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Blowing With the King
King Johnson hits the circuit with a new sound
By Greg Land
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The Northside Tavern is about three-quarters full as the band, King Johnson, breaks into a choppy shuffle that's quickly broken up by a three-piece horn section's sharp interplay. They're crammed into a corner and threatening to crash through the plate glass window onto Northside Drive as they shift to Bassist/singer Chris Long, his cigarette-roughened tones loose and mellow, breaks into the opening lines of a chugging blues-rocker, "Wise to the Likes (of Me)"; his The little club fills with the sound of horns. Adam Mewherter steps forward with a And so it goes, through New Orleans swamp-funk, slide-heavy rock, unexpected tender love songs and steamy blues. King Johnson — a blues rock six-piece that eagerly stretches to enfold jazz, funk and pop stylings into its repertoire — is settling in for After two years touring the mid-level blues circuit and a second self-produced CD hitting the streets, a key question for King Johnson is: Why? With the undeniable talent and songwriting here — their debut release, 1996's Cats and Dogs racked up substantial airplay, and cuts have been recorded by Tinsley Ellis (Wood's former bandmate) and Francine Reed — the band's lack of a record deal seems surprising. "Yeah, well...," rasps Long, his round face reminiscent of a shaggy young Carl Malden, "we've talked to some labels...we thought we'd wait awhile and see what kind of offers we might get. We've had some; there hasn't been anything definitive yet, though." Back in '96, when Long and Wood added percussionist Greg Baba to form a three-piece, the band set about a concentrated effort of playing, touring and writing. "We toured about a year and just got tired of traveling so much," says Wood, his The addition of a horn section — even just the two-piece of Mewherter and saxman Marcus James, given Longo's current reluctance to tour — has markedly increased the band's flexibility. "When we first started using horns, we'd try to fit old cuts around them," Long says. "For the new record, we've been working with that whole horn-band style, writing the songs around the horns to "It really gives us a more individual sound," Wood adds. "It's not like being just a blues band anymore — although we still are a blues band — but now we're also funk, R&B." To explain the jazzy riffs that creep into his playing, Wood notes that his brother is Chris Wood of acclaimed jazzers Medeski, Martin "We're mounting a conscious effort to get an audience that's not a, quote, blues audience," says Long. "We're doing some stuff 99-X or 96-Rock As their updated sound catches on, King Johnson hopes to advance to the relative fame of "A-circuit" clubs. Their newest, self-titled CD — full of funky, rocked-up tempos and unexpected hooks that made Cats and Dogs such a treat — may well help. Even cuts that obviously had horn lines penciled in after the fact benefit from Longo and Mewherter's polished technique. And Long's road-hardened vocals — remarkably sweet on tunes like the soaring ballad "Glad" — offer many surprises Still, it's the grooves that move the record along, from the spare guitar and horns of "Sell Me," to the Dixieland-flavored "A Few Too Many," to the bellowed, sweaty paean "Workin' Sucks." As a whole, the music reflects a playful exhuberance; a celebration of music by guys who clearly enjoy the hell out King Johnson plays the Northside Tavern Friday, |
copyright 1998 by Creative Loafing Published Dec 2, 1998