Johnny: Roy Buchanan was the first guy I listened to that just took my breath away. I had been listening to Cream and Mountain and as heavy on the guitar as they were, I listened to them for the songs, they just had great songs... but when I first heard Roy Buchanan play "The Messiah Will Come Again" and all that incredible guitar stuff on the song I was floored... for the entire duration of the 70's and into the 80's I sounded like a really bad Roy Buchanan clone.. At that same time I heard Phil Keaggy, and he was just doing things I had never even imagined... he was a big part of my growing up and playing guitar. Actually both of those guys where huge influences.

Johnny: It was 1976.  I started a band with my brother Tommy and my old
friend John Hutter. I still have tapes of that band, there was some stuff that wasn't too bad. But I was sounding like a cross between Roy Buchanan and Neil Young.. (Laughs)

Johnny: First gig I did with Tommy and Hutter, I was so scared my hands were literally shaking, my hand and forearm muscles just kinda locked up and I couldn't really play what I would have liked to play... took about a half hour to get the nerves in check so I could play... other than that I think it went ok... First paying gig was with Tom Cat Courtney, he asked me to sit in one night, and after the show asked me to join his band... the next week I was a member of Tom Cat Courtney and the Blues Dusters... playing blues with a real blues man... that was some fun!

Johnny: I remember it being January of 1980, I bought a 1978 Les Paul Gold Top.... I had a Fender Duosonic before that and I started on a Les Paul Copy that my brother Tommy gave me.  I was so proud of that Gold Top... just like Dickey had! I payed 400.00 for it. It was a really great player too as I recall. I had a severe love for my '63 Strat, that was my main guitar for many years and it played like a dream for me, others didn't like that I had the action so high, but it played flawlessly for me.

Johnny: Well the rig I use now is somethin special... Trimmed and
Burnin guitars and amps have been very, very good to me. They have shown a great deal of faith and loyalty to me and my Belly Boy Tele and my 59er amp
are without a doubt the finest guitar and amp I have ever owned!    Before that I would say my 1963 sunburst Strat thru my Jim Kelley FACS amp was the killer blues tone, and then the Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 thru my Mesa Boogie mark III had a great tone as well... but neither sounded as good as my
current rig.

Johnny: I was watching a movie with my brother Tommy called the Water Melon Man with Godfrey Cambridge... and during this movie I heard this music that just bore a hole into my soul.... I had never heard anything like it, I turned to my brother and said "WHAT kind of music is THAT!!" he said 'It's the Blues" I asked who played blues and he said "Clapton"... well I had been listening to Cream and Derek and the Dominos and I had never heard anything this raw and emotional... it just bored into me and I couldn't let it go. Tommy came home the next day with a T-Bone Walker album, a double album of his Imperial sides and that was it... I was lost forever to the blues!

Johnny: Man there are so many great players out there now.. Derek Trucks is from another planet, that guy is just in a class all by himself... he is the guy who just blows my mind with his prowess on guitar.  I also really like Joe Bonamassa, he is a killer. Albert Cummings is another guy who is just a hard working guitar ripper. Anthony Gomes was a huge favorite of mine. He had 3 great albums, but his latest album was a bit too much rock for my taste... great singer too....

Johnny: You know stuck on an island with one CD, who would that be? That would depend on the mood I am in.  I love to play "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" by Freddie King fun to listen too as well... My tastes in music run all over the place... right now I have been listening to Brad Paisley the country guy...heck of a player! I would think if I could only have one song for the rest of my life... hmmm  maybe "Souled Out And Sanctified" by Danny Brooks. That very well may be the best song I have ever heard.

Johnny: It was with my current band, Greg, Kevin and Keithan up in Canada July 2006... best gig I have ever played for so many reasons... it was our first gig together, everything went smooth and we just rocked! Great venue, great group of folks runnin the festival, the promoter was just the sweetest guy you could ever want to meet and honest as the day is long... great bands on the bill, that all makes for a good gig.

Johnny: My top ten all time, or that are playing right now? My all time list would be.. Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, Freddie King, Albert King, Peter Green, Derek Trucks, Roy Buchanan, Larry Carlton, Mike Dollins.  My favorites right now are  Derek Trucks, Joe Bonamassa, Buddy Whittington, Albert Cummings, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Phil Keaggy, Warren Haynes, Larry Carlton, and Glenn Kaiser.

Johnny: Quite by the hand of God! I had become a christian back in 2003 and in 2005 I decided to break up my band and move to North Carolina, well the band played their last gig and then my mother in law became ill and we decided to stay in San Diego with her... I wasn't playing at all. I had been talking with Shannon Coberly of Trimmed and Burnin Amps and we struck up a friendship on the internet.... he is a very strong christian and we talked about alot of that... he heard some of my tunes from my former band and passed them onto the Back To The Blues Fest promoter.... next thing I knew I had an offer to play the festival, a Gospel Blues Fest... I didn't even have a band at the time... I started praying about it and at the same time I had started to play at my church and met 3 great blues players and we formed the band to go play at this festival...

 Johnny: I think blues music as a form of music is very much a part of the
heart. It comes from the soul and the emotions of living. Be it sadness, joy, elation, love, pain, suffering... it comes from the soul. People who are Christ
believers feel all these same feelings just like everyone else. Anyone who tells you that if you accept Jesus into your life everything will be great and you will never feel depressed or sad, is pullin your leg... you need to steer clear of these folks... just read the book of Psalms... it a good percentage of laments...
David was the first Blues man... he sang to God with his pains and sufferings his doubts, his questions... it's all there.. it is the blues. The church has long
steered clear of music with emotion, favoring the stuff they call hymns.. I think now the church (the followers of Jesus) are becoming more in touch with the realities of life, it's not like the TV evangelists portray life. This is real life, life is gonna hurt, it's gonna bring joy... The blues is exactly that... life. Blues has always had it's components of God, religion and spiritual topics. Rev Gary Davis is a prime example. I think there is a group of people for whom the blues is the perfect medium for the message to be delivered. Ex- Bikers are big into the Gospel Blues scene... these big ol' burly guys with their eyes shut praising God while listening to the blues. It's pretty cool to see!

Johnny: Two come to mind, Albert King, man he was just mindblowing! I still get goosebumps when I think of that concert. His power and tone never came across on his albums. You had to see him live. He came out and hit that first note and the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I got all chicken skinned... Wow!   Also Eric Clapton on his 1994 Cradle to the Grave tour... all blues... He actually brought me to tears on "Someday After Awhile" I was weeping. I had never heard anything so emotional in my life. He played one note for 12 bars just bending and bending that note with so much emotion.. it was the perfect solo and it was one perfectly bent note!