Status: Single
City: Phoenix
State: Arizona
Country: US
Signup Date: 7/11/2005
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October 5, 2009 - Monday
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"Scotty Johnson from Gin Blossoms" interview with Danny Hauger of Titan Talk. (9/22/2009). Interview with Scotty Johnson, lead guitarist of the awesome alternative band, The Gin Blossoms.Click here if you want to download and listen to the podcast. *Right click "Save As" or "Save Link As" on the url if you want to save the mp3 file.
Scott in "Mark Tarbell's Phoenix Dream Day" (4/9/2009)Iron Chef Champion, culinary master, lover of all things local, and overall hip guy visits his own Phoenix.
Eric Malmstrom's January Hossey Award Picks by Eric Malstrom, HossTheBoss.com ( 1/3/2009) Scott Johnson - Stop (Buy, Dang It) Tempe guitarist Scott Johnson made a name for himself playing with Gin Blossoms rising to fame and fortune as the Tempe based band climbed the charts in the mid 90's. His 3 years with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers solidified his place in rock and roll. Now releasing 12 fresh NEW tracks produced by George Keller. Here he is on MySpace.
 Best of 2008: Scott Johnson ( 12/26/2008) We continue our coverage of the best 2008 had to offer. This time, we are joined by Scott Johnson, guitarist for past EdgeMusic winner Gin Blossoms (April 13 - 20, 2008). Scott Johnson happens to be one of the only two people that take care of Gin Blossoms' MySpace page.Paul Weller - 22 Dreams
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Duffy (October 5 - 12, 2008) - Rockferry
Aimee Mann - @%&! Smilers
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Portishead - Third
Old 97's - Blame It On Gravity
Jakob Dylan - Seeing Things
Counting Crows - Sturday Nights @ Sunday Mornings
Ray LaMontagne - Gossip in the Grain
Elvis Costello - Momofuku
 Scott JohnsonScott Johnson
(You Sound Bitter Music)By Sarah Ventre, Phoenix New Times (11/8/2007) Subject(s): Scott JohnsonScott Johnson's new release is a fusion of all that is local. While the Gin Blossoms' guitarist has risen to national success and recognition, this album truly does feel homegrown. That might have something to do with the album's being recorded primarily at local studios or, perhaps, it's a result of the collaboration with several local artists. Hell, maybe it's just because you could bump into any one of the members of the Scott Johnson band on a Monday night at the Yucca Tap Room, and the CD release party was a who's who of local music. The record brings fresh ideas, yet reminds the listener of old ones. The opening track, "Beautiful Day," turns surprisingly Dixieland in the end, and features members of The Primate Fiasco. "Stop" is performed by the Gin Blossoms, and "Chorus" sounds like it could've been a Refreshments song. (This is not entirely surprising, as Johnson's drummer, P.H. Naffah, also played with the Refreshments and, now, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers.) "I Got Them Blues," cowritten and sung by Meredith Moore, provides yet another contrast with, just as the name implies, a straight-up blues tune. The album culminates in "Sweet Melissa," which melds together blues, pop, and Americana to create a distinct sound.
 Scott Johnson steps out with solo CDBy Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out ( 9/13/2007)  GUITAR MAN: Gin Blossoms guitarist Scott Johnson (shown here with a bass) took time out from the Blossoms' busy touring schedule to record his self-titled debut disc, which he will celebrate with a CD release show at Tempe's Last Exit Bar and Grill.Joe Trevino Special to Get Out The way Scott Johnson tells it, he was always more than content to be a lead guitarist in two of the biggest bands Tempe has ever produced, the Gin Blossoms and Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, never entertaining thoughts of writing and recording a solo CD.
"I was pretty comfortable just playing guitar, especially during the crazy Gin Blossoms years when we were so busy (touring). I just didn't think about any kind of solo career," says Johnson, who before joining the Gin Blossoms in 1992 led his own band, power poppers The Squares, as a singer, songwriter and guitarist. "But when I was with The Peacemakers is when I started getting the itch (to make a solo record) again, to write more."
When the Gin Blossoms, who sold millions of records worldwide before breaking up in the late '90s, got back together in 2003, Johnson found himself busy touring again.
But Johnson finally found the time in the early 2000s to begin writing and recording his self-titled debut CD, which he will celebrate with a CD release show at Tempe's Last Exit Bar and Grill on Friday, Sept. 14.
The 12-song disc features the power pop Johnson previously explored with The Squares ("Make It Last," "Think I'm In") country rock ("Chorus," "Get Drunk All the Time") and jazz/pop grooves ("Beautiful Day," "Need Your Love").
Gin Blossoms fans will take particular interest in two tracks: "Stop," which was recorded by the Blossoms for their 2006 comeback CD "Major Lodge Victory" but was left off the CD (Johnson got permission from the band's label, Hybrid, to include the song on his solo album), and "Suicidal Advocacy," which many fans have already assumed is about Doug Hopkins, a founding member of the Gin Blossoms whom Johnson replaced in 1992 and who committed suicide a year later.
"A lot of people think ("Suicidal Advocacy") is about Doug, just because of the connection," says Johnson, who says he wrote the song about another ill-fated songwriter who killed himself. "It's actually about Elliot-Smith." Johnson is quick to credit bassist Troy Dixon and Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers drummer P.H. Naffah (who will back Johnson, along with some guests including Gin Blossoms singer Robin Wilson — who will sing "Stop" — vocalist Nikki Green and harmonica player Kirk "The Judge" Karman, at his official CD release show) for their work on the disc, and is especially grateful to producer George Keller.
"People say playing guitar is a labor of love," Johnson says with a laugh. "But when you're in the studio all day with your ears bleeding — George spent hours and hours getting everything just right, and I give him a lot of credit for the way (the record) sounds."
"Royal rivals: E.V. bars, sushi, arts centers, mountains, malls and movies face off"by Craig Outhier, Get Out ( 6/28/2007) David and Goliath.
Hegel and Schopenhauer.
Donald and Rosie.
This, dear reader, is what happens when icons attack — timeless, indelible rivalries that ring eternal, that serve as universal reminders of our querulous human condition.
Those listed here do not. At all. But to the people living in the East Valley, circa 2007, they make for good spectator sport. These are our regional rivalries — the local, entertainment-oriented institutions that compete for our time and dollar. (Sorry, folks, no sports or political rivalries — we don't bogart other people's beats here at Get Out.)Scotty Johnson Gin Blossoms vs. Scotty Johnson PeacemakersIf you lived in the Valley in the late 1980s or 1990s and had a rock band, chances are Johnson — a bona fide Arizona rock institution — played some guitar in it. Johnson enjoyed his greatest commercial success with the Gin Blossoms after replacing troubled guitarist Doug Hopkins in 1992 (the Blossoms' 1996 album "Congratulations, I'm Sorry" sold 1.5 million copies) but local beer-bop fans fondly recall the two albums he later recorded with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. In 2002, Johnson went back to the reconstituted Gin Blossoms, who released the album "Major Lodge Victory" last year.
Winner: Once a Gin Blossoms man, always a Gin Blossoms man.
"Guitar heroes: 5 E.V. musicians who are six-string masters"by Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out ( 6/14/2007) Ever since Chuck Berry duck-walked across stages in the early 1950s while ripping his trademark two-string guitar solos on a Gibson ES-335, the guitar hero has been an essential part of rock 'n' roll.
Players such as Berry, Scotty Moore (who lent his licks to early Elvis Presley recordings) and blues players such as B.B. King and Hubert Sumlin (who played with Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters) inspired future six-string rock masters such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page to pick up their first guitars.
The Valley has been home to some veritable guitar gods — folks such as Duane Eddy, Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper and the Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood, but who are the guitar greats currently plying their trade in East Valley clubs?
We asked five notable Valley rock guitarists — Scotty Johnson (Gin Blossoms), Steve Larson (solo artist and guitarist for Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers), Frank Gonzales (Gunzawless), Jason Messer (solo artist and guitarist for Valley singer/songwriter Jeordie) and Elmo Kirkwood (Kirkwood-Dellinger) — who their favorite Valley guitarists are.Kevin Daly
Grave Danger's Kevin Daly, a fixture in the Valley for more than two decades, plays a frenetic blend of surf, rockabilly, punk and country with the Valley's best psychobilly trio.
Scotty Johnson says: ("Daly's) the master of the Telecaster. Besides the charming way he gives you the bird onstage, or maybe kicks a beer bottle at you, he has this great way of bending a note till it hurts. It's also cool how the Tele looks like a toy when next to his 6-foot frame. He has a gentle touch but can also raise the devil himself from the depths of hell."
On the Web: myspace.com/gravedanger
"After 16 years, guitarist Scotty Johnson is singing again"by Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out ( 5/26/2005) At first glance, Gin Blossoms guitarist Scotty Johnson, known mostly for his six-string chops, may seem an unlikely choice to host a singer/songwriter night Mondays at the Yucca Tap Room.
But, in a way, the popular open-mic night at the Tempe bar — where Johnson not only backs up the many solo performers, but also plays his own material — is bringing Johnson's long and storied Tempe music career full circle.
Back in the 1980s, Johnson fronted one of Tempe's premier power pop bands, The Squares. Now, for the first time in nearly two decades, Johnson again is singing on stage.
After years of being known to a generation of local music fans as arguably the tastiest guitar slinger in town — playing Americana rock and country twang during a two-album stint with Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers and laying down jangly rock with the Gin Blossoms, the most successful band to ever come out of Arizona — Johnson has found an outlet and the confidence to play his original music.
"My mother passed away two years ago, and it just kind of changes your perspective on life," Johnson says of the impetus to form his own side project. "I realized that I was just letting it slip away, and I had all these piles and piles of songs."
BUILDING A SCENE
The Squares, fueled by Johnson's catchy songs, were a tight, intricate trio of musicians who found critical acclaim for their crisp power pop, a genre that in the 1980s spawned such legendary local bands as The Psalms (with Blossoms founding members Doug Hopkins and Bill Leen), Jagged Rocks on the Perimeter, Rabid Rabbit, Fourth Generation Rain and the early Gin Blossoms with Jesse Valenzuela on vocals and Robin Wilson on rhythm guitar.
The Squares disbanded in 1989 and Johnson, whose first professional gig was playing country music with his brother at the Pointe South Mountain Resort in the early '80s, next joined The Feedbags, led by singer/songwriter Jim Swafford, in the early '90s.
The Feedbags scored several high-profile shows with the Gin Blossoms (who by then had Wilson on vocals and Valenzuela on guitar), and Swafford co-wrote the Blossoms' tune "Mrs. Rita" with Valenzuela.
Johnson found himself forgoing singing and songwriting with The Feedbags, intent on infusing Swafford's fine originals with tasty guitar work. The Feedbags became a top draw on the burgeoning Tempe music scene, along with the Blossoms, Dead Hot Workshop and Live Nudes (a Mark and Lawrence Zubia collaboration pre-dating The Pistoleros).
REPLACING A LEGEND
In early 1992, when the Gin Blossoms were recording their now-classic A&M debut, "New Miserable Experience," founding member and main songwriter Doug Hopkins' alcoholism forced the band to make a change on guitar. After a short, frenetic period during which wild rumors circulated on the Tempe scene about who the band would replace Hopkins with, they chose Johnson.
Replacing Hopkins, whose menacing stage presence and gorgeous, melodic songwriting were the Blossoms' building blocks, was a difficult prospect, especially after Hopkins killed himself in December 1993.
Thirteen years later, Johnson is philosophical about filling Hopkins' size-13 boots.
"This is how I looked at it: If Doug would have sobered up, I would have been out of a job," Johnson says. "At the time, it was before the suicide, so it was different. They had a new album out and were going on tour and they needed a guitar player. It was a huge door opening, a huge opportunity, and it was either going to be me or somebody else.
"I was just lucky enough to get the offer and smart enough to say 'yes' to it. Then, once I got in the band, I realized they were really hurting from having to kick out their best friend who was this extremely talented, talented guy, and they just needed a dose of somebody being a bandmate, somebody who just wants to play guitar."
MAKING THE BIG-TIME
Johnson saw his life change dramatically, going from playing in front of 100 people at Long Wong's to touring the States and Europe with one of the hottest bands of the '90s. He recorded the Gin Blossoms' follow-up disc to "New Miserable Experience" — the 1.5 million-selling "Congratulations, I'm Sorry" in 1996 — and enduring the band's break-up in 1997.
Despite the band's chaotic touring schedule, Johnson found time to write his own songs on the road.
"It's what I always did," Johnson says of singing and songwriting. "But when a band has a record deal and says, 'We need you to play guitar,' and they have a brand new record — and, of course, like everyone else, when I first heard rough mixes (of Gin Blossoms debut record 'New Miserable Experience'), it was pretty obvious it was amazing — so I kind of turned into a guitar player with the GB's, but I never stopped writing."
ALWAYS WRITING SONGS
After the Gin Blossoms' split, Johnson fell in with a post-Refreshments Clyne, who was getting back on his feet musically after his band fell apart, and began playing happy hours at Long Wong's.
Clyne's new band took shape with Johnson and ex-Dead Hot Workshop guitarist Steve Larson bracketing a rhythm section of drummer P.H. Naffah and bassist Danny White.
Suddenly, Johnson was back in a nationally touring band. But he never stopped writing originals that he hoped to one day play in front of an audience.
"As a writer, not everything you write is appropriate for the band you're in. I didn't want to sing these songs — I always thought that I could get someone else to do it.
''But we learn as songwriters that that never works that way — nobody wants to sing your songs," Johnson says with a laugh. "So I just wrote songs, and some are more R&B-oriented or jazz than the bands I was in."
BACK ON STAGE
Johnson left The Peacemakers when the Gin Blossoms re-formedreformed in 2002, and the band is currently busy playing shows and working on the long-awaited follow-up to "Congratulations, I'm Sorry."
But Johnson is using the down time to play his own material. Since January, Johnson and bass player Troy Dixon (joined sometimes by the Peacemakers' Naffah to form an electric trio) have been gigging around the Valley as Scotty and Troy.
And, of course, there's his weekly singer/songwriter night.
"I am surprised at how many talented singer/songwriters there are in town," Johnson says. "There are some real professionals who show up."
While Johnson may chuckle humbly and exclude himself from that list, he is proving with each gig that he belongs among them.
7:56 PM
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