Johnny & the Dicks

Johnny & the Dicks
-
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio
Genres	Art punk Performance art
Years active	1978–1979
Labels
Members	John D. Morton Andrew Klimek Cynthia Sley Laura Kennedy Michael Weldon Karen K. Karen Karen Charles Gilchrist
Associated acts	Electric Eels The Styrenes Bush Tetras X_X
Website

★ Ohio Artist Verified ★
This artist has been verified as part of the Ohio music scene by the OHMS Archive Foundation.

• • Johnny & the Dicks** were an art-punk performance group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in the late 1970s. Although often described as a band, the group functioned primarily as a performance art project and intentionally rejected conventional musical structure.

History

Johnny & the Dicks were formed around 1978 by John D. Morton following the dissolution of his earlier band, Electric Eels. The group emerged from Cleveland’s early punk and experimental art scene and included members of other notable projects such as The Styrenes, Bush Tetras, and X_X.

The group was described as an anti-rock band that frequently did not perform music in a traditional sense. Performances included staged actions, posing with instruments, miming recordings by other bands, and performance art pieces such as Morton’s “Tool Jazz,” in which he cut pieces of lumber while other members sat at a table eating cake.

Johnny & the Dicks performed only a small number of times before dissolving. One documented performance took place at the SPACES art venue in Cleveland, where the band performed in a separate room from the audience, who viewed the action via closed-circuit television. Footage of this performance was recorded by SPACES founder James Rosenberger.

Members

• John D. Morton
• Andrew Klimek
• Cynthia Sley
• Laura Kennedy
• Michael Weldon
• Karen K. Karen Karen
• Charles Gilchrist

Discography

• Johnny & the Dicks (1979)

The group released a self-titled “album” consisting of a record sleeve that intentionally did not contain a record, in keeping with the project’s conceptual and performance-based approach.

External links

• Johnny & the Dicks on Dangerous Minds

References

<ref> Amazing Early Punk Document: Johnny and the Dicks Live, Dangerous Minds. Retrieved 2025-12-14.

</ref>

<references group="" />