BIOGRAPHY:
After the death of his band, Sock Her Mom, Johnny Laundromat vowed that his next project would be done his own way, and started his new band, Johnny Laundromat and The Drycleaners. Laundromat recruited his good friend Colin Lint to play guitar, and asked his former drummer of Sock Her Mom, “The Fabulous” Rick Softener, to play drums. Softener informed Laundromat that he wanted the chance to play bass instead, so the trio added Steven Starch to the group on drums, and the band started writing music for their debut release.
Johnny Laundromat and The Drycleaners play fast, thrash and hardcore punk, mixed with a melodic pop punk sound, and acoustic punk. Their debut release, "A Stain You Can't Wash Out" seven inch record was released in April of 2017 on Bad Stain Records, and the band wasted no time working on their next release. The band released their second album in November of 2017, a split ten inch record with the punk band 946 West, also released on Bad Stain.
The group spent the next few weeks on the road, touring the United States with 946 West from California to New York, promoting the split ten inch record. In 2018, Johnny Laundromat and The Drycleaners took a three month hiatus for guitarist Colin Lint to adjust to becoming a new father, and then the group once again headed out on tour, this time for six weeks. The band played local concerts and events throughout 2019, opening for popular national touring acts in their hometown of Phoenix.
In late 2019, guitarist Colin Lint chose to leave the band to focus more on fatherhood, and was quickly replaced by Hunter Hamper. Hamper was only 22 years old, and had no previous experience performing in bands, but proved to become a valuable member of the group, and helped the bands sound tremendously.
Johnny Laundromat and The Drycleaners entered the studio in late 2019 and started recording pre-production material for their next release, and finished recording their new album in early 2020. After completing the recording process, drummer Steven Starch was forced to leave the band, due to personal issues that forced him to leave the state. “The Fab” Rick Softener agreed to switch to drums, and the band recruited Justin Bleach as the groups new bassist. Laundromat and Bleach had been friends for several years, and the two had met when they both played for the band, Purple Mountain Sunrise from 1999 until 2001. In 2002, Bleach and Laundromat joined forces with former Purple Mountain Sunrise drummer, Joe Detergent, as well as Chase Stain, and helped Stain reform his band, Dirty Laundry, with a whole new fresh line up. Playing in Dirty Laundry helped both Laundromat and Bleach define their careers, and Laundromat was very happy to once again be sharing the stage with one of his oldest, and best friends.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the band to delay the release of their newest record, but they finally released the limited edition ten inch record, titled “Mill Avenue”, in July of 2020. After releasing the record, the band was unable to tour due to the pandemic, so they decided to once again enter the studio and started recording material for a follow up record.
Johnny Laundromat and The Drycleaners spent two straight months in the studio recording the follow up to “Mill Avenue”, and the band chose to experiment with a variety of music styles on the new album. The end result was an album unlike anything the band had ever released, and featured assorted genres of music ranging from the bands usual style of punk, hardcore, thrash, and metal, to more unfamiliar styles for the band like new wave, post hardcore, emo, surf, and even hip hop. The band released the new album as a double seven inch on Bad Stain Records in October of 2020, and although record sales were great for the band, the reviews were mixed, with many critics praising the band for the complex diversity of the album, and many critics calling the album a poor attempt at creativity and stating that the record was the worst album that the band has ever released.
Johnny Laundromat and The Drycleaners stayed positive despite many poor reviews of the record, and maintained that they feel as though it was a great experience recording the album and helped them become a better band by branching out. The band continued to perform shows and record in the studio when not on the road. In 2023, the band planned to release their latest release when personal issues between Hunter Hamper and "Fab" Rick Softener got heated. Rick had found out that his girlfriend had cheated on him with Hunter. The argument became physical and Huner Hamper was fired from the band. Hunter refused to allow the band to release the new album using any songs that he had recorded on. The band was ultimately forced to re-record the album, and find a replacement for Hunter Hamper.
In December of 2023, Johnny Laundromat and The Drycleaners ended up finding two musicians that they felt would be a good fit, so they hired both. The new members were guitarist, Wyatt Wash, and a bass player who also played keys, piano and synth, Jen Till-Cycle. The new band entered the studio and recorded the new album, and new bassist, Jen Till-Cycle, also performed vocals on two songs for the album. The band completed recording their new album in late April, and prepared to release the album on Bad Stain.
The band plans to tour extensively after releasing their new album.
