Johnny O bringing the Colorado blues to Lethbridge

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Boulder, Colorado based bluesman Johnny Ohnmacht is excited to make Lethbridge one of his first ever stops ion Canada, when he plays the Slice, Saturday, Oct. 20.The Johnny O Band make their Lethbridge debut on Saturday. Photo submitted
 He will be connecting with Calgary musicians  drummer Hollywood Bob and bassist Victor Szuroczki for a couple Alberta shows in Calgary and  a solo show in Okotoks, the night before the Lethbridge show.
“I love doing that. I’ve toured Mexico and South America and I’ll pick up a band of local musicians to play with me,” he said from Colorado.


“I like doing that. As a trio, it’s easy to steer. If the bass player turns left then I can turn along with him. It’s not as if you have to  work with a horn section and are always asking what key you’re in. I play blues and funk music. If they can play it. I can do what I do. It’s always a lot of fun laying with new guys in foreign countries always interesting to hear how other people play it and where they pause.It‘s always a pretty nice surprise,” he continued.


“It’s like a musical adventure every time.”
He will be playing blues classic and original music.
“It’s like high energy blues, funk and soul. I love Chicago style blues. I’ll play Albert King, B.B. King and Freddie King and all the classics. I think it’s very high energy, danceable stuff,” he said adding there will also be originals from his previous CD including his most recent “Tough Times,” which was released in 2012.
“The guys have the videos and the music from the CDs I’ll be bringing with me I sent them, so they’ll have it in hand. We’ll have one rehearsal before the shows,” he continued.
 He has been playing the blues for many years.

“ I was in a band called Band Du Jour in the early ’90s and we were quite successful. We played 27 states in the last year we were together. When that band fell apart I went to Mexico to regroup and formed the Johnny O band in 1995 and we’ve been playing ever since then,” he said, adding he is in the midst of another musical transition and working on new music. He’ll also play in a duo called The Jelly Roll Bakers as well as another band called the 12 Barflies.
 Ohnmacht grew up idolizing Stevie Ray Vaughn, Freddie King, B.B. King and other blues icons.

“I saw Stevie Ray Vaughn play the Red Rocks amphitheatre. I was spellbound. And I was the only kid in school who had ever heard of him,” he enthused.
 He said there is a solid blues scene in Colorado.
“It’s good. It‘s solid there’s venues If they know what you do and are good at what you do, there’s a place for you play,” he said.
He has been  taking with Canadian blues festival organizers about future shows.
“ That’s the best way to get in front of a lot of people  is at a festival. So I’m doing it one step at a time,” he said.
The Johnny O band plays the Slice, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. Admission is $20.

 

— by Richard Amery, L.a. beat Editor
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 October 2018 09:53 )