Artist: Johnny A.
Venue: Regatta Bar, Cambridge, MA
When: 1-April-05
Johnny A. is an intriguingly versatile artist. He will have you twisting this way, eliciting a hedonistic sigh, and then contort you to plunge into a captivating new depth. The melodies are not accompanied by lyrics; Johnny likes to let the music do the talking. This may be bittersweet to some, but if you take sheer joy in the art and craft of complex finger gymnastics on a fingerboard then I suggest that you get to a show, soon.
Covering a dreamy, hypnotic rendition of Hendrix’s, “The Wind Cries Mary;” can be found on his Get Inside album. To a twangy, stylish Chet Atkins tribute, “Tex Critter” found on his Sometime Tuesday Morning album, that had some drum scratching and an intense solo. Title track, “Get Inside” will make you wonder where the title came from, ah yeah, I am sure that is what he means. “Two Wheel Horse” takes you to a climatic zenith and brings you back slowly with an elaborate caress.
In the two sets that I attended, I heard just about every genre of music known. Lively rockabilly style blues was splashed through out the show. Let’s not leave out the occasionally quirky funk, trippy psycadelic, refined jazz or an earthy new age. Johnny A. (and band) is passionate about their music to an extreme level. Many of the patrons attending expelled the same bravado. By the time that Johnny A. gets done with you, not only will you be seared from the experience, you’ll be yearning for that ever satisfying, proverbial cigarette.
Johnny A. (Thanks for the gear email) uses Gibson, Johnny A. Signature Model Guitars. These will have D’Addario Strings. Dual Marshall Amps, 30th Anniversary model. A Dunlop Wah Wah. Boss: Tuner, Octave and Reverb pedals. Aphex Punch Factory Compressor. Line 6: Echo Park and Trem/Pan pedals. Xotic Robotalk. Radial Engineering Switchbone. Eminence Speakers. E-Bow. G7th Capo. Monster & George L. Cables. Planet Waves picks and Dunlop Glass Slides.
Jesse Bastos endorses Ernie Ball, Music Man Bongo 5-string basses. Jesse can be seen sporting one of the two manufactured Green Martini basses. These will also have Ernie Ball Music Man strings. Mesa Boogie Walkabout Amps. Boss and Radial pedals. And George L. cables.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
for anybody planning on being anywhere near boston, and looking for a great place to see a show, the Regattabar is the place.
i like it better than the other major jazz venue (Scullers) because it's so intimate and the sound is fantastic.