Who's that guitar god hanging out in Hell's Kitchen? None other than Eric Johnson, in town from Austin to play three nights at the Bitter End and work out some new ideas before heading to L.A. for a couple shows next week and then finalizing his summer/fall touring plans.
"I wanted an excuse to come up here in the spring and play with some great players and try to do different stuff--and meet people and figure out my touring," says Johnson. "I'm still getting geared up for my summer tour, so I'm taking some time here to do some fun stuff with Will Lee and Anton Fig."
Johnson begins his three-night stand at the Bitter End tonight with backing from The David Letterman Show's bassist Lee and drummer Fig. Thursday night the trio will help celebrate the 10th anniversary of classic rock station Q104.3's Out of the Box program with a show at the station's P.C. Richard & Son Theater, to be produced for DVD.
Johnson was in town last July to do three nights at Iridium with the Les Paul Trio.
"Anton was on drums, and we hit it off real well," he says. "I've never played with Will, so this is a nice opportunity to play with him as well. They're New York's finest, and it's no mystery why they get the accolades and have had the longstanding job on TV: They're incredible musicians who can play anything, but also have an understanding for playing simple music, if that's what's called for--and that's the mark of a true artist. It's neat to see them play--and play with them!"
Johnson will perform songs from his most recent album Up Close (it's first single, "Austin," featured Johnny Lang's vocal, and the forthcoming second single, "Texas," has Steve Miller's vocal and Jimmie Vaughan's guitar play) along with older material.
"We're doing The Beatles' 'Dear Prudence,' Jimi Hendrix's 'Are You Experienced' and Dylan's 'Like A Rolling Stone,'" Johnson adds, "also John Coltrane's 'Mr. P.C.' and Les Paul's 'The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise.' I threw the set together real quick--not being neurotic about making a perfect show. It's good for me just to get out and play with people of this caliber who make me want to practice or quit!"
Johnson hastily adds, "I'm hoping they'll make me want to practice!"--then heads over to Hell's Kitchen hot spot Bis.Co.Latte for coffee and biscotti, prior to final rehearsals.
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