Pinche Gringo

Pinche Gringo s/t cassette
Southern garage-blues rock recorded solo on a four track with a couple live tunes on the B-Side. Recording quality is pretty damn good, he's got a lost-in-the-desert trip going on here instead of a muddy delta-blues thing, some guitar effects/delay, a slight bit of organ, vocals have a nice sheen to them. Really, the guitar playing puts this thing over, as he does some good slidework on a couple tracks and gets a little psychedelic and spooky at times. Drumming doesn't resort to that tired OMB beat that I dread hearing on a lot of this type of shit. There are even some female vox on occassion, the guy's got a good yelp himself and avoids sounding really cliched by investing some weird energy to some well-copped song styles. Really, some of this shit is like a less cartoony Haunted George, and it works well. Exhibits some lysergic tendencies, a little bit o'punk energy, a cool "Youngblood" cover that takes the song into C&W territory and wasn't at all boring over a dozen cuts. Nobody's going to care about a tape in a genre as out of vogue as this, but I honestly liked this quite a bit. Better than Mosquito Bandito and every random Euro band trying to cop the American way. 100 copies with a cool cover drawing.(RK)
(Zap Cassettes // www.zapcassettes.com)
I stumbled across Pinche Gringo roughly a year ago per a friends suggestion. Eric Bingham, bassist for the The Griefs (Spoonful Records), had played with him on his last tour and thought I may enjoy his take on music. I love a minimalistic, dirty, bluesy garage sound, and Pinche definitely did not disappoint. Pinche Gringo evolved after party band The Spinns retired. Josh Johnson (Spinns drummer) started his own version of one-man-band garage blues stomp. After a stint in Mexico City playing along side the likes of Los Explosivos and The Halfways, Josh moved back to the states and calls North Carolina home. Now teamed up with "the lovely Sarita" (vocals, and a variety of instruments) a unique sound has emerged. A throwback to the sounds of yester-year…. God Bless original sounds, from original artists pouring their hearts out for our entertainment! Each Note Secure - Cincinnati Music



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Alright, so in the interest of full disclosure, I gotta be straight up - and this candor stands in the cautious light of recent (mostly) unfounded charges of journalistic nepotism on my part - but Josh Johnson is one of my all-time main motherfuckers. When I say this, I mean we earned it, too, in the adolescent trenches. We've known each other since time spent in Dad's slacks, began playing together when we were snot-nosed virgins who didn't know Billy Childish from Otis Rush, and have always caught up with each other in the musical realms when we can. So, in short, I'm biased. When it comes to parlaying the primal rhythms with utmost style, I think the cat is stone brilliant, and I get the pleasure of knowing I watched his genius bloom twixt the cracks of the ruined sidewalks of Greensboro, NC. But lucky for me (and you), almost everyone who's seen him drum feels the exact same way - it's impossible not to be amazed by his maximal rhythmic expansion on the most minimal of drumsets. Back in the day (with groovy North Carolina pinheads Thee Spinns and The Greenhornes' corpse-bearers The Griefs), he used but a ride cymbal, a snare, a kick and a tomtom. That's skeletal, for sure, especially considering the mighty swing he conjured from his kit. Watching him with those dudes was like watching a sonically reduced Buddy Rich power The Gories or The Stomachmouths or something. Back then you knew that if one of his bands was playing, he and his drums were the reasons you should be there. So, it makes pure sense that he's moved to Mexico City and gone even more gloriously minimal; he's formed his own one-man garage-stomper, Pinche Gringo. I'm psyched he's coming just to hang, but Athens should rejoice as well - the dude's got a solid-gold soul, and he's gonna swing your pants straight down. - Jim McHugh (dark meat vomit lazers family band) FLAGPOLE.
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It's pushing toward dawn when the caffeine shakes kick in, eerily synchronous with Josh Johnson's own rattling garage rock as it pushes the limits of my tiny computer speakers. His one-man (sometimes with one woman, too) band Pinche Gringo is soundtracking the swells of the bags under my eyes. Short of actually seeing the punk-blues barrage in person, it couldn't sound better. Lucky, then, are the souls who venture below the Cave's low-ceiling for Pinche Gringo's presence. Bryan Reed Indy Weekly
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A piece of the sadly defunct Spinns. Pinche Gringo is the one-man band garage/blues project of Josh. it's a sound that would fit perfectly at home on a label like Bomp! Records. Soulful, dirty, trashy and rawkus. I'm pretty psyched to see more of him around town! It's a stiff dose of one-man bands past and present (Hasil Adkins/BBQ) with some great 60s garage worship. You can hear one hell of a record collection hiding behind his sound. WNN'G.
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"Pinche Gringo: These cats went on LATE downstairs and Sean K. Preston made me go watch. I'm glad I did. These dudes and one dudette put on Indian feathers and war paint and then rock out. Lots of fun beats, a constant dancing morraca girl, and astounding mastery of the Silvertone "I melt if you get me wet" vintage guitar and amp. Outside of Dex Romwebber, I have rarely seen such mastery of one of these guitars. As long as there are acts like Pinche Gringo, the spirit of Hazel Adkins will never die. "
HRW
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"Pinche Gringo will make you sweat. Playing humid and oppressive guitar and drum jams straight from the garage, it is an unavoidable force."
Daily Tar Heel
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"Pinche Gringo's fueled by the vein-peeling rumble of singer/ drummer/ guitarist Josh Johnson, abetted at times by the willowy vocals of a Lovely Sarita. A survivor of The Spinns, Johnson's garage-psych heart is clogged with resin, but it sputters on persuasively."
Chris Parker - Indy Weekly
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"A throwback to the sounds of yester-year…. God Bless original sounds, from original artists pouring their hearts out for our entertainment!"
Each Note Secure
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"The group's Sancho Panza is Pinche Gringo, the one-man band of Josh Johnson, which shakes, rattles and rolls like a busted-up pickup in a high-speed pursuit with the police. The vaguely dangerous, primal blues drone emanates a smart-alecky punk spirit reminiscent of The Modern Lovers."
Chris Parker - Indy Weekly
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" Pinche Gringo came on, this time accompanied at various times by the Barberries and even Todd from the Siberians (his ex-bandmate from the Spinns). This was possibly the best set of the night,the songs had more range and even went into Velvetsy territory."
Garage Punk NYC
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"One-man guitar and kick-drum killing field Pinche Gringo works a primal garage-blues groove like he's got nothing else to live for, and he'd just as soon go out with his boots muddy."
Creative Loafing
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"One man band, singing, guitar strumming, kick-drum pumping with a tambourine strapped to his laces, Pinche Gringo is more than just another songsmith affiliating himself with descendants from Quezelcoatl. He's sowing the seeds of fertile rock n' roll. "
Magnus Music