NEWS
EVENTS
OPM Interview
Indie | Monday 22nd July 2013 | Matt
The Guestlist meets OPM
I was fortunate enough to be able to conduct an interview with John E Necro, the lead singer of the legendary Reggae/Hip Hop/Rock fusion band OPM best known for their international mega-hit ‘Heaven is a Halfpipe’. Check out what he had to say below:
Right for those people who haven’t been keeping up to date with the going ons with OPM would you be able to give us a brief summary of what you have been up to over the last few years?
I recently started my own record label, MNO Records, so I’ve been busy working on building that business, signing new artists and producing music for OPM & other artists. We’ve also spent the last couple years building a full-on professional studio in my back house so now OPM has a new place to record. We released a few singles on MNO Records and had a few tours in the midst of our re-build.
That’s cool, Can you tell us a little bit about MNO records?
There are so many artists out there who have no means to put out their music so I wanted to build a home for them. My label offers a fair deal between record label and artist as equal partners. And now OPM is able to continue to release records on our own terms.
When can we expect a new album from OPM?
We should be finished with the new album by January 2014 but the release will depend on what our touring situation looks like next year.
Obviously your ‘Heaven is a Halfpipe’ was a huge international hit and did especially well over here in the UK, but with so much other awesome material under your belts does it ever get frustrating that some people write you off as a one hit wonder?
I’m really proud of that song especially since I grew from a little so-cal suburban skate punk into the guy who wrote the international skate anthem, so in ways I feel like I already won and all the rest is a bonus. But, of course, it’s frustrating because as an artist you would like to be known for your entire body of work rather than one piece of it. But we are blessed to have even one hit, especially of that magnitude. We’d love to have another hit, but we continue on because we love doing this not because we chase another moment in time that was in the past.
You have just embarked on a fairly extensive European tour, I bet that was pretty tiring. Do have any particular highlights or memories from this particular tour?
The festivals are always a highlight for us. Playing with so many different bands and getting to hang out with them in that environment is really cool. The biggest highlight was definitely Slovenia. It is such a beautiful place. We played a festival there that lasted 15 days! It was an amazing experience. They took really good care of us there & we’d love to go back.
You seem to come back to the UK quite regularly, what is it about the UK that keeps you coming back?
There was a long period of time when we couldn’t get back over to the UK so now we are trying to rebuild our fan base. We hope by next summer we can get on some of the festivals there.
In you entire history of playing live shows what it’s the craziest experience you have ever had?
I’m a really big fan of music so when I was growing up and going to shows, I dreamed of going back stage and meeting the bands. After playing all these years, I’ve had the chance to do that, not to mention share stages with some of those bands like Iggy Pop and Tim Armstrong - those guys are my hero’s. It’s been crazy.
I understand that your previous record label ‘Suburban Noize Records’ is currently going through a lot of difficulties and internal conflicts, has this had any affect on you and your band and do you have any opinions or views on the current situation?
It has affected us and been a bit of a setback for us to try to build our own label and start from scratch again. It’s really difficult because it’s like a family there and everyone is really tight so if there’s a problem, it’s harder to deal with than in a standard business setting. But, it’s all part of the journey and we’re in a better place now.
Are there any artists that you have been listening to lately that would like to recommend to the readers of Guestlist Network?
Garrett Lee Robinson is one of the artists on my label. His record is almost done and will be out soon. He has a couple tracks out now that you can check out. And another artist on my label that I’m really excited about is KADA. We just dropped her single called “In Memory” and her record is about done.
Thanks a lot for your time John and best of luck for the future.
Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. One Love.
Interview by
Matt Watkins
