frontman, Joe Strummer, was in a pub rock band prior to the Clash called the 101ers whose repertoire consisted of rock & roll and rockabilly songs not to dissimilar from Johnny Cash’s early recordings. Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash even recorded a song together just before they died, which was a cover of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”. Though a record store might find it easy enough to classify them each to a specific genre, neither of these artists were afraid to explore different sounds and both left behind a diverse catalogue of recorded material. In addition to a legacy of music, both artists also left behind a legacy of humanitarianism. Throughout their lives, both lended their talents and time to address issues such as social injustice, racism, police brutality, and more. Joe Strummer (whose real first name was, coincidentally, John) died in December of 2002 from an undiagnosed congenital heart defect with Johnny Cash less than a year behind him in September of 2003.