Johnny Trouble
| Johnny Trouble | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin |
Stuttgart , Germany
|
| Genre (s) | Rockabilly , country |
| founding | 2002 |
| Website | johnnytrouble.de |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, rhythm guitar , harmonica
|
Oliver "Johnny" Bluth |
| Felix Berchtold | |
| Tall Tony | |
| Paul Burkhalter | |
Johnny Trouble or Johnny Trouble Trio is a German country band around the guitarist, singer and songwriter Oliver "Johnny" Bluth. In terms of style, the band is strongly based on the rockabilly-heavy chickaboom sound of the early Johnny Cash . Under his stage name Johnny Bluth, the founder of the band, Oliver Bluth, pushed for a more acoustic style that was more towards the singer-songwriter .
Band biography
The band Johnny Trouble (or the Johnny Trouble Trio) goes back to a street music combo of the band founder Oliver "Johnny" Bluth from the area around Stuttgart . In 2002 Bluth expanded his “one-man band” to include two more musicians from the region. Partly under the name His CountryScum on the road, the band went through different line-up changes. Musically, Bluth and his fellow musicians were strongly based on the style of the early Johnny Cash and the 1950s rockabilly sound of the Sun label. In addition to cover versions of old classics, the repertoire increasingly contained own pieces. In addition to Bluth as songwriter , rhythm guitarist and singer, the band's regular line-up included a double bass and a percussion instrument player. In terms of the external appearance, the other optics as well as the stage show, the band was strongly based on the performances of the early Johnny Cash.
The first years were characterized by a mix of club appearances, city festival gigs and street concerts. Among other things, the formation appeared as a support act for international rock and psychobilly acts such as Deadbolt , the Planet Rockers and the Fuzztones . Over time, the original trio grew into a quartet, at times up to a quintet. In December 2008 the first album, The Rhythm Of The Railroadtrack, was released. A second CD followed in February 2009 - Johnny Trouble - Starring As Rambling Man . Unlike its predecessor, however, it was not an official band production, but a compilation of (country-heavy) demo material by bandleader Bluth. The third and fourth CD (Rainy Days from 2011 and That's Love from 2014) also broadened awareness in the German and European rockabilly scene. With Tornado Warning, Somebody Stole My Guitar and the country ballad Gone With The Wind - written in memory of a deceased friend of Bluth's - Rainy Days contained titles that were on the one hand distinctive, on the other hand marked the stylistic framework of the group - between faster rockabilly pieces in the early cash style and more introverted country numbers. On the follow-up album That's Love , the number of third-party compositions was reduced from four to (only) one title: Hank Snow's 1960s hit Miller's Cave . Another release was the 2013 single Prison Bound , which featured the band's typical chickaboom sound .
Over the years Johnny Trouble has given concerts and tours in a number of European countries including Germany , Austria , Switzerland , the Netherlands , Belgium , France , Spain , Denmark , Norway and Sweden . In 2011 Johnny Bluth produced the debut CD of the Berlin- based Dutch singer-songwriter Iris Romen . Before that, Romen and Bluth's band had performed together at a Johnny Cash tribute event in Regensburg , where Bluth and Romen performed pieces by Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter together . In October 2011, Johnny Trouble appeared in the opening act for US rockabilly atrice Wanda Jackson .
Style and reviews
Although the band's optics and oeuvre are strongly based on the country rockabilly of the late 1950s, event announcements and scene media regularly emphasize the artistic independence of the formation. Johnny Bluth himself stated in an interview that he personally likes folk and blues performers such as Bob Dylan , Bukka White or Fred McDowell . The band's music itself offers a mix of different styles. In addition to classic rockabilly, there are influences from country, honky tonk , blues and western swing . As a band with a strong live presence, Johnny Trouble is also known to have little fear of contact when it comes to cover interpretations of other pieces. In addition to their own compositions, the band's program includes pieces by Johnny Horton , John Lee Hooker , Motörhead , Johnny Cash standards such as Folsom Prison Blues or the classic western song (Ghost) Riders in the Sky . The local newspaper Der Teckbote. Kirchheimer Zeitung outlined the band's repertoire as follows: “But after a short break we started with guitarist Felix Berchtold, bassist Tall Tony, Pistolero Pepe on the snare drum and Wendl from Ludwigsburg, who already set a musical standard with two instrumentals. before Oliver 'Johnny' Bluth entered the stage with his guitar and perfectly gelled Tolle and immediately hit the chickaboom with 'Rhythm of the Railroad Track'. What then followed was an almost one-hour rockabilly fireworks display in a balanced mixture of the oeuvre of the role models and own compositions, mostly from the pen of front man Johnny Bluth. "
On the occasion of a review of the album That's Love, the Germany-wide scene period Dynamite particularly emphasized the authenticity of the music: “The current album by Johnny Trouble from Dettingen unter Teck shows that Swabians can even speak country. Perhaps the last cowboy from the outskirts of the Swabian Alb proves on 'That's Love' as a songwriter and musician a remarkable feeling for rockabilly-heavy country sound. Little stories about loneliness, bad women and heartbreak are served here with classical instrumentation (rhythm and lead guitar, double bass, drums) and a strong pinch of gnarled humor. Mr. Trouble's fondness for Johnny Cash is obvious and yet he manages to give his songs independence. "
Discography
Albums
- 2008: The Rhythm Of The Railroadtrack
- 2009: Johnny Trouble - Starring As Rambling Man
- 2011: Rainy Days
- 2014: That's Love
- 2019: Rehearsals
Singles
- 2013: Prison Bound / Lonesome Guitar
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Johnny Trouble & The Rambling Men , band biography at Bandliste.de, accessed on October 26, 2014 (engl.)
- ↑ a b Johnny Trouble and Band ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Text on the band biography, accessed here on: Event website glemseck101.de on October 26, 2014
- ↑ Johnny Bluth & Iris Romen play JR & , event website urbanite, accessed on October 26, 2014
- ↑ If you're looking for trouble… , rockabilly-online.com, February 25, 2011 (Eng.)
- ↑ Rockabilly fireworks . Heinz Böhler, The Teckbote. Kirchheimer Zeitung, December 12, 2011
- ↑ Dynamite Music Magazin, issue 08/2014
