#296 J.J. Johnson- Drummer for Gary Clark Jr., Scary Pockets, John Mayer and More!
This week’s guest is J.J. Johnson. Growing up in San Antonio and Austin, TX, JJ Johnson has built a tremendous reputation as a masterful drummer with his polyrhythmic grooves and pin-dropping dynamics coupled with his thunderous power and intensity. He has backed some of music’s most talented artists such as Tedeschi-Trucks Band, John Mayer, Lenny Kravitz, Sugarland, Doyle Bramhall II, Boz Scaggs and many others.
"You've got to put the work and time in, to be armed and prepared, Being in position is being in any position. Then, also doing it with feeling, and learning from it. Those are important principles for me. The camaraderie of a unit on tour and the energy of playing for a live audience is incredibly special. When the lights go down and everyone hits the stage, it brings you to life and reminds you what you’re here to do.”
JJ currently resides in Austin, TX and is endorsed by Gretch Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, Remo drumheads and DW Hardware.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Ryan Vaughn. Over the past twenty years, drummer/percussionist Ryan Vaughn has become a fixture in the independent music scene. Ryan has performed with some of the best independent singer/songwriters; including Caleb Hawley, Chrissi Poland, Zach Hurd (Bay Ledges), Sonya Kitchell, Elizabeth & the Catapult, Wakey! Wakey!, Ian Axel (A Great Big World), Rachel Platten, Lucius, Emily Kinney, Charlotte Sometimes, etc.
Ryan has also performed with numerous well-known recording artists such as John Forté, Anna Nalick, Aloe Blacc, Dave Monks (Tokyo Police Club), Joshua Radin, Ryan Cabrera, Tony Lucca, Jeffrey Gaines, Teddy Geiger, Tyler Hilton, Natasha Bedingfield, Rita Wilson, Hugh Jackman, Bebe Rexha, Lizzy Grant (Lana Del Rey), Ben Taylor, and Carly Simon. Ryan has performed on television for Late Night with Conan O’Brien with Joshua Radin, Comcast’s Backstage with Nick Howard (2012 winner of The Voice in Germany), and he is featured in John Forté’s groundbreaking documentary entitled The Russian Winter, which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival in the Spring of 2012.
In 2013, Ryan was the bandleader of the house band for Katie Couric’s daytime talk show, Katie. In 2016, Ryan worked on the development for Fox 20th Century’s hit movie, The Greatest Showman, for which he received a credit on the multi-award-winning original motion picture soundtrack. Vaughn has also worked on numerous other shows, including The Masked Singer, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and The Bachelor Presents: Listen To Your Heart.
In addition to performing and recording, Ryan has always had a knack for the business of music. In 2014, Ryan took a position as head of A&R for the new music company, Fieldhouse Music (BMG). In 2016, Vaughn was hired as the Business Development Manager at Marshall Arts U.S. (AEG). In 2017, Ryan founded his own artist management company called Backline Creative. Simultaneously to launching Backline Creative, Ryan helped his wife launch her custom music company, Head Bitch Music.
While Ryan was born in Upland, CA, he grew up in Prescott, AZ. Vaughn went on to earn two Associate degrees – one in Jazz Performance and the other in General Business – from Mesa Community College in Mesa, AZ and later his Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance from the prestigious William Paterson University of New Jersey in Wayne, NJ.
Happy Birthday to Dave LeBlanc. Dave is a musician currently living in New York City. He was born and raised in Nashua, New Hampshire. He attended college at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business where he earned a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. He began playing drums when he was eight years old. Both his father and grandfather were drummers. His Dad was sick in the hospital with cancer when David found his inspiration to play the drums and gave his first live performance at the fourth grade talent show. He was just nine years old when his dad passed away. From that moment on playing the drums came very natural to him and is a way for him to stay connected with his dad. Recently David has performed with his original project The Evin Baird Trio, various cover groups, and the Interlakes Summer Theatre in Meredith New Hampshire. He would like to thank his family, especially his Mom, for their continued support as he achieves his dreams.
Happy Birthday to Luis Ernesto Quintero Vegas, known as Luisito Quintero. He was born in the populous Caracas, Venezuela neighborhood of San Agustin on August 24, 1967. Quintero, a child music prodigy, hails from a lineage of distinguished musicians and singers.
His father, Luis Quintero Sr., a respected percussionist in his native country, tutored and encouraged his son to play timbales at a young age. Quintero’s first steps into the professional music arena were performing in the group “The New Generation” playing the bongos and timbales at only eight years old. This group was inspired by his father and his uncles, Carlos “Nene”, Ricardo and Jesus “Chu” Quintero. At the age of twelve, he played with one of the most popular bands at that time, “El Trabuco Venezolano”. A year later he joined world-renowned Salsa singer, Oscar D’León. He remained with D’León for more than a decade until his departure to New York City in 1992.
Quintero quickly integrated into the New York City Latin music and Jazz scene. His reputation as one of the best percussionists garnered him opportunities to perform and record with legendary artists as well as serving as the musical director for some acts.
This Master Percussionist is not afraid to push the boundaries of his musical expressions and style, incorporating a variety of percussion instruments: timbales, congas, bongos, drum sets, the West African djembe, and dundun, and a wide variety of other percussion instruments. Quintero brings technical wizardry and musicality to every performance and recording.
He has participated in over 700 musical productions spanning a variety of music genres and between Grammys and Latin Grammys, Quintero has over 60 Grammy Awards to his credit. His most recent Grammys were in 2019 with Chick Corea & The Spanish Heart Band for the Best Latin Jazz Album and in 2018 with Spanish Harlem Orchestra for the Best Tropical Latin Album.
In August 2020 Quintero released the second production of his Grammy- nominated band (co-founded with his cousin percussionist Roberto Quintero), Quintero’s Salsa Project, “Tributo A La Dimensión Latina”.
Gig Alerts
J.J. is on tour with Gary Clark Jr. and you can check out his TOUR DATES HERE.
Gary (and J.J.) will be performing at the Sound on Sound music festival in Bridgeport, CT at the end of September.
NOTE: The Roots have replaced The Black Pumas on Sunday.
Harry Styles announces the 2023 European leg of his global ‘Love On Tour’ with a slew of new dates. -Article
Damon will be playing with Erich Bergen at the Carlyle Hotel in September.
Educational Spotlight
There are new artists listed to perform at this upcoming PASIC convention in November.
Damon Grant will be giving a clinic at PASIC November 12th, 2022 at 10am in room 109.
Iconic Recording
The iconic recording this week was picked by J.J. It is “S 126 T” by Dewey Redman and Ed Blackwell, from the ‘Red And Black In Willisau’ album.
Music News
Damon spoke at the DIY Musician Conference in Austin. If you bought a ticket, the videos will be up and accessible for 6 months on the web.
A couple of instagram accounts to check out are the Creators account as well as the IG for Music Partners account.
Most indie musicians work a day job (yay, capitalism). And it can be frustrating trying to balance your passion with your paycheck. We don’t talk about it enough. So here are four small but effective steps you can take this week to grow your music career while you work a day job. -Article
Yet another Ticketmaster mess unfolds as fans are outraged over mass Taylor Hawkins tribute gig cancellations.
Foo Fighters fans were devastated and confused to find their tickets for the upcoming Taylor Hawkins tribute concert were inexplicably canceled. The show is due to take place on September 3 in London’s Wembley Stadium — one of two performances by the band in tribute to the late drummer Taylor Hawkins, who passed away in March this year.
Many fans received an email from Ticketmaster or GigsandTours informing them their tickets had been canceled, citing “booking irregularities” as the reason. Now, the ticketing platforms claim it was an effort to stop ticket resales and that “genuine fans” can repurchase the same ticket — but many are still waiting to see if the money they paid for the tickets the first time will be refunded. -Article
J.J. Johnson Interview
The song leading into the interview is, “Jon Homes” by Who’s Hat is This, from the ‘Everything’s OK’ album.
Damon and J.J. caught up in Austin, TX.
J.J. talks about being a side-person vs. being a band member and the dynamics of those relationships.
J.J. talks about drum parts being credited for songwriting and royalties.
J.J. talks about being in Gary Clark Jr.’s band and how they met.
J.J. mentions how he left the Tedeschi Trucks band during the pandemic and how he came to that decision.
J.J. talks about serving the song and also being a sub.
J.J. did a festival (and subsequent rehearsals) with Scary Pockets.
J.J. mentions some “off the stage” qualities that are important to getting gigs.
J.J. subbed for some dates with John Mayer. He talks about playing with Pino Palladino.
J.J. elaborates on his relationship with Eric Revis.
J.J. talks about playing with (friend of the show) Lenny Castro and working with percussionists.
J.J. talks about why he is not on social media, and how he established a career before it was as mainstream as it is.
Damon points out that he and J.J. are Introverted Extroverts.
J.J. talks about etiquette with recording people.
J.J. chooses the iconic recording for the week.
Shout-out to Ed Blackwell.
J.J. uses Gretsch Drums, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, Latin Percussion instruments and Drum Workshop Hardware.
Shout-out to Jeff Ryder and Eric Revis.
You can catch J.J. on tour with Gary Clark Jr.
The song leading out of the episode is “You Saved Me” by Gary Clark Jr. from the ‘Blak and Blu’ album.
