Johnny A

I saw him 2 or 3 years ago years ago when he opened for Sonny at the Rex.  I was a little slow to warm up to him until that finale, but that was an eye opener.  He's also got a killer rhythm section.....at least he did at the time, not sure about now.....

And I catch yer drift about the "theory".....I had the same impression.....

Edit, again:  I shouldn't post before the third cup of coffee...

Actually it is a Johnny A model Gibson. The designed him one from the ground up. Not a Les Paul or a ES it is its own model.

Yes I know what you mean Cathy. I wouldn't ordinarilly be drawn to him because of the instrumentals and the Jazzy style. His CD's get heavy rotation on my playlist. I liked his CD then didn't see him live for a couple of years. Didn't dissapoint. I saw him in Dallas jam with Joe and blues isn't his thing.

Johnny A is great, I remember in 2002, his blues "Oh Yeah" got a ton of airplay on rock radio.

I went through a big jazz stage in the early 90's, so I've enjoyed mixed up jazzy music for a while with Herb Albert, Chuck Mangione, Grover Washington Jr., Freddy Hubbard, etc. back to the 70's.  (I think I was drawn back to it because I was sleep deprived and totally running on empty with 3 kids in diapers...it suited my mental state...:D) I find something very peaceful about instrumental music, although I don't enjoy some of what I would call the avant-garde fusion stuff...to me, it always sounds like the musicians are in a constant state of tuning and warming up. 

My hubby Anthony is a HUGE Johnny A fan, just totally connects to his music on every level!  Every new person we ever meet at any shows etc., Anthony mentions Johnny A.  He's street teaming for Johnny, whether he realizes it or not.  The first time we saw Johnny A, we drove through the beautiful & historical Valley Forge National Park where George Washington camped out in the winter with his troops to get to this little coffee house where only about 30 people sat in on this stellar performance.  We were so close to the stage, I could have touched Johnny.  I zoned into his hands, he is an absolutely amazing guitarist!!!  I could not believe what I was witnessing...this unbelievable guitarist with a gorgeous custom Gibson guitar (in 2 colors) and hardly anyone knows about him?  Yeah, I always have a soft spot for these artists and wonder why they aren't more popular, but that's another story.  Just an eclectic, eccentric guy, doing what he loves...he says he comes back to the Philly area since he has a fan base that "gets him".  The last time we saw him, he played a larger venue.

Jim, I mentioned to Johnny that I "knew" you and also that we were big Bonamassa fans.;) I told him he needed a street team and we signed up to be on his e-mail list, never got a thing.  What ever happened to that Live CD recorded in the Northeast, was it ever released?

Great stuff. I'm a fan.