Eric Johnson
| Videos | |
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| ERic Johnson plays live in Austin Texas |
Eric Johnson plays 'Cliffs Of Dover' |
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| Eric Johnson plays 'Manic Depression' |
Eric Johnson plays tribute to SRV |
| Guitarist Quick-Facts |
| Name: Eric Johnson |
| Born: August 17, 1954 |
| Origin: Austin, Texas |
| Guitar Gear |
| Guitars: Fender |
| Amplifiers: Marshall |
| Bands: Past & Present |
| Mariani, Electromagnets, Eric Johnson Group |
Eric Johnson was born on August 17, 1954, in Austin Texas. Johnson and his three sisters took piano lessons in their youth. Eric's brother formed his own band in his teenage years, and his father loved singing. The musical upbringing would shape young Eric's ambitions. He began taking guitar lessons at the age of 11 and began working his way through the catalog of a wide variety of musical inspirations. At the age of 15, after learning songs from Chet Atkins, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Jerry Reed, Eric Clapton, and a wide variety of other artists, Johnson joined a psychedelic rock band named Mariani. The group recorded a demo tape, but was never signed to a label.
After high school, Johnson joined another band, a fusion group called the Electromagnets. Johnson, with his Clapton and Hendrix inspired playing, brought a more mainstream appeal to the Electromagnets, who previously played more heavily on the jazz side of the jazz-rock spectrum. Unable to attract a record label, the band formed their own company and recorded an album. The album, mostly instrumentals, was distributed by Jem Records. It failed to achieve any real commercial success and the Electromagnets disbanded in 1977.
Johnson formed a new band after the Electromagnets which he called the Eric Johnson Group. The band featured Bill Maddox on drums and Kyle Brock on bass. The band had quite a bit of success in the local music scene in Austin. In 1978, the Eric Johnson Group recorded a full length album, titled “Seven Worlds”. A variety of problems, ranging from contract disputes to poor management, prevented the album from being released. Twenty years later, in 1998, Eric Johnson acquired the rights to the master records and finally saw his album released courtesy of Ark21 Records.
With his record on hold and management woes, Johnson made a living performing as a session guitarist. He played for several popular artists of the time, including Carole King, Cat Stevens, and Christopher Cross. During this time, he remained active in the local club scene and got his big break when he appeared on the public television show, Austin City Limits. Superstar recording artist Prince saw Johnson's performance and recommended him to Warner Brothers records. Singer Christopher Cross, with whom Johnson had worked, had also been talking up the guitarist to the label and they decided to sign him. He released his debut album with the company, “Tones”, in 1986.
The album didn't receive commercial success, and Johnson's contract with Warner Brothers was allowed to expire. “Tones”, however, did open up door's for the artist; his proficient guitar playing landed him on the cover of Guitar Player magazine despite the fact that he was a relative unknown. The reputation he gained from the coverage landed him a recording contract with the independent label Cinema Records and a distribution deal with Capitol Records.
Johnson's first album with Capitol, “Ah Via Musicom”, was his first large commercial success. The album went platinum and its second track, “Cliffs of Dover” won him a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental in 1991. Due partly to the three year tour in support of “Ah Via Musicom”, and partly to a perfectionist attitude that provoked him to scrap many already completed tracks, Johnson's second album for Capitol wasn't released until 1996. The album, dubbed “Venus Isles” failed to achieve the same success of his previous effort. The album had only sold 250,000 records by the time Johnson was dropped from Capitol Records.
During the recording of “Venus Isles”, Johnson learned to overcome his perfectionist attitude when he worked on a side project, Alien Love Child. With the group, Johnson performed sporadic shows and released a live album entitled “Live and Beyond” in 2000.
In the next few years, Johnson played on the highly successful G3 tour with fellow guitar virtuosos Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, released an album on his own via the internet, performed two tours in support of that album, and was invited to play on Eric Clapton's famous Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004. Johnson was scheduled to perform with Clapton, but the opportunity fell through.
In 2005, Steve Vai's record label, Favored Nations, released Eric Johnson's next studio album, titled “Bloom”. The 16 track album was divided into three sections, each showcasing a different aspect of Eric Johnson's style. They were titled “Prelude”, “Courante”, and “Allemande”. The album was nominated for a 2006 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album, but lost to Burt Bacharach's “At This Time”.
Check Out Eric's Music On www.Guitar9.com
