Johnny Bedford is a Singer and Songwriter known for his unique voice and dark country blues guitar style. He has been creating his music under the stage persona Dead Freedom since 2017 when he released his debut album “Standing Tall.”
Since then, he has been working tirelessly as he continues to perform and tour around the world. During the quarantine in early 2020, Dead Freedom released his first single “Lose My Mind” from his upcoming album “The Last Man.” “Bad Kind of Man” is the second single from the album which has just been released.
“Bad Kind of Man” opens with extended and slow-paced riffs of an electric guitar. A percussion set joins in with unique flavors as it plays a counter beat to the guitar chords, bringing chaotic energy and showing fans what they can expect from the rest of the song.
Throughout the entirety of “Bad Kind of Man,” Dead Freedom’s percussionist only makes use of the bass drum along with light taps of the snare and high hat. With a more laid back drumming style, Dead Freedom leaves room for the attention to focus on his many electric guitar riffs and solos. Possibly the most captivating aspect of Dead Freedom’s music is his uniquely gruff and raspy vocals. He brings a soulful and blues style passion to his rock and roll style song “Bad Kind of Man.”
Hello Johnny and welcome back to BuzzMusic. Can you tell us about the creative process behind “Bad Kind of Man?” What do the lyrics of the song represent?
When writing "Bad Kind of Man" I had just come out of a really toxic relationship the year before, you know the kind where the person you're with makes you feel like you are nothing and really gets a hold on you to the point you question yourself and it's really difficult to leave. So, it ended up when I started dating and eventually found a new partner that lasting effect was still there and I was questioning myself as to whether I deserved her in my life.... but I'm happy to say I lucked out she's an incredible woman and I'm really lucky to have her in my life.
You chose to create your music under the stage name Dead Freedom. Can you tell us what this name represents, and what it means to you?
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a biker and have a biker MC group called dead freedom, the patch was going to be a skull with a native American Indian headdress, to represent this strong, proud force which was silenced by "Progress", since I was a kid I've always been fascinated with Native American culture, just living off the land, being free and taking only what you need to survive. so that really powered the idea for the MC name. When I eventually got into the biker life I quickly realized that being part of an MC wasn't for me, as it came with too many rules and regulations, like you get that same feeling of brotherhood with anyone that shares that mutual, perilous love of the open road on two wheels and when you ride on your own you don't need to ask who you can ride with. So I had this name that I really liked just sitting there and I ran into some issues with uploading my music to streaming platforms under my previous name Johnny B, as there were rappers and country artists all with the same name, so naturally, I thought what the hell let's use the idea for the MC and go with Dead Freedom.
“Bad Kind of Man” is the second song released from your upcoming album “The Last Man.” Can you tell fans what they can expect from the album? How does this song compare to the rest of the album?
Anyone who has seen me play live will know about 50% of what's to come on the album, but it's going to be packaged differently, just like "Bad Kind of Man". I usually play my tracks acoustically, however, I've found a real love for making the tracks with a full band behind them, so it's safe to assume that you'll hear those same old songs just in a very very different way... I'm aiming for about 75% of the album to be a full band and the other 25% will be the usual acoustic singer-songwriter stuff I'm just really giddy to get it finished and released now haha.
Since your first album release in 2017, you have had the opportunity to play around the world with a variety of artists. Have any of these experiences stood out to you and impacted you as an artist?
I've been really fortunate over the years with artists I've met obviously one of the biggest parts of my career so far has been working with my good friend Wilson who helped me record the previous album, other artists that have really stood out that I've loved working with have been a young dude by the name of Miles Knoop who I met in Manchester in the UK when I first saw him getting on stage, I had no idea what to expect as I would never have expected that voice.... seriously check him out you won't regret it since then I've been lucky enough to gig a few times with him and have made a definite friend for life. A very similar tale is Phil Turner of Sheffield based hurt attack I played a show for the BBC introducing down in his hometown and he was also on the bill with his band since then we've been great friends played a city farm bbq together, my 30th birthday and even played the O2 academy together in Sheffield last year. but I've also been lucky enough to strike a deal with HMV to distribute the first album which I'm hoping will also be extended for this coming album "The Last Man". I've had my song the Road featured in an Amazon Prime tv show called Keeping Wood which was this mind-blowing experience, I've always wanted to hear my music in film/tv so this just completely blew me away, I've also got a few other tracks being considered for other film projects in the near future so keep an eye out on the website or social media links and you'll find out all about them!
What can we expect to see next from Dead Freedom?
Obviously I'm working on getting "|The Last Man finished at the moment but a big part of that is the video I'm working on for the title track. I'm really excited for people to see it...but when it's ready I will be in touch with the awesome Buzz Music. Other than that given current circumstances, gig's are not feasible for the foreseeable future and the last thing I want is to put anyone in harm's way, so I plan to do a series of live stream events through my Facebook, Instagram and Patreon pages to keep giving people the Dead Freedom sound.