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He eventually returned to the recording studio, releasing ''[[Souvenir (album)|Souvenir]]'' in January [[2002]] on Vortexan Records. Johnson promoted ''[[Souvenir (album)|Souvenir]]'' with an electric tour in 2003 and an acoustic tour in 2004. Johnson's next studio album ''[[Bloom (Eric Johnson album)|Bloom]]'' was released in June [[2005]] on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label. The album was divided into three sections based on vibe of songs that showcased Johnson's musical versatality.<ref>Leslie, Jimmy. [http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/obsessive-perfectionist-eric/aug-05/12234 "Obsessive Perfectionist Eric Johnson Is Trying Go With the Flow"] - ''[[Guitar Player Magazine]]'' - September 2005</ref>His December 1988 [[Austin City Limits]] performance was released on both [[DVD]] and [[compact disc]] on NewWest Records in November 2005.
He eventually returned to the recording studio, releasing ''[[Souvenir (album)|Souvenir]]'' in January [[2002]] on Vortexan Records. Johnson promoted ''[[Souvenir (album)|Souvenir]]'' with an electric tour in 2003 and an acoustic tour in 2004. Johnson's next studio album ''[[Bloom (Eric Johnson album)|Bloom]]'' was released in June [[2005]] on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label. The album was divided into three sections based on vibe of songs that showcased Johnson's musical versatality.<ref>Leslie, Jimmy. [http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/obsessive-perfectionist-eric/aug-05/12234 "Obsessive Perfectionist Eric Johnson Is Trying Go With the Flow"] - ''[[Guitar Player Magazine]]'' - September 2005</ref>His December 1988 [[Austin City Limits]] performance was released on both [[DVD]] and [[compact disc]] on NewWest Records in November 2005.


[[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation]] released a signature Eric Johnson Fender [[Stratocaster]] in 2005.<ref>[http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0117702803 Eric Johnson Signature Fender Stratocaster] - ''Fender.com''</ref>
[[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation]] released a signature Eric Johnson maple neck Fender [[Stratocaster]] in 2005.<ref>[http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0117702803 Eric Johnson Signature Fender Stratocaster] - ''Fender.com''</ref>.<ref>[http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/fender-eric-johnson/Jul-05/11252 Eric Johnson Signature Fender Stratocaster] - ''GuitarPlayer.com''</ref>


In January 2006, an individual named Brian Sparks was arrested for posing as Johnson by bilking businesses out of about $18,000 worth of guitars and equipment.<ref>RedOrbit Breaking News
In January 2006, an individual named Brian Sparks was arrested for posing as Johnson by bilking businesses out of about $18,000 worth of guitars and equipment.<ref>RedOrbit Breaking News

Revision as of 00:38, 26 November 2007

For other people named Eric Johnson, see Eric Johnson (disambiguation).
Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is a guitarist and recording artist from Austin, Texas. Best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, New Age, and country and western elements into his recordings.[1]

Guitar Player magazine calls Johnson "One of the most respected guitar virtuosos on the planet".[2] Johnson composes and plays not just instrumental songs, but also sings and plays piano.

Widely recognized for his guitar skills, Johnson's stylistic diversity and technical proficiency have drawn praise from Carlos Santana, Allan Holdsworth, Larry Carlton, Steve Morse, Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter, Jeff Baxter, Prince, B.B. King, Joe Satriani and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. His critically-acclaimed, platinum selling 1990 recording Ah Via Musicom produced the single "Cliffs of Dover", for which Johnson won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.[3]

Life and career

Johnson's talent developed at an early age. Born into a musically inclined family, he and his three sisters studied piano, his brother started his own band in his teens; his father (an Austin physician) was a singing enthusiast. At age 11, Johnson took up the guitar and progressed rapidly through the music of his influences: Eric Clapton, Chet Atkins, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Jerry Reed, Bob Dylan, and Django Reinhardt, among others. His first professional experience came as a member of the psychedelic rock band Mariani at just 15 years of age. In 1968, Johnson recorded a demo tape with the group which saw extremely limited release; years later the recording would become a prized collector's item.[1][4][5][6][7]

After graduating from Holy Cross High School, Johnson briefly attended the University of Texas at Austin and traveled with his family to Africa. He eventually returned to Austin, and in 1974 joined the local fusion group Electromagnets. The group toured and recorded regionally, but failed to attract attention from major record labels and disbanded in 1977. However, the strength of Johnson's playing attracted a small cult following to the group's early recordings, and decades later their two albums were given wide release on compact disc.[8][9]

Following the demise of the Electromagnets, Johnson formed a touring trio, the Eric Johnson Group, with drummer Bill Maddox and bassist Kyle Brock. They played to respectable audiences on the Austin music scene, and in 1978 recorded a full length album entitled Seven Worlds. Although the album showcased Johnson's considerable playing ability, a combination of contract disputes, financial wrangling, and mismanagement held up the album's release – and Johnson's career – for several years. True to form, Seven Worlds was released two full decades later after Johnson secured the rights to the master recordings.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

Unable to secure a new management contract, Johnson nonetheless continued to build his professional reputation by working as a session guitarist for nationally known and regional acts, appearing on recordings by Cat Stevens[10] and Christopher Cross, among others. All the while, he continued to toil on the local scene, thrilling audiences with his flashy-yet tasteful-electric guitar playing. His career rebounded in 1984 when pop superstar Prince caught one of Johnson's performances on the public television program Austin City Limits. Despite the story of Johnson being signed to Warner Brothers courtesy of Prince, it was singer Christopher Cross and producer David Tickle who recommended Johnson to be signed to the label. 1986 saw the release of Johnson's major-label debut, Tones with Tickle as co-producer.[11]

The release of Tones brought Johnson considerable praise, if not widespread commercial success. Despite the track "Zap" being nominated for the 1987 Best Rock Instrumental Performance Grammy Award, the album did not sell well, and soon after Johnson left Warner Bros. for Capitol Records.

By the time Johnson released his Capitol debut Ah Via Musicom in 1990, he was a bona fide "guitar hero," regularly winning awards for his musicianship in the guitar press. During this period, Johnson was also drawing recognition for the rich, violin-like tone he coaxed from his vintage Fender Stratocaster. The album's second cut, "Cliffs of Dover", exemplified his unique sound and won Johnson a 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Ah Via Musicom was a crossover hit, and was soon certified platinum.

Johnson is an admitted perfectionist, and those traits seemed to work against Ah Via Musicom's follow-up release. Unhappy with his recordings, Johnson mastered—then subsequently scrapped—several completed tracks for the new album and delayed its release for a period of six years. In actuality it took three years to complete the album as Johnson toured for three years supporting Ah Via Musicom, and dealing with setbacks involving musical growth, and personal issues. When Venus Isle was finally released in late 1996, it received mixed reviews and did not match the success of its predecessor. However, a successful tour with fellow guitarists Joe Satriani and Steve Vai ensued the following year, as did their live recording (G3 Live in concert). Johnson was dropped from Capitol Records soon after that.

In 1999, Johnson formed a side project called Alien Love Child and released their live performance recording, Live And Beyond, in 2000 on Steve Vai's Favored Nations album. The Alien Love Child project helped free Johnson's perfectionism involving recording music and obsessive tinkering with guitar equipment gear.[12]

He eventually returned to the recording studio, releasing Souvenir in January 2002 on Vortexan Records. Johnson promoted Souvenir with an electric tour in 2003 and an acoustic tour in 2004. Johnson's next studio album Bloom was released in June 2005 on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label. The album was divided into three sections based on vibe of songs that showcased Johnson's musical versatality.[13]His December 1988 Austin City Limits performance was released on both DVD and compact disc on NewWest Records in November 2005.

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released a signature Eric Johnson maple neck Fender Stratocaster in 2005.[14].[15]

In January 2006, an individual named Brian Sparks was arrested for posing as Johnson by bilking businesses out of about $18,000 worth of guitars and equipment.[16]. Also in 2006, Johnson's guitars that were stolen 24 years ago, were recovered.[17][18]

In September 2006, Eric Johnson took part in a theatrical production titled "Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar" - the first definitive theatrical journey through the guitar’s colorful and surprisingly controversial 3500-year history, filmed by the Adams Entertainment Group. In September 2007, Johnson took part in a second theatrical production by Adams Entertainment titled "Love In: A Musical Celebration" in which he performed a Jimi Hendrix set which paid tribute to the year 1967 "The Summer Of Love".

Johnson's current projects did include an all-acoustic project[19] and a live video from his 2006 Tour with Joe Satriani.[20]However these have been shelved, as Johnson is cutting a new studio album at this time.[21]

His hit single "Cliffs of Dover" appears in the game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Solo albums

Albums played on

Group albums

Compilations

  • The Austin Christmas Collection - (1980), Track "What Child Is This"
  • The Austin Christmas Collection Volume 2 - (1983) Tracks "What Child Is This" and "Is There A Santa Claus"
  • Various Artists: Guitar Speak - (1988), "Western Flyer"
  • KLBJ's Local Licks Live (1990) "Camel's Night Out"
  • Instrumental Moods - (1991) "Cliffs Of Dover"
  • Guitar's Practicing Musicians Vol 2 - (1991), Guitar Recordings "Cliffs Of Dover"
  • True Voices (1995) - "At The End of The Day" with Susan Cowsill
  • 13th Millennia Soundtrack - (1996), Texas World Records
  • G3 Live in concert (1997) by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson
  • KGSR 107.1 Broadcasts Vol. 7 (on Tribute to Jerry Reed recorded July 8, 1999). Same recording is also on KGSR 107.1 Broadcasts Vol. 8 1999
  • The Best of Rockline (1999) - Track 11 - "SRV"
  • KLBJ Local Licks Live - (2001)
  • Fender Stratocaster 50th Anniversary (2004) - Track # 5 "Trademark"
  • Texas Guitar Slingers Vol. 1 (2004)- Track "Enzo Shuffle"
  • Don't Mess With Texas - Vol 2. (2004) - Track "Boogie King"
  • KGSR 107.1 Broadcasts Vol 12 (2004) - Track "Song For George"
  • Keep Punching (2007) - Track 3 - "Forever Yours"

Guest appearance work

Instructional DVDs

Videos

  • Carole King - One To One (1982)
  • Nova - PBS Special - The Chambered Nautilus (1987)
  • Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's "Guitar" (1991) Warner Brothers (VHS and LaserDisc)
  • BB King and Friends...Live at the Woodlands (1993) (Houston PBS Special)
  • G3: Live In Concert (1997) Epic
  • Electromagnets: PBS Playback (1998)
  • Crossroads Guitar Festival (2004) Warner Brothers
  • Live in Austin, Tx (2005) NewWest Records
  • Satriani LIVE (2006) Epic Records

Awards and chartings

References

  1. ^ a b Pinson, Matt. "Eric Johnson: In Full Bloom" - MusicPlayers.com - 2006-08-06
  2. ^ Leslie, Jimmy. "On Tackling Odd Meters: Eric Johnson" - Guitar Player Magazine - August 2006
  3. ^ a b "Eric Johnson" - at Grammy.com
  4. ^ Simon, Scott. "Eric Johnson's Guitar Gets to Austin's Roots" - NPR - August 13, 2005
  5. ^ Landers, Rick. "Eric Johnson Interview" - Modern Guitars Magazine - August 11, 2005
  6. ^ "An Interview with Eric Johnson" - Boston Beats
  7. ^ Sonobeats Page."Mariani with Eric Johnson"
  8. ^ "Eric Johnson" - Guitar Player Magazine- May '86
  9. ^ Electromagnets Page http://www.ericjohnson.com/electromagnets/html/bio.html "Electromagnets - Selling Jazz to the Schlock-Rock Hardheads by Cliff Endres"
  10. ^ Junior, Chris. "Storytime: Eric Johnson" - the Medleyville US - March 22, 2004
  11. ^ Mccoy, Brian. "Guitar hero Eric Johnson finds he still has plenty to learn" - Record Net - September 13, 2007
  12. ^ Levy, Adam. "Eric Johnson Cuts Loose on a Rockin' Live Album" - Guitar Player Magazine - December 2000
  13. ^ Leslie, Jimmy. "Obsessive Perfectionist Eric Johnson Is Trying Go With the Flow" - Guitar Player Magazine - September 2005
  14. ^ Eric Johnson Signature Fender Stratocaster - Fender.com
  15. ^ Eric Johnson Signature Fender Stratocaster - GuitarPlayer.com
  16. ^ RedOrbit Breaking News "Man Poses As Grammy Winner to Get Guitars"- January 3, 2006
  17. ^ "Musician's Friend Video Interview" - Musician's Friend - 2007
  18. ^ "Eric Johnson recovers stolen guitars" - ErnieBall.com - March, 2006
  19. ^ Sculley, Allan. "Don't try rushing Eric Johnson " - the North County Times - June 22, 2005
  20. ^ Todd, Andrew. "Eric Johnson at the Grove of Anaheim"Vintagerock.com
  21. ^ Alvarez, Ted. "Guitar hero Eric Johnson plays in Beaver Creek" - the Vail Daily News - September 24, 2007

Eric Johnson Guitar Lessons



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