Today, we’d like to introduce you to Chris Johnson.
Hi Chris, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
In the 1990s, I was the lead guitarist for the Madison, Wisconsin band “Leading the Blind in Madison”https://open.spotify.com/artist/2FEfe21YUFsIWc4mVCVEXLsi=foenDBQWRaOVLtcJXL2HMw.
We recorded an album in 1995 and are now slowly releasing it on streaming services. It is very ’90s grunge if you are into that. I left the band to pursue my studies in science. I spent the next 20 years studying geology, rock climbing, and skiing in the western United States.
About seven years ago, I started playing guitar again and learned how to play jazz piano from an excellent local Salt Lake jazz pianist and music professor, Dan Waldis, https://open.spotify.com/artist/130nLY8MagvzwNA3m5xAP4?si=lHemJ8zgTbOvuLT7scvX1w.
During this time, I was writing a lot of little jingles and mini instrumental songs but I would forget them. So, I started learning how to record them to remember and work on the songs more. I learned more about recording and eventually built a home studio. I started writing full instrumental songs in this home studio with melodic electric guitar and jazzy Fender Rhodes vibes.
I release these as “Ottawa Steel” – https://open.spotify.com/artist/4WLwfSvoYi76CxWuOahwdZ?si=W4qNnz1BSaWVWDT-DkQclQ under my record label “Sherman Avenue Records” – https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ckx29mu5X80ooSIVli4xp?si=e2106914c6674877. As I developed my audio engineering, mixing, and mastering experience, I started collaborating with Toni Sicola, who is an incredible singer-songwriter in Moab, UT –https://open.spotify.com/artist/7pwD1xkONSXmVxAqD4Mz0k?si=FtnKDXe2REG3tNusmUyBew.
She is an amazing singer. I produced her last three songs and we have another on the way. She writes the songs with her bandmates in Moab, Don Casler on drums, and Brian Vasquez on bass. I play guitar on them and help with the arrangement. I’m also the producer, audio engineer, mix engineer, and mastering engineer.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My wife and I have two small kids, two boys 2- and 4-years old.
So it’s hectic finding time. Most of Sherman Avenue Records’ work gets done late at night.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My favorite place is playing lead guitar over chord changes. Playing to the changes as they say. Melodic electric guitar with a little bit of gain. Jazzy. Bluesy. Bar chords. Rooted in American blues, jazz, classic rock, and grunge rock. I love Marshall amps and boutique single-coil pickups such as the Vintage Hots from Lindy Frail – https://www.fralinpickups.com. So good. The only thing I like more than the Marshall amp sound is a the single-ended British-voiced amp I build from a kit from AmpMaker.com with EL34 power tubes.
Even in today’s modern age of amazing-sounding reverb plugins and incredible piano samples, nothing beats the analog sound of a guitar played through an amp with a real vacuum tube pushed by an overdrive pedal and run through an attenuator. By the way, I use Weber attenuators, which are amazing and essential for getting tube tone without damaging my hearing.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My wife, Kathleen Fraser, and kids are amazing and supportive and they let me set up this studio in our shared space. I’d like to thank my old band mates – Zach Brickman, Dan Fraga, and Kai Andersen; our friends who came to all of the shows and lived with us, especially Brian Kirby and Steve Theime. And Chris Brickman of Wave Studios who recorded Leading the Blind in Madison in 1995. Also, Ken Fought in Racine, Wisconsin, taught me so much about guitar and rock n’ roll in the ’80s and ’90s.
Contact Info:
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ckx29mu5X80ooSIVli4xp?si=043a623ac4b4499e
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__cljo__ottawa_steel_music/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=536003471
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@chris_of_ottawa_steel
