Johnny Conqueroo – Rock and Roll

Last weekend I posted Muddy Waters and found this band looking for High John de Conqueror… an African-American folk hero who is name-checked in some blues songs. I played this song and when he started to sing…I knew I liked them. “Johnny Conqueroo” is this band’s name.

Their first EP was released in 2015, with a full-length album right after titled “Washed Up” in 2016. The album consists of 10 songs that travel through a variety of sounds that are both catchy and organic. The lead singer’s name is Grant Curless and what a rock voice he has. Shawn Reynolds plays bass and Wils Quinn plays the drums.

At first, Johnny Conqueroo played at private parties and house concerts. But by their second year as a band, they began to play in clubs and other venues. In recent years, they have branched out to perform in places like Chicago, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Ohio, Alabama, and the Tri-State.  “Rock and Roll” is the second single from Johnny Conqueroo’s EP, “Taking it Easy.” I like this one a lot…it has a Kink’s like guitar riff and a terrific rock and roll voice.

Johnny Conqueroo is based out of Lexington Kentucky. He has a garage band type of sound. They were influenced by The Stooges, The Vines, and The Detroit Cobras. He is signed to Soul Step Records. According to Soul Step Records…this song was released in 2019. I’ve listened to his other songs…if you are a rock fan…you will like them. I’m excited to hear about this new band…or newer band who plays gritty rock and roll.

Grant Curless: “Some kid played a guitar recital at my school and that was when I decided that was where I needed to be, I started taking lessons at a guitar shop here in Lexington for a little bit and I was hooked. As we progressed, it was just Wils and me for a while, trying to feel out what we wanted to do musically and where we wanted to go. Later on we brought in Shawn, who didn’t play a lick of bass at the time. But we slowly showed him what to do and where to put his fingers and eventually it all worked out and we grew with each other. We have stayed together for these five years because of good friendships and it works because of dedication. We decided that we would meet every Saturday to practice and to not let it get away from us. Plus, it is fun, so it is hard for us not to do it.”

I couldn’t find the lyrics…but just enjoy it.

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

29 thoughts on “Johnny Conqueroo – Rock and Roll”

  1. I’m confused: the Tri-State, to me, means Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin (because of the Tri-State Tollway, I-94/294), but that’s not what you mean. Are you talking about Missouri, Arkansas, and the western part of Tennessee?

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    1. I left it in…that is what it said…I was confused also…they are out of Lexington but they could have meant anywhere…I was going to leave it off…but I thought someone would know!

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  2. I agree, Max, they sound great – raw and garage-y rock & roll! And, yeah, man, Grant Curless has some impressive rock pipes. It also strikes me how young these three guys look in the clip – like they could still be in high school! Granted, the song you picked is 4 years old. It’s very cool to see that young folks embrace this type of music!

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      2. I’ll look into it more. A song a few weeks ago I couldn’t find the lyrics but it said that Spotify has them…I couldn’t find them. I’ll ask Bailey….he pays for it….but you see them and don’t pay for it.

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  5. Sounds like a cross between early rolling Stones & the White Stripes to me. Did Randy have this on his list of R&R songs?
    As to tri-state area, it could be many regions- to me I think metro NY…southern NY and Long Island, northern NJ and W Connecticut. But being from Kentucky, they might mean Cincinnati area- that city’s burbs include parts of Kentucky & Indiana, plus Ohio. And, as a weather nut, I’ve heard the area close to where MO, IL and KY meet as ‘tri-state area’ …there’ve been at least 2 huge tornadoes in that region called Tri-state tornadoes.

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    1. No but I doubt if Randy knew about this and you can’t find much about them…I seriously scrambled to find this much info. A lot of newspapers saying they like them and why…but not history facts.
      Either way…I’m glad young bands out there are doing this.

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    1. Thanks Randy! These are the type of songs that you could NOT know about. Hell I found them by searching for that folk hero…Man they are good! I like the other songs I’ve heard by them….I want to post about them again….but finding information is not easy.

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      1. Yeah the slogging we do pays off with gems like this one Max. I do find my searching is increasingly more frustrating. Google seems to want to steer you in a different direction, having said that it’s still the best search tool I have found.

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      2. I agree… after I found them…most google searches led me to John de Conquero…the myth or folk guy in blues songs….the one I was originally looking for…. I had to dig deep for the little info I got.

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    1. “hillbilly on bug juice” well THAT I have to remember!
      CB…their other songs are just as good…a breath of fresh air by the younger people.

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    1. Thanks Jim…I would have commented on your site but they were closed. That filled in the blanks.
      Whenever I hear gris gris now…I think of Gregg Allman telling that Dr. John story about throwing all of that stuff in his Hammond…

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