Johnny Nameless is the genre-bending project of John (vocals, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter) and Susu (drums), joined live by a looping pedal that functions as a third member, shaping a sound that drifts through vintage psych, new wave, surf, punk, goth, garage, torch, glam, and chamber pop. Formed in 2019, the band has been described as “crafting an adventurous musical ride that is anything but ordinary,” but its roots stretch back much further: the pair met in 2006 in New York City, built both a creative and personal partnership across multiple cities—including Los Angeles and Nashville—and eventually married in 2015 before settling in John’s hometown at the Jersey Shore. Their collaborative evolution began in earnest when Susu first started playing drums for live shows and recordings, leading to their debut performance at Otto’s Shrunken Head in NYC. John’s earlier solo work under his own name had already drawn attention for its unpredictable genre fluidity and releases like the 7” “Seasons” and the album Fairy Tales Forgotten, earning coverage from outlets such as Aquarium Drunkard, Stereogum, The New York Times, and more, setting the stage for the expansive, shape-shifting world Johnny Nameless continues to build.
1. How did the band form and what does the band name mean?
John: We started loosely a few years ago. I didn’t have group together at the time and started showing Susu some basic beats so I could test levels for recordings. She’s not a musician and never played or had pretensions to it, but somehow had a feel for where to put the snare. She likes the exercise and works hard at everything she does to make it the best it can be. She’s got guts and I value that over ability. It was unpredictable and always felt new and that was what I was looking for. Nothing hard boiled or chops driven. We were not ready at all, but I insisted we jump on a show opening for a friends band in NYC, which made her very nervous. It was a mess, but one song in our set really came through and had power and I knew then that we might be able to do something more with this. Bandname? For several years, I released material and performed under my given name, “John Carpenter”, which was problematic because of the world famous, legendary for many decades director behind the Halloween film franchise with the same name, who also has a “rock” band, and it was almost impossible to find any of my recordings. We always had to explain, “John Carpenter….no not that John Carpenter”. A new name was necessary and we’re not clever, so after wincing through some “The…” band names and many more ridiculous ones, johnny nameless stuck because for me it was actually true and meant something. I thought it a little too cheeky and maybe it is, but when we saw that no one had used it, not an obscure rockabilly guy or punk group, not a clothing line or a condiment brand or a line of automotive accessories, we had to run with it.
Susu: “Johnny” is very American name
John: ….and we liked that “Nameless” strips away any identity.
Susu: like, nobody….or anybody
2. Previous musical projects?
John: In middle school and high school I always had a band of some sort together with my close friends. My first proper job as a guitar player was with a very raw rhythm and blues-based gospel group at a Baptist church in West Trenton, NJ. I then had a group called “The Mercy Beat” while living in Providence, Rhode Island in the early oughts. An energetic post-punk affair. We played relentlessly but there’s no evidence of that now. I eventually started playing under my given name, “John Carpenter” and took that from New York to Los Angeles, notably releasing a 7” single, “Seasons” with the label Mexican Summer and a self-released, full length LP, “Fairy Tales Forgotten”. Those two attracted critical praise and kept me working for a while.
Susu: None!
How'd you first get into music?
John: My father. When I was 13, he taught me C, Am, F, G on the guitar and told me you can sing a thousand songs with that. He was right. He had a deep, powerful voice and it was a very special thing when he’d sing for our family. I soon found an electric guitar and a 4-track. Playing music drove me to complete distraction and to the total exclusion of everything else…skateboarding, video games, basketball, and eventually college.
Susu: Lately and unexpectedly. I’m a painter and never thought I’d be doing this. Sometime ago, John was in-between things and didn’t have a group together and I guess I had it in my mind to maybe be able to help out somehow. I was in Bangkok at the time and I picked up a kid’s drum kit, like a toy. He showed me a basic beat and I learned to play that one slow, medium and fast and we could reasonably do many songs that way.
3. First concert that you ever went to? (Locally and National acts)
John: Mudhoney at the Trocadero in Philly
Susu: Musical Youth or Michael Jackson, I can’t remember which, in my hometown, Bangkok, Thailand
4. What's your writing process like?
John: I like letting an idea roll around in my head for a good while before I even touch an instrument. The ways it can shift this way and that in your imagination is thrilling. When we start playing them, things fall together quickly. It’s necessary that the songs remain a bit uncertain and retain their ability to surprise us. This is generally when we like to record them. We don’t record demos. The songs sometimes start with a line or two, but full lyrics come after the music most of the time. I have piles of scraps with all kinds of writings on them. I’ll dig through those and see if any of it fits. Some of the time I’ll just sing a finished piece and put the music around it which is interesting if there’s writing that wasn’t intended to be a song because it’s not fixed to a meter or a pattern and it forces the music to move around it in unexpected ways.
5. What other artists or songs inspire your music?
6. What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be its own thing?
John: We just try to hang on for dear life...
7. What's up next for the band?
We are honored and privileged to have recently been added to the Mint 400 Records roster and are currently promoting our new LP The Tower, which will be released on May 15th.
John: We started loosely a few years ago. I didn’t have group together at the time and started showing Susu some basic beats so I could test levels for recordings. She’s not a musician and never played or had pretensions to it, but somehow had a feel for where to put the snare. She likes the exercise and works hard at everything she does to make it the best it can be. She’s got guts and I value that over ability. It was unpredictable and always felt new and that was what I was looking for. Nothing hard boiled or chops driven. We were not ready at all, but I insisted we jump on a show opening for a friends band in NYC, which made her very nervous. It was a mess, but one song in our set really came through and had power and I knew then that we might be able to do something more with this. Bandname? For several years, I released material and performed under my given name, “John Carpenter”, which was problematic because of the world famous, legendary for many decades director behind the Halloween film franchise with the same name, who also has a “rock” band, and it was almost impossible to find any of my recordings. We always had to explain, “John Carpenter….no not that John Carpenter”. A new name was necessary and we’re not clever, so after wincing through some “The…” band names and many more ridiculous ones, johnny nameless stuck because for me it was actually true and meant something. I thought it a little too cheeky and maybe it is, but when we saw that no one had used it, not an obscure rockabilly guy or punk group, not a clothing line or a condiment brand or a line of automotive accessories, we had to run with it.
Susu: “Johnny” is very American name
John: ….and we liked that “Nameless” strips away any identity.
Susu: like, nobody….or anybody
2. Previous musical projects?
John: In middle school and high school I always had a band of some sort together with my close friends. My first proper job as a guitar player was with a very raw rhythm and blues-based gospel group at a Baptist church in West Trenton, NJ. I then had a group called “The Mercy Beat” while living in Providence, Rhode Island in the early oughts. An energetic post-punk affair. We played relentlessly but there’s no evidence of that now. I eventually started playing under my given name, “John Carpenter” and took that from New York to Los Angeles, notably releasing a 7” single, “Seasons” with the label Mexican Summer and a self-released, full length LP, “Fairy Tales Forgotten”. Those two attracted critical praise and kept me working for a while.
Susu: None!
How'd you first get into music?
John: My father. When I was 13, he taught me C, Am, F, G on the guitar and told me you can sing a thousand songs with that. He was right. He had a deep, powerful voice and it was a very special thing when he’d sing for our family. I soon found an electric guitar and a 4-track. Playing music drove me to complete distraction and to the total exclusion of everything else…skateboarding, video games, basketball, and eventually college.
Susu: Lately and unexpectedly. I’m a painter and never thought I’d be doing this. Sometime ago, John was in-between things and didn’t have a group together and I guess I had it in my mind to maybe be able to help out somehow. I was in Bangkok at the time and I picked up a kid’s drum kit, like a toy. He showed me a basic beat and I learned to play that one slow, medium and fast and we could reasonably do many songs that way.
3. First concert that you ever went to? (Locally and National acts)
John: Mudhoney at the Trocadero in Philly
Susu: Musical Youth or Michael Jackson, I can’t remember which, in my hometown, Bangkok, Thailand
4. What's your writing process like?
John: I like letting an idea roll around in my head for a good while before I even touch an instrument. The ways it can shift this way and that in your imagination is thrilling. When we start playing them, things fall together quickly. It’s necessary that the songs remain a bit uncertain and retain their ability to surprise us. This is generally when we like to record them. We don’t record demos. The songs sometimes start with a line or two, but full lyrics come after the music most of the time. I have piles of scraps with all kinds of writings on them. I’ll dig through those and see if any of it fits. Some of the time I’ll just sing a finished piece and put the music around it which is interesting if there’s writing that wasn’t intended to be a song because it’s not fixed to a meter or a pattern and it forces the music to move around it in unexpected ways.
5. What other artists or songs inspire your music?
6. What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be its own thing?
John: We just try to hang on for dear life...
7. What's up next for the band?
We are honored and privileged to have recently been added to the Mint 400 Records roster and are currently promoting our new LP The Tower, which will be released on May 15th.