Johnny A. is a true music man.
It seems that whenever he’s not playing guitar, he’s thinking about music. But that discipline is what has taken the Boston musician from somewhat relative popular obscurity as musical director and guitarist with one of the great rock singers and performers: Peter Wolf, former J. Geils band leader, into a realm of his own.
If you go
Johnny A.
Where: Jammin’ Java, 227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna
When: 9 p.m. Thursday
Info: $15, seated show; 703-255-1566; jamminjava.com
“I didn’t play guitar in my own style for Pete; it was more an accumulation of what he likes in guitar players: Steve Cropper, Bobby Womack, Curtis Mayfield, T-Bone Walker plus the J. Geils type of vibe,” A., who worked with Wolf for seven years, said. “That’s what a good sideman has to do; you do what the boss wants. It was frustrating in a way because I couldn’t get out my own creativity.” But in 2001, soon after self-releasing his first album, “Sometime Tuesday Morning,” A.’s time came. His sound — a mix of original material and unusual covers — caught the ear of Steve Vai who signed him to his Favored Nations Entertainment label. That boosted the already popular album — hailed for evoking slithery images of late night bars and moonlit water — into international distribution as well as popular and critical acclaim.
“I say it three or four times a year. Every so often, a CD arrives from an artist I’ve never heard of, and it blows me away. Here’s one of those,” John Heidt of Vintage Guitar Magazine said. “This is easily one of my favorite records of the year.”
What made all the difference in his sound — A. said — was that he recorded the album at home. Setting his own pace in his own environment allowed him to catch something akin to lightning in a bottle.
A’s sophomore release “Get Inside,” followed the same pattern, allowing A.’s guitar mastery to set the tone and the pace. The sound is eclectic — from classic jazz to pure rock.
“My mission was to create my own voice,” he said. “I was never able to take my songwriting and my guitar playing and put them together as one. I didn’t want a lead singer, because the sound of the singer is the sound of the band. [On my albums], I wanted to be the one with the voice.”
Now Johnny A. is touring behind “One November Night,” a live CD/DVD that he released due in part to fan requests who maintain his live show has a completely different energy than studio recordings. The new release marks something of the start of a new era for Johnny who takes blues, jazz, country, rock and other formats to develop his own style.
“I just think I am hoping having someone visually see the music instead of just hearing it connects to them to it emotionally,” he said. “It shows how much emotion goes into the playing and more [clearly] shows what I am trying to convey.”
