Johnny A ready to electrify Second Street Live!

review by Peter Lewis

Despite beginning at age 6 and receiving lessons, Johnny A never quite took to the drums and for that we can all be thankful.

“I was an average drummer, but the guitar? It was just natural, I never took lessons.”

Now, decades since he first picked up a guitar, he continues to carve a spot amongst the pantheon of greats. Around 2002, his status as a guitarist was confirmed by Gibson Guitars when they honored Johnny A by creating a Signature Edition Gibson Guitar. This honor is not bestowed lightly, as Johnny is one of only four other guitarists, B.B. King, Les Paul, Wes Montgomery, & Chet Atkins, to receive such a prestigious honor.

The first thing that sparked his interest in the guitar was the “abundance of melody” to be found in the music of the Fab Four from Liverpool.

“Everything was succinct, the arrangements were catchy.”

Even to this day as an instrumentalist, his songwriting process is deeply rooted in the music of the British Invasion, despite, as he mentions, “not doing Invasion style music.”

From this basis in tight pop music, Johnny A sets out to construct songs that are compelling in their own right, will stand the test of time and not become a prisoner of the era. He goes on to venture that the greatness of acts like the Beatles is that timeless quality.

“When I write songs, I have to treat the guitar like my voice … And I want to rely on the music itself to get the message across, not production techniques.”

Despite his natural connection with the guitar, the path hasn’t been easy. From age 12 when he first heard the Beatles to today, his progression into one of the foremost guitarist of the past half-century has been a personal climb. He slogged away throughout his early teens and into his twenties as a band leader on the cusp of total success, but never quite achieving it.

Frustrated, his own career was put on hold for about 12 years as he opted to become a sideman. Most of this time was largely spent as the guitarist for Peter Wolf (former lead singer of the J. Geils Band). Then, in 1999, he began his current project as an instrumentalist.

Johnny A understands the inherent difficulties with life as an instrumentalist.

“People naturally respond to words. I’m cognizant of that.”

Instead of shying away from these challenges, Johnny A readily embraces the audience’s need for stimulation.

“It just means that my performances must be very thought out.”

And that process seems to have played out well. After years of hearing fans actively haranguing him for a live album, Johnny A decided to just “let the cameras roll.” The result of this decision is his most recent work, One November Night, a combination CD/DVD documenting two shows in one night at Sculler’s Jazz club in Boston. (One November Night is available at Johnny A’s Web site.)

“There were no tricks, no overdubs. We just wanted to capture the raw energy that isn’t always present in the studio albums.”

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