JOHNNY WINTER TATTOOS FULL

Winter may have the fastest right thumb in rock, and when you buy a ticket to one of his shows, you get every nickel’s worth of notes.įor his second selection, Johnny went all the way back to 1945 for Bill Broonzy’s “Rock Me Baby”, a tune he also covered on the excellent Still Alive and Well album of ’73. Johnny headed straight into a rockin’ 12-bar blues jam, with just a drummer and bassist-harp player providing the backdrop for his speed-demon riffs.

JOHNNY WINTER TATTOOS FULL

After a well-received opening set by local party band The Fins, Winter took to the stage in his trademark black cowboy hat, jeans, and a sleeveless jean jacket that revealed arms full of fancy tattoos. He may not sell as many records or draw the crowds that fellow Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan does, but you gotta remember–before Stevie Ray could even copy the Ventures‘ “Pipeline”, Johnny was knocking people dead with lightning fast blues licks and searing slide guitar.Īnd he was doing just that at the Commodore last Friday (September 18) too.

When Johnny was just 15, the two released their first single, “Schoolboy Blues”, and the stage was set for Johnny to become one of the most prominent white blues players in the U.S. It’s also famous for an albino guitarist named Johnny Winter, who grew up in Beaumont, Texas, with a keyboard whiz brother named Edgar. Here's my original review which, I gotta admit, isn't nearly as impressive as the photo of Johnny taken by then-Georgia Straight managing editor Charles Campbell. I remember cramming up to the front of the stage, on the venue's then-bouncy dancefloor, to see the albino bluesman rip it up.

Thirty years ago today-on September 18, 1987-legendary guitarist Johnny Winter played the Commodore Ballroom.

Johnny winter tattoos