Johnny’s first impression of viewing a live band was at his sister’s wedding in 1959. At the age of 6, he stood in awe at the man playing the large 4 string instrument, of course that being the upright bass.
His first intro to musical recordings were the 78 rpm’s his sister played at home, with Rosemary Clooney’s Mambo Italiano being his favorite.
At age 11, viewing the Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, well that sealed the deal.
In June of 1965, he was asked to join a band as a vocalist, you guessed it, and Johnny plays bass.
His first bass guitar was bought by his parents at a local furniture store for $25.00. The self taught process began as he played along with all the British Invasion Bands (Beatles, Dave Clark 5, Yard Birds, and Kinks) and all the tunes comin over the AM dial.
Living close to Pittsburgh, he also enjoyed all the soul hits coming from his favorite radio station WAMO.
His first band, The Safaris, then came The Remains. He was in 8th grade when introduced to which we now call classic rock, such bands as, Jefferson Airplane, Mothers of Invention, Grateful Dead and Blue Cheer. The Remains became his first power trio.
In 1969 at a battle of the bands some friends from his old hood discovered him playing bass and invited him to play with Dave and The Soul Sensations.
In the 9th grade and thru the summer of 1969 he played in many colleges and in most clubs in the New Kensington area.
His sophomore year in high school brought about a major choice, football or music , that was the choice his coach gave him, after watching him perform at a late night club after curfew hours. Thus began a 6 year break from the music which included a 4 year stint in the Navy.
In the summer of 1975 the music came back alive, with Johnny being majorly influenced by the prog rock/prog jazz era. Bands such as Yes, Genesis, Kansas, Return to Forever and Weather Report to name a few, with Chris Squire and Stanley Clarke major influences to his playing style.
In 1977 he became the bass player for a power trio from Tarentum PA, USA, called Blackwall Hitch and that year he purchased his Taurus Moog bass pedals which implemented the prog rock style of the band.
In 1982 he laid down his bass and attended Pittsburgh East Full Gospel Church soon after becoming the bass player on the worship team.
In 1994, he and his family transferred to Florida with his day job. His playing days were limited to an open jam here and there.
In 2001, he was introduced to Kent Taylor Brown. Kent’s nightly gigs were open to musicians who wanted to step in and play.
This resumed his interest in playing and with encouragement from his good friend Barry Barnes, a superb bassist he had met in Port St. Lucie Florida, he started to take a serious interest in playing music again.
