by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
The first thing I learned about Eric Johnson at his Freebird show last Saturday was he hates photographers. “Here we go again,” I thought. He had his road manager roaming the club looking for photographers. Of course, (I reasoned) I was different since I was there as a member of the press. The photo-cop found me after I had taken a set of shots on the balcony. I was glad to sign a release, agreeing that the photographs I was taking were only to be used in EU.
Nevertheless, Eric did come on stage like a sonic boom with a stack of Marshalls and enough electronics to launch the Space Shuttle. His sound is an eclectic fusion of various rock styles, and intricate guitar stylings reminiscent of a dozen guitar gods from Les Paul to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Jeff Beck. Remarkably, he has carved out a distinctive sound that fills the room with guitar electronica, showcasing Eric’s inventive improvisations.
Eric’s musical lineage gives him heady credentials with Sammy Hagar and The Wabos and play dates as Steve Miller’s special guest. Recently, Eric was nominated for a Grammy for his latest CD Bloom which includes the wildly popular instrumental Cliffs of Dover. Eric has moved away from being strictly an instrumentalist, and is singing on a dozen original songs. Clearly, this broadens his horizons as a hitmaking artist. Just mention the Dixie Dregs and we know what happens to instrumental rock artists.
Presently, Eric is touring with his best rhythm section to date with bassist Roscoe Beck and Tommy Taylor on drums. At Eric’s Freebird show, Roscoe and Tommy laid down a wicked groove over which Eric layered his improvisations with his trademark electronic sound. Yes, Eric is an exceptionally creative guitarist who can hold his own with any of the top players.
However, in the context of his trio presentation, Eric’s various guitar improvisations are not enough to hold one’s interest indefinitely. His presentation begs for another instrument like horns or keyboards to break up the monotony of Eric’s showcase playing. That is not to say it wasn’t exciting, but it drags on as too much guitar after a half hour.
“I prefer playing live because I can take the music and expand it through improvisation. It’s also great to see how the audience receives it,” Eric said on his website. Well, the Freebird audience was eating up his presentation. I noticed many veteran guitarists and young players in the audience there to pay homage to a master blaster.
In a world teeming with guitar wizards, it’s difficult to stick out as an original. Eric does that with wings flying on his own sound. He shines on his originals like his tribute to the Columbia Space Shuttle. His intricate playing on Cliffs of Dover distinguish Eric as a legendary guitarist with intriguing new ideas, taking the electric guitar into uncharted territory.
For guitar fanatics interested in Eric’s unique style, he released his DVD with his 10 must know musical concepts in an intimate one-on-one format in his recording studio. Eric covers his unique perspectives on improvisation, chords, lead guitar, songwriting and performance. This is both a performance film and instructional DVD. Also, Eric’s critically acclaimed 1988 Austin City Limits Performance has been released on DVD and CD. All Eric’s works are available on his website www.ericjohnson.com
During my tenure as an entertainment journalist, I’ve covered many guitar gods, but Eric rates up there with my top five. Now if he would just loosen up about people photographing his show, he would be viewed as more fan and media friendly. Hey, fans buy the tickets and the media makes things happen. It’s not worth pissing people off for the sake of a photograph.
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