Tom Johnson
Keyboards, Vocals, Guitar
Mom made my sister take piano lessons from about the age of 5 or so. She hated them with a passion, but mom made her practice every day. I guess out of boredom I would just sit and listen to her practice. Soon I was picking out the songs by ear. This pissed my sister off to no end. She would sit and practice the songs for hours and struggle to read the music and then I would sit down and figure out what the chords were ( I was also learning guitar at the time) and fake my way through the songs. I don't know if my mom never noticed that my sister hated piano and I loved it, but she never made me take lessons. My sister was forced to take lessons for many years. She still hates the piano to this day.
In high school I had a great music history and theory teacher who encouraged me to keep playing. She would let me into the music room during lunch to play piano. I used to love to go in there and just play for a half hour or so in the middle of the day.
Are you bored yet?
Meanwhile, I was also playing guitar with some high school buddies in a pop, rock, Christian band. We played about 25 or so shows a year at youth groups, summer camps, church picnics, and other Christian special events. We took all of the gig money and pooled it to buy gear. I still have a bunch of that gear today.
In college I played guitar and keyboards and fronted a couple of different rock bands. We played in the frats and bars to very little acclaim.
After college I took a break from playing in bands. I got married and had a couple of kids. Eventually, I decided to get back involved in a band. I bumped into Tracy at The Sound of Music (the music store he works at) and he asked me if I was interested in playing piano for The SideKix Band. I joined late in 2004. I have been blown away by the talent, dedication, and great personalities of this band. I feel very lucky to get to play with such great musicians every week. It is really unusual to find a group this talented outside of Nashville or some other "music" town.
It is tough sometimes to balance work, having time with my wife and kids, and playing every weekend. My wife is the only reason that I am able to keep playing. She is very supportive, although I feel bad about all the time she is stuck at home. I truly appreciate everything she does for me.
Influences:
I love Chuck Leavell. Chuck has played with The Stones, The Allman Brothers, Clapton (he played on Unplugged ), The Black Crowes, Blues Traveler and many more. Just listen to the piano solo on Jessica by The Allman Brothers.
I also love Billy Powel from Lynyrd Skynyrd. His style adds so much to that southern rock sound, I think that's what set them apart from other guitar heavy bands.
Billy Preston is one of my favorite musicians. You can hear him on a couple records called "Let It Be", "Abbey Road", and "The White Album". He toured with the great Ray Charles for many years. He was incredible with Clapton on the "One More Car..." tour a couple of years ago.
I have recently been learning more about the legendary Floyd Cramer. His "slip note" style has always been a natural part of the way I play. His influence has been so broad that now as I go back and listen closer, I can hear where many other players got their style. The most well known of his many, many recordings are "Last Date" and Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel". Mr Cramer died on New Years Eve in 1997.
I love to hear a good B-3 sound, or a Rhodes with just a touch of overdrive, or a Wurlitzer electric piano with a tremolo, but my favorite is a real grand piano. I am not much for synthesizer sounds or anything too electronic sounding, although that stuff does have it's place.
