BY BRYAN POWELL

John Lennon reportedly once said, "The blues is a chair" -- not one to stand and admire, but one to sit on.

Lennon would've enjoyed King Johnson.

Over eight years and four CDs, the Atlanta band has strayed far from its blues roots, developing an eclectic musical blend that is captivating to hear but difficult to describe. The group's website uses the term "adultcontemporaryrootsrockbluesjazzfunk," a moniker you'll never see in a record store.

That hasn't slowed them down, though. The band celebrates the official release of its latest CD, Hot Fish Laundry Mat, with a show this weekend at the Northside Tavern. The self-produced recording has been available since November, but the band's deal with Landslide Records is a noteworthy milestone.

"They offer something different," explains Landslide owner Michael Rothschild. "They've expanded their following to include the jam-band audience. They're not playing 12-bar shuffles; they've got the horns. And they've been getting such good feedback on tour, it was attractive to me."

"We still play blues venues, but we're starting to play more college and jam crowds," adds King Johnson guitarist Oliver Wood. "We don't think we're a jam band, either, but we definitely seem to appeal to that audience."

The next step for the band (with Landslide's help) is to broaden its geographic reach. "We'd like to get out of the South more, into the Midwest and Northeast," Wood says. "We're ready to travel a little further, and spread the following out a little bit."

King Johnson plays the Northside Tavern Sat., March 29.

03.26.03