Straight out of Texas and three-time Grammy nominees, Nothing More have blasted onto the modern rock scene with a sound that hits hard and lifts the soul. At the Czech Rock for People festival, charismatic frontman Johnny Hawkins opened up about the fierce balance of raw energy and spiritual depth in their music, shared the personal struggles fuelling their lyrics, and gave insight into their latest album, Carnal, along with what the band has in store for the future.
(text: Daniella Kiss – photo: band archives)
Your latest album Carnal feels rawer than your previous records. What made you decide to take it in that direction?
„We’ve always been a band with a wide range of music, from soft to heavy, but this time we felt the heavier side was a little more exciting to experiment with and see how far we could take it. So, we leaned into it more than before. Another big difference was that we worked with an outside producer for the first time; up until now, all of our albums had been self-produced or produced by our manager. Since our new producer, WZRD BLD, also leans heavier, it just worked out naturally and helped shape the sound of the record.”
How did the idea come about to go with an outside producer this time around?
„Every record, it’s a challenge to get it out quickly enough. When we’re touring, it’s really hard to focus on an album at the same time because of all the logistical things, and we felt like we were taking too long in between records—it ended up being about three years each time. So we wanted to challenge ourselves to do it faster, like in a year and a half or two. The answer to that was hiring an outside producer. We started interviewing people—well, I say “interviewing people,” but literally Drew (that’s his real name) was the first one we talked to, and we cancelled all the others immediately. We just said, “He’s the guy. Let’s do it,” because we clicked right away.”
There are some big features on this album—like Eric from I Prevail and David from Disturbed. What inspired you to bring in outside voices, and how did those collaborations happen?
„We’ve always wanted to do features. Every album, we try to see who we could bring in. From a business perspective, it’s kind of a no-brainer—you’re always trying to open yourself up to other fanbases. But for us, it also has to make sense artistically.
We’d actually been hanging out with David Draiman from Disturbed and Eric Vanlerberghe from I Prevail in Switzerland a few years ago, and we just hit it off. We got along really well, so when we got back to the States after that tour and started working on House on Sand, they were fresh on our minds. They seemed like the perfect people to ask, and we figured they’d probably say yes because of the connection we’d made. Turns out they did—and the rest is history.”
A lot of fans relate to your music because it deals with real inner struggles. How do you take care of your own mental health while being so open and vulnerable in your songs?
„For me, mental health is pretty much taken care of through physical health. I’ve found that if I stay on top of things like getting the right amount of sleep—which can be tough on the road—managing alcohol intake, and making sure I get outside and see the sun, then my mental health follows. I don’t usually have to manage it directly; it’s more of a byproduct of keeping my body in check.
That said, I’ve definitely had moments where I needed to talk to someone—just to organize my thoughts or get things off my chest. But honestly, 90% of it for me comes down to physical health, so that’s what I tend to focus on.”
Your lyrics are deeply emotional. Do you ever hesitate to put something so personal into a song?
„Yeah, absolutely. A good example is the song Jenny. We almost didn’t release it. Looking back now, it’s crazy, because it’s still our biggest song to date. The fact that we nearly shelved it is wild. At the time, it felt like the scariest song to put out. It felt so vulnerable—it was about my sister, me, my family. I worried it was too revealing, too honest, maybe even too brutal. My manager actually suggested I talk to my sister before releasing it, so I did. She gave me her blessing, and we went for it.
What I learned from that is that sometimes the songs that feel the most uncomfortable are the ones people connect with the most. A lot of people don’t talk about those kinds of struggles—it can feel embarrassing, or like you’re exposing your family. But so many people are living with similar situations. That vulnerability ended up making the song resonate, and that’s why I think it’s important to share it.”
Some of our readers might not know that you started out as the band’s drummer. What made you step forward and take the mic?
„It was kind of out of necessity. We had four or five different singers over the years, but we parted ways or fired all of them at some point. Along the way, I was also writing lyrics and melodies, trying to help the singers, and I realized, I’m already doing a lot of this. But honestly, I was being kind of a… well, a bit of a pussy. I had stage fright, so I didn’t want to sing in front of people and I didn’t think I had a good voice. It’s funny to look back on now, but at the time it felt real—I didn’t even make the choir when I was a kid, so I had all these things in my head that told me singing wasn’t for me.
After the fourth or fifth singer, we did this Battle of the Bands with Warped Tour. They called and said, “You guys have won. We’re flying you to LA. You’ll play in front of all these labels, and we’ll give you $10,000 in prizes.” And I had to tell them, “Uh… we just parted ways with our singer.” They said, “Well, then we’ll just give it to another band.” And I was like, “No, no—we’ll play. I’ll sing from the drums. I’ll do it.” So I had to get over it. I wanted the prizes. I wanted to go to LA and perform. That’s how it started. I told myself, “I’ll give it two years. If it’s not working and I haven’t gotten better, I’ll just stick to drums.” But over time I grew as a singer, and I just kept at it.”
Was it hard to find your voice as a frontman at first, especially since your vocal style is so unique?
„Oh yeah, it definitely took a while. I’d be in the shower, singing to myself, and I’d have these little moments where I thought, “That actually sounded good.” I’d hit a note and think, “Maybe I should sound more like this.” It was just constant experimenting.
It took quite a few years. Honestly, even now I feel like I’m still finding my voice—it’s a never-ending mastery. I’d say it took about two to five years before I really felt like a singer, not just a drummer who happened to be singing. Every day I learned something new, tried different things. It was a long process.”
You have an electric stage presence, and your live shows feel more like an experience than just a concert. What drives that energy when you’re on stage?
„There are a few things going on. Before I go on stage, I almost go through this ritual—it’s hard to explain, but kind of like in movies where people put on war paint before battle. That’s how I get into the right headspace. I step into this primal version of myself. I conjure something—it feels like a spirit almost—and I become a different person on stage. Off stage I’m way more laid-back, but onstage I feel like a wild animal. It’s a full transformation.”
How did that whole concept come to you?
„A mix of influences from my past. My mom was a watercolor painter, and she used to paint with me and my sisters growing up, so I always had that artistic, creative side from her. My dad, on the other hand, was a military guy, a captain in the army who later went into intelligence. He was very hard-edged and methodical. So there’s another part of me that’s like that too. I try to connect those two sides of myself. The body paint embodies that balance—a kind of spiritual war. On stage, my goal is to give people that same spiritual high.”
So you’ve recently released the new album and are currently on tour—what’s next for the band?
„Right now we’re finishing this European tour with more festivals and some headline shows. Then we’ll head home to work on the next album. We already have 10 or 12 demos in the works, so we’re well on our way. The plan is to get it out as soon as possible. After some time in the studio, we’ll return to Europe in November for a headline tour, which means we’ll get to play a lot more songs.
Also, we’re rebuilding this contraption called the Scorpion Tail. We didn’t have it with us today, but it’s a big metal effects machine that’s a huge part of our stage performance. No promises, but hopefully it’ll be ready by November so we can bring it back. Either way, we’ll definitely be back in Europe then.”
To wrap things up, how would you describe Nothing More to someone who’s never heard your music, beyond just genre labels?
„I’d say, imagine a wrestling match between your spiritual side and your primal side. It’s a constant back and forth—on one hand you’ve got this heavy, animalistic, primal energy, and then it lifts into the clouds for a spiritual release. That’s what Nothing More is: a mix of the two.”
