And Now, on the Bass, Johnnie Gilmore
Sonic Smoothie
English - January 09, 2021 09:39 - 1 hour - 71.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsMusic Interviews Music Comedy Comedy Interviews Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Today, Russ Stone, the same person who accidently made 10 cups of coffee for 2 people this morning, talks with Johnnie Gilmore, the one man bass band from Boston.
We saw Johnnie, now based out of L.A., during his tour of the East Coast in a New York venue sometime in late 2018. While on stage, Johnnie was hidden by a mob of club patrons that covered him like a wave. Eventually we pushed our way through, and we were stunned; on the platform, the spectacle was a tall guy with curly hair, pouring all of his essence into an electric bass. We suspect Johnnie must have heard the old saying, "music is only 3 chords and the truth", and then he decided to swap the "3 chords" for "4 strings".
Don't worry: the obvious question was asked immediately in this one: "Why the bass?"
And Johnnie said: "It was an accident."
Johnnie started playing piano with his Mother as a kid and then took up the trumpet and guitar, but as he matured, so did his deep, fuming love of hard rock. The issue was: piano on hard rock is too gentle, and Johnnie's 2 big hands made the classical guitar too difficult.
When Johnnie was at a music shop at age 15, he plucked a bass off the wall and played the only bass riff he knew; "So What" by Myles Davis. Hypnotic, stunning melodies and a gorgeous, vulnerable approach to the songs he writes. A team player, a brilliant solo artist, and an all around hilarious and warm human, we can't wait to see where Johnnie's rare ability takes him next.
Russ and Jonnie talk about the moments where "all the stars align", a new EP during lockdown, Boston sports, and dinosaurs.
Plus, Russ and Johnnie come up with an idea to slow down traffic on a successful album with press releases that are exclusively written in emojis!
Keep up with Johnnie by visiting his website and following him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!
And, purchase the eclectic new EP When You Come Home featuring "Vineyard Roads", the wildly moving and gorgeous single as heard in today's episode HERE.