Robben Ford Discussion

JohnnyZ · Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 9:27 am Post subject: Johnny A. & BB King

I posted this in the Johnny A. forum- thought some in here might appreciate it...

JohnnyZ wrote:
And, before heading to the west coast, Johnny A. is opening for BB King at the Lowell (MA) Memorial Auditorium on Wednesday, Jan 5th. ~JZ~

Whoa, baby! What great fun last night was!

Johnny was Johnny- what more can be said that already hasn't about Johnny A. live. Unfortunately, since he was the opener, the performance was short- only 4 songs- but the quality was among his best. He closed with his Hendrix medley which always blows you away. I'm guessing that probably 90% of the audience never heard or heard of Johnny, but he certainly left an impression on everyone. I always love watching people's reactions during and after Johnny's shows, especially the first-timers- they're just mesmerized!

I managed to meet up with Johnny as he was making his way to the table to sell & autograph his stuff, and I actually think he's starting to remember me. ["Oh shit, here comes that JohnnyZ guy again!"] And Jesse (bass player)- what a personable guy he is. He's great to talk to, and he seems to really appreciate the fandom. Chris (drummer) is a great guy too, but I didn't get to meet up with him last night.

And, finally- the great Mr. BB King! You know, if it wasn't for Johnny A., I wouldn't have gone last night. I saw BB 2 years ago at this same venue, and although I enjoyed the show, I figured that was the one and only time I'd see him. But, after last night's performance, I'll be back to see BB next year (he plays here the same time every year). He really had a lot of energy last night- much more, it seemed, than the last time I saw him. I couldn't believe he stayed on stage for over 2 hours non-stop, and didn't appear to tire at all. And, he played Lucille wonderfully. He closed with a fiery "The Thrill Is Gone" and a just beautiful "Please Come Home For Christmas". His exit, as usual, was just grand. I hope and pray that I will see BB King, at age 80, next year...

~JohnnyZ~
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AndyR · Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:16 pm Post subject: decisions...decisions...

Sounds like a great show, JohnnyZ. Very Happy

Now I gotta decide if I want to pay $$$$ and sit behind the chandeleer to see B.B. at a large venue... Mad

Or pay $12 to see JohnnyA at a small, intimate Baltimore club, where I can sit close to the Guiness taps and still have a great view of the show! Cool

Gotta admit, we get lots-o-good shows here in the D.C./Balto corridor.

Smile

Andy

frank0936 · Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:10 pm Post subject: shows

I'm getting really jealous. I'll be at a club called Orphan Annies doing a freebie on the 16th, and I can't stay up long enough to check out anything else.
Frank

BlueRunner · Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 4:25 pm Post subject:

Uh oh. I see that Johnny A's going to be a SOhO in Santa Barbara on January 23rd. Guess I'd better be there.
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- BlueRunner

JohnnyZ · Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 7:39 am Post subject:

According to the Johnny A. website, these are his west coast tour dates including other acts/artists. Note the Phoenix show with Mountain- now that is one that I'd definitely not miss!

1/22/05 All Star Guitar Night - Anaheim, CA
Multi act event
1/23/05 SOhO Restaurant & Music Club - Santa Barbara, CA
Evening with
1/24/05 Humphrey's Backstage Lounge & Music Club - San Diego, CA
Evening with
1/25/05 The Rhythm Room - Phoenix, AZ
Mountain
1/27/05 Biscuits and Blues - San Francisco, CA
Evening with
1/28/05 Crystal Bay Club Casino - Crystal Bay, NV
Evening with
1/29/05 DG's - Napa, CA
TBA
1/31/05 Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR
TBA
2/01/05 The Triple Door - Seattle, WA
Evening with

BlueRunner- please treat yourself to a Johnny A. show. I guarantee you will be impressed and become an instant JA fan...

~JZ~
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AndyR · Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 9:44 am Post subject: Another MA show...

Hey Johnny -

Lucky you...JohnnyA is back in Fall River in March. Smile

["Oh shit, here comes that JohnnyZ guy again!"] Mad

Wear your false nose and glasses, then sneak up on him!!! Razz

Andy

JohnnyZ · Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 10:09 am Post subject: Re: Another MA show...

AndyR · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 8:54 am Post subject: Another JA show...

Just had another listen to "Get Inside."

Man, what a great tune "I Had to Laugh" is!!! Very Happy

It's definitely going into the transcription hopper.

Maybe JohnnyA will play it Thursday night!

Andy

roadwarriorfortheblues · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:11 am Post subject: Get Inside Guitar TAB

There is a guitar tab book for Johnny A's "Get Inside". I think it's available on his website. It's a Warner Bros. publication.
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AndyR · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:52 am Post subject: Tabs and such...

Thanks for the info, RWFTB.

I actually prefer to do "by ear" transcriptions rather than usings tabs, charts, etc., unless it something too difficult to cop.

Plus, you can learn a lot of stuff in the transcription process that can be transferred to other songs, for example, I just figured out another pentatonic shape while working on "Oh Gee."

The last 2 notes of the phrase were real awkward (beats 2,3 of bar 4), so I found a comfortable position for the last 2 notes, and worked backwards and discovered the new (to me) shape; now the new shape is kinda awkward too, requiring some pinky action (but I use my pinky a lot, anyway) and I don't have any use for it (yet) aside from "Oh Gee."

But it makes "Oh Gee" work, and I'm sure I'll use it later. Smile

Thanks for the tab heads-up, sorry for the ramble!

Smile

Andy

JohnnyZ · Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:42 am Post subject: Re: Get Inside Guitar TAB

JohnnyZ · Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 10:19 am Post subject:

Anyone see any of the CA shows last week? I'm curious what you might think of Johnny A. and his band...

~JZ~
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JohnnyZ · Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:23 pm Post subject:

JohnnyZ · Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:33 pm Post subject:

Johnny A's back in town... in his hometown area, that is! Very Happy

Tomorrow night, at the Stone Church in Newmarket, NH, and Saturday night, at the Rynborn Restaurant & Blues Club in Keene, NH. Bet your ass I'll be at both!

Look out Johnny A.- JohnnyZ's gonna be lookin' to bug ya again! Laughing

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JohnnyZ · Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 8:10 am Post subject:

I saw Johnny A. at the Stone Church (Fri) and at the Rynborn (Sat), and he didn't disappoint. He seemed to put a little extra (jam) in his songs on Fri, however. When he played Get Inside, he played a smoking jam like I've never heard him play before- simply jaw-dropping! On Sat, he broke the high-E string on his black JA just before his explosive riff in the middle of In The Wind, then grabbed another JA, and just continued playing the rythm melody of the song over and over letting Chris rock out on the drums for the rest of the song. It almost seemed as if Johnny needed a little time to get used to the feel of another guitar and finish the song as is instead of picking up where the string broke. Also, after seeing Johnny A. perform several times, I finally heard him play Wichita Lineman at both shows. Both times, it was beautiful. And, after he was done playing it at the Stone Church, he turned to a group of people standing to his right and said something in an irrated tone about if they could hear the song over all the talking they were doing. It was a much quieter crowd at the Rynborn even though I had to stare down the table next to me a few times before they got the idea to shut up even though they didn't. But, at least talked a lot quieter which I could tolerate. Why people have to talk about their ordinary everyday lives instead of listening to an incredible artisit perform is beyond me... Confused

Anyway, outstanding shows Johnny, Chris, and Jesse! And, I had a great time at a Johnny A. show twice again! :D

~JZ~

P.S. And, I only bothered Johnny A. once the whole weekend! Before the Rynborn show, I asked him to autograph his story in the book Between The Strings...
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