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Johnny V joue de la "slide" avec une guitare Fury "Baritone" et les endosse à 100%. Mille mercis à Glenn McDougall de Fury Guitars, Doug Scarrow et Stan Garchinski à Saskatoon. Vous êtes vraiment des gens bien. J'apprécie vraiment vos efforts collectifs et cet excellent instrument conçu et fabriqué au Canada.  |
Johnny V polit son jeu en se forgeant un style original depuis plus de 35 ans. Il a débuté à 13 ans en jouant pour les passants dans le centre-ville de Toronto et a mérité le droit de faire des tournées, d'enregistrer, de produire et de donner des cours d'élite au niveau international. Johnny est un des secrets les mieux gardés du Canada. Son premier enregistrement solo, "Roosters and Hens" de Johnny V and the Houserockers, a mis un Juno Award (Grammy canadien) sur sa tablette en 1991 quand sa chanson, "I Need a Woman", est parue sur l'album de la CBC, "Saturday Night Blues". Dans les années suivantes deux autres chansons de Johnny V ont capté l'attention du monde de la télévision. En 1993, "I Ain't Lying" a été choisie comme thème de la série télévisée "Northern Exposure" et, en 2001, "Lost Love" a été choisie pour la série télévisée "The Chris Issac Show". En 1996, le deuxième projet solo de Johnny, "If My Daddy Could See Me Now" par Johnny V & The Blues All Stars, a été nominé pour un Juno Award dans la catégorie "Best Blues and Gospel". Johnny tient aussi la vedette d'un spécial télévisé sur Bravo! (Canada) et BET(USA) dans la série "Bluesman". Son écriture, sa voix et son jeu de guitare le démontre bien: Johnny V est aussi authentique qu'on peut l'être. Pendant qu'il vivait à Chicago, Johnny a joué à travers les USA, en Europe et en Amérique du Sud. En 2000, il a été invité en Lettonie pour donner des classes d'élite et finalement il a produit et joué sur le tout premier CD de Blues letton, "Blues Party". Ce CD du Latvian Blues Band a été enregistré dans un bunker de l'ex-KGB et mixé dans l'ancien quartier général du Parti Communiste à Riga. Durant l'été 2000, Johnny a organisé la tournée canadienne du Latvian Blues Band et joué avec eux dans les festivals et les night-clubs. Il a passé les 4 premiers mois et demi de 2001 à battre les sentiers à travers l'Ukraine défrichant de nouveaux horizons pour sa musique. Aujourd'hui, Johnny V joue avec The Johnny V Trio. JV3, c'est Johnny V à la guitare et voix, Glen Yorga à la basse et voix et Joey Dimarco à la batterie et voix. Le nouvel album de "Mustards and Relics" est paru en octobre 2001 et gagne rapidement du momentum. John Hammond a dit: "Johnny V est un travailleur acharné qui peut vraiment jouer le blues", et Dave Myers, célèbre compagnon de Little Walter, a dit "Johnny V peut jouer, mon homme, il est songé, très songé". Faites vous votre propre opinion la prochaine fois que Johnny joue près de chez vous. |
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1991- Juno Award, catégorie " Best Roots and Traditional ", pour " I Need a Woman " de l'album " Saturday Night Blues ", une compilation d'artistes de Blues canadiens de la CBC. 1993 - Nomination pour un Juno Award, catégorie " Blues and Gospel " pour le CD " Terra Firma Boogie " faisant partie du trio Triple Threat 1994 - Ratso Award de Westcoast Blues Review comme Meilleur Guitariste Blues au Canada 1995 - 4 Ratso Awards deWestcoast Blues Review pour: Bluesman Canadien de l'année,. Meilleur Guitariste Slide au Canada, Meilleure Spectacle d'un groupe (Yale Hotel Sept. 95), Meilleur Groupe de Blues au Canada 1996 - Nomination pour un Juno Award, catégorie " Blues and Gospel " pour l'album " If My Dady Could See Me Now " de Johnny V's Blues Allstars. 1996 - 3 Ratso Awards de Real Blues Magazine pour: Meilleur Guitariste Blues Slide au Canada, Meilleur Nouvel album 1996 " If My Daddy Could See Me Now ", Meilleure chanson Blues 1996 pour "The Depression Blues " 1997 - Nomination pour un A.R.I.A. Award de l'Industrie de l'Enregistrement de l'Alberta, catégorie " Meilleur Artistes Blues 1996 ".. 1997 - Motor City Music Award, catégorie "Canadian Breakout Artist of the Year " pour sa prestation au Bluesfest International. 1998 - Nomination pour 2 Mapleblues Award, catégories " Blues Entertainer of the Year " et Meilleur Guitariste Blues 1998 - Best Canadian Slide Guitarist de Real Blues Magazine
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" Johnny V est vraiment un héros inconnu du blues au Canada. À mon avis "If My Daddy Could See Me Know" est définitivement un des 10 meilleurs albums de bues canadien de tous les temps" "Johnny V is truly one of Canada's unsung blues heroes. In my opinion "If My Daddy Could See Me Now" is definitely one of the top 10 Canadian blues releases of all time" -Holger Petersen (Saturday Night Blues on C.B.C.)
"Il n'y a qu'une poignée d'artistes de blues canadien légitimes et Johnny V est le vrai champion poids lourds du Grand Nord Blues..." "There are just a handful of legitimate Canadian blues artists and Johnny V is the true heavyweight champion of the Great Blues North... " -Andy "Blues Boy" Grigg (Real Blues Magazine)
" Mon guitariste, je l'ai finalement trouvé. Il est le meilleur" "My guitar player, I've finally found him. He's the greatest." -King Biscuit Boy (AKA Richard Newell)
"Johnny V, un homme que je considère un des meilleurs guitaristes de blues jouant de nos jours" "Johnny V, a man whom I regard as one of the finest blues guitarists playing today..." -Mick Rainsford (Blueprint "The Official Newsmagazine of the British Blues Connection")
" Johnny V a toujours été un de mes bluesmen favoris. Son écriture, sa guitare et sa voix peuvent transformer le Grand Nord Blanc en un paradis tropical" "Johnny V has always been one of my favourite bluesmen. His songwriting, guitar playing and voice can turn the Great White North into a Tropical Paradise." - Eddy 'B' Brake (Infamous Toronto Bluesologist)
"C'est une chose de voir d'entendre Johnny V jouer ... mais de savoir que c'est quelqu'un de grande classe hors de la scène complète encore mieux le portait" "It's one thing to see and hear Johnny V play... but to know he's a class act off stage makes things even more complete." - Big John Small (Pioneer of underground FM radio on WABX Detroit)
"Le secret le mieux gardé de l'Ouest canadien. Le style de guitare "slide" de V n'a pas été entendu depuis que Warren Haynes et Dickey Betts du Allman Brothers Band sont passé en ville" "The best-kept secret in western Canada. V's slide guitar style hasn't been heard since Warren Haynes and Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band passed through town." -Peter North (Edmonton Journal)
" Rien à part une explosion atomique ne pourrait empêcher Johhny V de jouer du blues" "Nothing short of an atomic blast is going to stop Johnny V from playing the blues... - James Muretich (Calgary Herald)
"Quand je commence à parler des guitaristes de blues canadiens vous devez savoir que Johnny V est le seul dont je parle longtemps, fort et fièrement." "When I start talking about Canadian blues guitar players you have to know Johnny V is the only one I talk long, loud and proud about". -Sonny Rhodes "Une des meilleurs joueurs au style naturel que j'ai entendu en 20 ans. Il peut réellement chanter et son écriture a vraiment un style". "One of the most natural-feel players I've heard in 20 years. He can really sing and there's a real style to his writing." - Amos Garrett
"Johnny V peut jouer, mon homme. Il est songé, très songé". "Johnny V can play man, he's deep, real deep"... - Dave Myers (famed Little Walter bandmate)  |
As a non-player who's never been able to penetrate the eternal mystery of the instrument, I've found the simplest way to measure a guitarist's prowess is to attend a show and count the number of fellow fretmen shaking their heads in a combination of appreciation and disbelief. Having witnessed the phenomenon first-hand at a Johnny V show, where I picked up this platter, I can safely state that Calgary's Johnny V is an absolute monster. Fortunately, those who can't conveniently catch the band live can still be transported to Johnny's version of blues/rock heaven via "Mustard & Relics," a thirteen-slice platter culled from a number of live dates. These represent the band's favourite takes, warts and all; they opted not to overdub or fix things up in the studio, rightfully recognizing the absurdity of tinkering with live recordings after the fact. While Johnny's previous outings have encompassed many a style, this outing remains resolutely within the power-trio format, with Johnny's guitar crunching out the chords front and centre. Backed by very muscular accompaniment of bassist Glen Yorga and drummer Andrzej Ryszka, Johnny here favours a thick, fuzzy tone, judiciously employing effects to achieve a somewhat distorted sound reminiscent of an earlier era. In lesser hands, pedals and such often take over, rendering things more sonically than musically interesting; Johnny, however, keeps firm rein on proceedings, never allowing technology to override the sheer musicality of his fretwork. Liner notes mention a fondness for the blues-rockers of the sixties and seventies, and the disc could almost be taken as homage to those heroes, back when musical exploration ruled the day, and only the scholars worried too much about the authenticity of it all. Johnny wrote everything on the disc (a couple with assistance from Richard Newell, Canada's legendary King Biscuit Boy); not one to confine himself to restrictive formulae, he mixes in elements of funk, swamp, country, and yes, plain ol' rock. Yet no one's likely to call this anything but a blues album. Perhaps the biggest surprise here is just how good a singer Johnny is. There's a soulful intensity to his singing, with just the right measure of grit and grease, that never seems forced; indeed, he sounds thoroughly relaxed throughout, having as much fun as though these were the very first times he'd ever had the pleasure of performing in public. Ultimately, that to me is what makes this disc such a winner; sure the music is great, the band extraordinarily accomplished, but there's no shortage of either quality on the market; but how often does one hear veterans for whom the sheer joy of performing shines through? Excellent stuff! * Blues power trio with an attitude and a tender side. * Guitarist Johnny V (Mills) is a gruff, macho guy ÷ that is immediately apparent when you see him play live, when you meet him, or hear him on a recording. He is a powerful improviser, and often presents as a tough guy in many of his songs, but that brash exterior belies a gentler side, a vulnerable aspect expressed in the way he wears his heart on his sleeve in his lyrics. His overarching, enigmatic presence ÷ at times brazen, in-your-face, swaggering, and impudent; at other times subtle, sensitive, exposed, and delicate ÷ comes through powerfully in his original compositions of blues/relationship angst. Mustard and Relics is a highly compelling collection of twelve blues inventions by Mills honed on the road with the trio including Glen Yorga (bass and vocals) and Andrzej Ryszka (drums and vocals). It is a great-sounding live album consisting of tracks collected over three years of recording. Like contemporary bluesman Robert Cray, Mills does not restrict himself to the twelve-bar form, but rather blends a mix of different musical constructions, sensibilities, and grooves, including shuffles, hard drivers, slow tempos, humour, and even a "humulaka/Bo Diddley" thrown in for good measure. Mills is thrillingly patient in the development of his guitar solos bringing to mind the plectral machinations of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins. Repeated listenings unveil many fine layers of nuance. This is a distinctively deep blues recording. **** Four stars ****
Triple Threat. It's a part of Johnny V's past -- being the name of his early '90s blues band with Tim Williams and Rusty Reed -- and it also succinctly sums up the blues guitarist's current project, the Johnny V Trio. The new band, which celebrates the release of its stellar new live blues CD Mustard and Relics tonight and tomorrow at the King Eddy, is a trio featuring the blistering fret work of Johnny V -- a Juno Award winner who's called by many Alberta's best kept musical secret -- complemented by the superb rhythm section of bassist Glen Yorga and drummer Andrzej Ryszka. Despite the acknowledged lead role Johnny V plays in the Johnny V Trio -- writing and arranging the trio's material -- it is a well-balanced, three-pronged blues attack from some unbelievably accomplished musicians. "It's a collective effort," Johnny says, sitting with Yorga in a corner of a Tim Horton's. "There's no way I could feel that comfortable to stretch out that far playing without the rhythm section being ... able to interpret all the weirdness I'm going to go to." Yorga, who has a diverse and impressive 30 years experience behind him which includes everything from session work on 100 Huntley Street to touring with Dusty Springfield and acting as the band leader for Don Rickles, continues the mutual admiration society. "The songwriting is why I'm involved," he says. "That's where the magic is in there for me. There's heart there. "Besides (Johnny's) a killer guitar player. There's some stuff on here that Johnny plays, I call it the anthems. The greatest statement of guitar that captures all of those things that I've ever heard -- and there he is playing it live right across the floor from me. "To be able to sit back and just be giggling and having shivers running up and down your spine from the guy you're playing with on stage, it goes beyond, it elevates everything ..." Polish-born Ryszka also has an impressive past, performing with a couple of popular European acts before emigrating to Canada in 1990. He has since become a session musician in great demand, having worked with Amos Garrett as well as being the drummer in Tom Jackson's band. But the trio seems to be the project that everyone's energies are going into these days, and with the release Mustard and Relics, it's easy to hear it's energy well expended. The album, culled from recordings made at venues around Alberta dating back to 1998, the disc is a surprisingly cohesive display of the trio's skills in and around blues music. "I hate to pigeonhole what we do ...," says Johnny. "We've got one foot in the blues and there's a hundred little spokes off that hub and we go anywhere with it."
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