This night was a longtime coming for me. I had tickets to see Johnny last year at the Tupelo but had to give them up for personal reasons. I swore to myself the next time he was within a two hour drive, I would be there. So the 45 minute drive was well within that criteria. How long had it been since I've seen Johnny? Too many years and miles between us to count or remember.
But I do remember Johnny from "back in the day".
He had a band called The STREETS. They played and hung around the same clubs that a lot of us played and congregated. The RAT was one of those clubs. Johnny was (even back then) a guitar player worth hanging around for. I'm a guitar guy. I love good players. And back in the mid to late 70's there was only a handful of guitar players that caught my attention. Elliot Easton from the CARS was one, and Johnny A was another. Keep in mind this was at the peak of the 3 chord punk era. There were not many Punk guitarists back then who could manage to string a series of notes together that would constitute an actual guitar solo. Hardly.
So the players who could play, always stood out in my opinion.
I would see Johnny at the Clubs and music stores. We always got along due to a mutual respect for the guitar. Being in that small circle of players, it was easy to keep track of who was doing what. I remember Johnny A's HIDDEN SECRET and then HEARTS ON FIRE. Two great bands that he fronted.
Suffice it to say, Johnny was moving in the right direction with each new act.
He was the guitar player and musical director for Perter Wolf (J GEILS) for 7 years.
And he did many other gigs along the way as a sought after sideman.
When I think of the label "Guitar Slinger" Johnny always came to mind.
In 1999
he went out on his own and released a CD "SOMETIME TUESDAY MORNING" I went out and bought that CD and played it to death. Loved his version of Wichita Lineman. Next to Glen Campbell's version, I love Johnny's 2nd best. And it's all just guitar, bass, and drums. I love instrumentals. As a filmmaker, there's always been a place in my heart for a well thought out guitar track. Like I said, I'm a big fan of the six string.
That CD got the attention of some serious people in the Guitar world. In 2003, the Gibson Custom Guitar company, in close collaboration with Johnny A., released a "Johnny A." Signature Model guitar, designed to the artist's specifications. Johnny A has his own signature guitar. And that guitar went on to be the second most selling signature model in the history of GIBSON. Whoa. That my friends, is pretty damn significant.
I kept tabs on Johnny through the wonderful world of the Internet
over the years. I remember when he was named Boston's Blues artist of the year in 2010. And in 2014 he was inducted into the Boston Music Hall of Fame. With each new crowning achievement, I would give a distant nod of "Acknowledgment and a good on you Johnny". He's earned it all.
Then in 2015 he joined the YARDBIRDS. I remember stopping what I was doing to spit the coffee out of my mouth to read this bit of news. For those of you who might not know, The YARDBIRDS was a band from the 60's that had the likes of JEFF BECK, ERIC CLAPTON, and JIMMY PAGE
playing guitar. Go back and read that list again. So of course JOHNNY A would be in this latest version of one of the GREATEST guitar bands of the 60's.
During that time to the present, Johnny was always one step ahead of the
curve, playing with the YARDBIRDS and doing his own thing. His buddy JOE BONAMASSA asked Johnny to open for him on a cruise tour, Except nobody told Joe's manager, who had to tell Johnny that there was room for only one player, and asked if he could do the gig as a solo player. Without any hesitation, Johnny said yes. And thus, the beginning of JOHNNY A's JUST ME AND MY GUITARS came to fruition.
So, just how does one perform solo in front of a live audience, with an electric guitar? Simply put. It's all about the "looping."
And not just looping using pre-recorded tracks. Johnny is doing it all LIVE and ON THE FLY! What does that mean? Well, everything he plays in front of you is live. He lays down a basic chord progression, and using the looper, he records the track, then plays the track he just recorded, and records another track over that. He's essentially building a song in front of your very eyes. Track by track. Layer by layer. And as a player sitting in the audience, it's mind boggling. He has to keep track of everything he lays down. His hands and feet are all moving in a synchronized human and machine symphony.
Watching him on Saturday was a treat.
His
playing can be so full and warm, on one hand, and then he'll lay down a textured line with a fierce bite. All the while, never losing the overall vibe of each song. I would lean over to my wife to say "he's not only playing the recognizable guitar lines, he's creating the vocals through his playing.
You watch and listen, and you can hear the vocals through his guitar.
And you find yourself leaning back in your chair and realizing, that he's
sitting up there by himself. Just him and his guitars. (Whitey and Mr Gold)
It's truly amazing to witness.
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The first song he played was DAY AFTER DAY by Badfinger. A beautiful song by a band that should have gone on to be a huge success, instead, only tragedy followed them. It was so sweet to hear Johnny play that song. If you are familiar with the tune, you would know that the late George Harrison played slide guitar on that song. Johnny gave the appropriate nod to George's slide playing by adding that to the multiple tracks on the looper.
I knew right then and there, that the night was going to be full of wonderful moments like that. Our mutual friend Elliot Easton of the CARS said to me the night before "You're gonna love it!" He was right. I did love it from the very first song to the last.
And when I heard the opening chords of STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER, I was all in. Locked and loaded. Johnny was able to recreate all the subtle sounds and vocals from that complex Beatles song. It was so emotional. I LOVE The Beatles and so does Johnny. But how he was able to create the ending of that song and just add layer after layer was just astonishing . He had reached a whole other level of sound. Something I had never seen, or witnessed before.
One of the things I had forgotten about Johnny was his actual voice. He's always had a deep voice, so when he spoke to the audience that voice was booming. Had he never picked up the guitar, he could have easily become a Rock DJ. His voice had that deep resonance that cut through the air.
The other thing I had forgotten about was just how funny he is. His show was more than just his incredible playing. He would weave these interesting stories about his life in between the songs. And he'd get everyone laughing. Johnny is an entertainer. He's the whole package. I told him after the show "You know what you really are? You're a comedian!" And I believe after watching him that night, that he could have been doing 'stand up' just as easy.
He was connecting with his fans. And they were eating it up.
When he played the Stones classic PLAY WITH FIRE it literally burned up the Tupelo. No pun intended. That song was a moving piece of Rock history, that sounded so fresh with his own unique styles and version.
And whenevr he launched into Led Zeppelin's WHOLE LOTTA LOVE I damn near fell out of my seat. That was one of the most rocking versions I have ever heard anyone play. Hell, he even did the Jimmy Page guitar solo complete with the echo answers. Switching from his Wah Wah pedal to his Whammy bar he never skipped a beat. Johnny is a masterful player. Theres' no question in my mind.
He is a master of his instrument.
And can I just say this without any trepidation? I think JOHNNY A is one of the BEST guitar players on the planet. He's as good as anyone out there. I mean that. And again, I'm not some music critic who's never played an instrument in his life. I've been playing since 1963. I have a handle on the guitar. But nobody and I do mean NOBODY is doing what JOHNNY A is doing. And he's doing it all by himself. Just him and his guitars.
If you haven't seen this version of JOHNNY A, do yourselves a favor and make the time and the effort to go see him. You won't believe your eyes or your ears.
Here's just a sampling of some of the songs he played.
DAY AFTER DAY by Badfinger
FEVER by Little Willy John
PLAY WITH FIRE by The Rolling Stones
STRAWBERRY FIELDS by The Beatles
TICKET TO RIDE by The Beatles
GIMME SHELTER by The Rolling Stones
CAN'T FIND MY WAY BACK HOME by Blind Faith
WHOLE LOTTA LOVE by Led Zeppelin
KASHMIR by Led Zeppelin
CROSSROADS by Robert Johnson
all photos by Ralph Fatello
SEE JOHNNY A LIVE Here on October 13th, 2018
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW
For more information on Johnny go to his website
Johnny A.com
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