Rock Musicians Behind the Scenes: Meet Ace Von Johnson

Rock Musicians Behind the Scenes: Meet Ace Von Johnson

What’s up what’s up? Shiningbind here, and we’re back this week with a special interview right here, right now. He’s not only a guitar player of both LA Guns and Faster Pussycat, but a voice actor also as well as a pit bull advocate. Meet the one and only, Ace Von Johnson. Thank you for taking the time with us, Ace.

Shiningbind: First off, How are you doing during the quarantine?

AVJ: Doing fairly well. Staying as productive as possible, between various studio projects and sessions, the new Neon Coven album that we just finished, working on the new LA Guns album, various voice over projects and just hanging with my dog. Plus I have a Patreon account that I tend to daily, so aside from not being able to tour, things are still pretty busy on my end.

Shiningbind: Excellent, I can;t wait for that, now would you tell us a little about yourself?

AVJ: Well, I was born in Los Angeles. I started playing music around 17, started touring in bands professionally a few years later and have been doing that with various groups and artists for the last 17+ years. I’m fairly active in the dog rescue community and I also do a bit of voice acting. I like horror movies and collecting vinyl. That’s kind of me In a nutshell.

Shiningbind: Now before going on stage, what is your routine before that?

AVJ: My usual routine before getting onstage is aside from getting dressed and whatnot, I usually stretch for a little bit. Sometimes I’ll warm up on guitar for a few minutes, although I don’t as frequently as I should. And then I’ll often have a single shot of whiskey to take the edge off.

Shiningbind: I have to ask you this one, what was your favorite riff you have ever played with LA Guns wise?

AVJ: My favorite LA Guns riff to play is from a song called “Hellraisers Ball”. It’s got this cool ascending chromatic riff that’s not very difficult but incredibly catchy and fun to play.

Shiningbind: Now I have heard about people getting nervous or having stage fright, have you ever been under pressure during a recording session? If so, how do you handle it?

AVJ: I haven’t encountered too many scenarios where I’ve felt under pressure, usually most of the people I work with are friends and I’m able to speak freely. Even on the new Tiffany album, where I was brought in as a guest, I was able to tell the engineer exactly what I wanted for my solo tone and arrangement wise. Overall, I don’t recall any instances where I’ve felt any pressure. Maybe a few times where I wasn’t comfortable with who I was working with, due to not having a prior working relationship but that’s it. I usually just try to remain professional and somewhat diplomatic in those cases. No reason to stress though, my job is simply to be there to help add some flavor to a song.

Shiningbind: Awesome, What is your favorite guitar to play and why?

AVJ: That changes periodically. It’s currently a mid 2000’s model Gibson Les Paul Standard that I had relic’ed by our friend Vince in Las Vegas. He does most of Tracii Guns guitars as well and he just put a Bigsby tremolo system on it and I love how it plays and how it looks now; old and worn.

Shiningbind: When recording, what is your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) of choice and why?

AVJ: Admittedly, I am not really tech savvy at all. I usually outsource all of my recording work through other people and other places. So no DAW here, although I do believe I could use my Headrush effects unit in a similar fashion.

Shiningbind: Seeing that you are a voice actor, what advice can you give to the aspiring voice actors out there?

AVJ: I would recommend taking some workshops or study groups with other VO actors and focus on keeping your acting chops up. Reading aloud, trying different voices and inflections are all good tips as well as listening intently to any VO work you hear, whether it’s on TV, online, radio, etc.

Shiningbind: Where do you see yourself in 5 years with LA Guns?

AVJ: Hard to say due to the current global situation. Hopefully continuing to record and tour!

Thank you so much, Ace, for taking the time with us. Guys, if you haven’t followed Ace on Twitter and Instagram, be sure to give him a follow at @acevonjohnson and be sure to give his pit bull, Maila, a follow too on Instagram -- @mailavonjohnson and also, check out the album Neon Coven and that’s all for now!