Life Changing Albums: Johnny Aimcrier talks ‘Witchdoctor’ LP by the Sidewinders

This is the first in a series of stories where local musicians dish about a life-changing record. Kicking it off is Johnny Aimcrier recalling his 1989 discovery of the “Witchdoctor” LP by the Sidewinders — a defunct RCA-signed band that melded the power of Hüsker Dü with a country edge. 

The Aimcriers, an alt-root rock ’n roll band, started in Tempe, Ariz., but in 2005 relocated to the Lansing area and never looked back. A few years back, he told me: “I’d say we’re a rock band, a country band, a folk band and a garage band. Throw in some punk elements when we go full electric or acoustic elements when we unplug, and you have the general gist.  The last time we played out, someone said we sounded like Elvis Costello fronting CCR.”

That sound, in part, came from the discovery of the Sidewinders (a band later forced to change their name to the Sand Rubies). Here’s what he had to say about finding the record.  

When and how did you find this record? 

Johnny Aimcrier: I discovered them at the end of my final year of college at Arizona State University in Tempe when the album was first released. At that time, the local alternative station, KUKQ, played the single “What Am I Supposed to Do” and a couple of other tracks, like “Cigarette” and the title track. They got extra airplay as the Sidewinders were from Tucson, just down I10. I purchased the cassette not long after hearing those tunes.

It had an immediate impact on me. I had begun playing guitar around this time and the songs on “Witchdoctor” were a blast to play along with, plus with Tucson being only 90 minutes away, I could catch their shows down there and when they came up to Tempe.

So you cut your rock ’n roll teeth playing tracks from this record?

When I was learning guitar, my good friend Joe Hunt, who was an awesome guitar player, sat with me for days teaching me tunes from “Witchdoctor.” I covered the Sidewinders in the first band I was in and continue to do so today. Their simple song structures still influence how I approach certain tunes when writing.  

What drew you into the LP?

I really dug the songwriting and the use of acoustic and electric guitars. Also, there was a bitchin’ cover of a Neil Diamond song on the album. I’d describe “Witchdoctor” as straight up desert rock. It’s sort of folk and sort of rock — with an Arizona flair.

When they were on tour after being forced to change their name, Pearl Jam opened for them on a few dates.  I never got to share a stage with the Sidewinders or the Sand Rubies in Arizona, but I did with two of David Slutes’ bands, Ginger and Maryanne, and also one of Rich Hopkins’ bands, Rich Hopkins & the Luminarios.

The Aimcriers last LP was issued in 2014. Is there another on the horizon?

We’re looking to finish The Aimcriers’ followup to “Solid State World.” We’ve got a few more guitar leads and vocal tracks to record. It’s been taking so long that we’ve got another album of songs ready to record. We’re still writing new tunes and hopefully will be booking shows in 2022. As a side project, I’m playing guitar and lap steel in Harborcoat, a Lansing band, with Matt Carlson, Joel Kuiper, Ian Walker, Nate Moore and David Baldwin.

Johnny Aimcrier’s Honorable mentions:
Scud Mountain Boys “Pine Box” (1995)
Teenage Fanclub “Bandwagonesque” (1991)
R.E.M. “Fables of The Reconstruction” (1985)

Follow the band at facebook.com/TheAimcriers

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