This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
- The Doors
Well my ROCK HEAVY friends, the time has come for saying goodbye. Yes, it is true, after over 10 years of ROCK -n- The Country, I (Ricky) am leaving Whiskey Johnson. It was a difficult decision to make but in the end I feel it is time for a change in my life both personal and musically. I have many, many, many wonderful & fond memories of playing with these guys to last 10 ten life times and have L-O-V-E-D every minute of my time playing with some the best musicians and friends the good Lord above ever decided to bless a guy like me with. I can't believe an idea I had back 1997 of having band where everyone is the lead singer/entertainer would ever grow to be something so f*cking cool...it blows my mind thinking about it. Sure, in the beginning, we had our hard times; played many shows for almost no one and thought many times of just packing it in. Something always told me and this philosophy stands to this day with WJ, "if you play it, they will come", just like that wonderful film "Field of Dreams". We all put in a lot of hard work to get this band off the ground. We've had a few line up changes during our 10 years together but those most of those individuals are STILL real good friends. Time marches on though...(first of many song references, sorry) and things change; I fell the music scene is changing an is due for a huge change, kind of like the early 90's when Grunge was king...you have to admit, there were some pretty cool tunes coming out of Seattle. Country music will always hold a special place in my heart, as will the memories of Whiskey Johnson and our many fans/friends. I've met some pretty cool people over the years, established some great friendships (Brenda & Wayne, Les & Jen, just to name a few) some people welcomed the band into their own home like we part of the family...and still do to this day. Facing the reality of losing my own mother, Diane Ruth Rahnasto Halverson, has changed me for the rest of my life and this really woke me up to what is most important in life and should've been all along...family. People tend to caught up in their own "lives" and I am no different. Trying to build this band and get our name out there cost me more than I can ever replace with the "fame" I had with WJ. I missed out on so many family events: birthdays, holidays, funerals of loved ones and that is something I now know can never be replaced or something I will ever get back...I would trade it all in a second just to able to tell my Mom that I love her and that I'm sorry I wasn't around much...I'm getting bummed out now so I will stop here and continue this blog later...Cheers!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Alcohaulin-Ass!
Hey y'all...this where I would usually write how the weekend and I fully intend to but I just had to post this on our blog: a review of the Firehouse gig courtesy of Gary (the sound-man extraordinaire...I'm not joking this guy's awesome!) and the fine folks at Weekly Musician.com (Hollywood & Norm)Be sure to check out their site for what's happening and who's playing where...
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Are you sure that's "Whiskey Johnson"?
Well I had heard them in the past, but only briefly and usually only when I wasn't working, and hey I don't spend much time in a bar when I'm not working. But after 2 nights of antics and crowd fueled mayhem I propose at least an addendum to the name if not an outright change! I think once whiskey might have played a large part in the bands palate..that and BEER!"beer is good beer is good beer is good!"! but now I think it should be "Jagermeister Johnson"! ( hey! then you could be JJ for short!) I mean I had heard that theses guys drink and all but the stage looked like an explosion in booze factory! I can definitely see why Chad loves to have these guys "in the house" they definitely "bring the mayhem" when they stroll in the door! Even with mother nature at her cruelest Friday night there was a good crowd. But Saturday.. Holy Crap! DAMN the torpedo's, batten down the hatches and prepare for heavy rolls! Standing room only! Those folks were here to party!
Now I'm sure it comes as no surprise that these guys have a reputation to uphold! That's right I didn't say "have a reputation", it goes WAAYYY beyond that my friends. These guys don't just BRING the party they ARE the party! If rumors are true, then who drinks more? The band or the crowd! Well I have heard that they really fall apart as the evening goes on and the booze goes down. Ya I guess I saw some of that, and ya they had had a while off and only had one gig since 2007, but these guys are fun, down and dirty, and they do a pretty darn good job of having fun! They also whip the crowd into a frenzy and keep them on edge all night! I guess I wonder what they would have been like if they had been playing regularly!I mean they were a little rusty on some songs! hell, they completely fell apart on more than one occasion, but made fun of themselves in the process and came right back with a blistering version of this or that and generally rocked the house all weekend. There were some signs of confusion, and some disharmony, but that is to be expected with a long layoff, but the harmonies were thick and lush and the instrument work was good. Ricky is a mean chicken picker, and Dave! well Dave is just ..well Dave! A hilarious, crazy, bombastic, electrifying, and totally bizarre front man! Geez Dave, have a good time will ya.. I mean DAMN my KIDS don't have that much energy! Lyle, holding down the bass and singing a fair number of leads and harmonies as well. Chris, the newest member of the band is rock solid on drums, and sings harmonies as well. They alluded to the fact that they are all related, somehow! but ya, they're a family, and the crowd is treated as family as well. I think that is what has made these guys so popular. They have as much fun with the crowd as they do with themselves!
All right so lets get to the dirt! For some time now I have wanted to revamp my monitor system! well it HAS to be done! I was having a hell-of -a- time with the monitor rig trying to get enough out of it for these guys and truth be told I had some feedback.. geez I never have feedback, and I was having a hard time pinpointing it! I am going to end up bi-amping the monitors to try and get more out of them. That will allow me to have far greater control of the sound and much greater gain before feedback. We all know as musicians we are DEAF AS A STONE! but DAMN! LOL oh well, I will emerge from this better, and stronger. One big problem as I have railed before on many occasions is a lack of a proper sound check! It makes all the difference in the world, and helps to prevent such occurrences. But life is often cruel, and no one ever said it was fair, so suck it up and "get er done"! I found out I have some "holes" I need to patch and I will persevere! NEXT time guys! You thought it was loud THIS time! To quote your own page! Fugheddaboutit! Next time it will be different! Better, so come prepared to "Rock the house" I'll be ready, willin' and ready to blow holes in Volkswagens!
Dirty deeds...An addendum to the "Jager Johnson" band story!
Ah yes and the culmination of that phrase! Compliments of some rabid AC DC fan no doubt! "Done with sheep!" and yes, before you get your hackles up there is a corollary here. I gather there might be some "inside joke here" as well but Dave was somewhat ceremoniously presented with an "anatomically correct" blow up sheep ..er.."bedroom toy" to the strains of the AC DC song "Dirty Deeds". I say somewhat only because they might have made a bigger deal of it, (the presentation that is) especially since I get the impression that Dave is somewhat of a prankster in his own right! At any rate, Dave graciously accepted the symbol of a bygone era when "Men were men, women were scared and so were the sheep" and very UNCERIMONIOUSLY mounted said sheep on the "BUTT" end of his mic stand. This was soon insufficient and Ricky, trying hard not to be outdone, attempted to insert his telecaster up the errant sheep's wazoo,only to again be usurped by Dave who appeared to mount the somewhat shocked looking quadrupedal, ruminant mammal, and in true cowboy fashion and proceeded to ride the cloven-hoofed beast around the stage as if he were being drug behind the poor frightened animal.
I will grant you this, that sheep held up pretty well under the pummeling it took that night, and of course that offered these cowboy kooks one more good opportunity to wreak havoc on an already shellshock crowd. This mayhem brought screams of joy and laughter from the crowd which seemed to have an uncanny sense of clairvoyance in unraveling the mysteries of some of the profound things that happened both on stage and "in the house". It was clear to this intrepid reporter that nothing would REALLY surprise this crowd especially, if Dave was involved in the shenanigans!
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My review will posted on here shortly but if you there either night or both of 'em, we'd love to hear your thoughts about how it went, how much fun you had or not and what you think worked or needs to change? We want feedback from you our friends/fans so we continue to ROCK HEAVY and keep the music going!!!!!
Thanks and we'll see you at the next show,
Ricky (Lead Chicken-Picker)
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Are you sure that's "Whiskey Johnson"?
Well I had heard them in the past, but only briefly and usually only when I wasn't working, and hey I don't spend much time in a bar when I'm not working. But after 2 nights of antics and crowd fueled mayhem I propose at least an addendum to the name if not an outright change! I think once whiskey might have played a large part in the bands palate..that and BEER!"beer is good beer is good beer is good!"! but now I think it should be "Jagermeister Johnson"! ( hey! then you could be JJ for short!) I mean I had heard that theses guys drink and all but the stage looked like an explosion in booze factory! I can definitely see why Chad loves to have these guys "in the house" they definitely "bring the mayhem" when they stroll in the door! Even with mother nature at her cruelest Friday night there was a good crowd. But Saturday.. Holy Crap! DAMN the torpedo's, batten down the hatches and prepare for heavy rolls! Standing room only! Those folks were here to party!
Now I'm sure it comes as no surprise that these guys have a reputation to uphold! That's right I didn't say "have a reputation", it goes WAAYYY beyond that my friends. These guys don't just BRING the party they ARE the party! If rumors are true, then who drinks more? The band or the crowd! Well I have heard that they really fall apart as the evening goes on and the booze goes down. Ya I guess I saw some of that, and ya they had had a while off and only had one gig since 2007, but these guys are fun, down and dirty, and they do a pretty darn good job of having fun! They also whip the crowd into a frenzy and keep them on edge all night! I guess I wonder what they would have been like if they had been playing regularly!I mean they were a little rusty on some songs! hell, they completely fell apart on more than one occasion, but made fun of themselves in the process and came right back with a blistering version of this or that and generally rocked the house all weekend. There were some signs of confusion, and some disharmony, but that is to be expected with a long layoff, but the harmonies were thick and lush and the instrument work was good. Ricky is a mean chicken picker, and Dave! well Dave is just ..well Dave! A hilarious, crazy, bombastic, electrifying, and totally bizarre front man! Geez Dave, have a good time will ya.. I mean DAMN my KIDS don't have that much energy! Lyle, holding down the bass and singing a fair number of leads and harmonies as well. Chris, the newest member of the band is rock solid on drums, and sings harmonies as well. They alluded to the fact that they are all related, somehow! but ya, they're a family, and the crowd is treated as family as well. I think that is what has made these guys so popular. They have as much fun with the crowd as they do with themselves!
All right so lets get to the dirt! For some time now I have wanted to revamp my monitor system! well it HAS to be done! I was having a hell-of -a- time with the monitor rig trying to get enough out of it for these guys and truth be told I had some feedback.. geez I never have feedback, and I was having a hard time pinpointing it! I am going to end up bi-amping the monitors to try and get more out of them. That will allow me to have far greater control of the sound and much greater gain before feedback. We all know as musicians we are DEAF AS A STONE! but DAMN! LOL oh well, I will emerge from this better, and stronger. One big problem as I have railed before on many occasions is a lack of a proper sound check! It makes all the difference in the world, and helps to prevent such occurrences. But life is often cruel, and no one ever said it was fair, so suck it up and "get er done"! I found out I have some "holes" I need to patch and I will persevere! NEXT time guys! You thought it was loud THIS time! To quote your own page! Fugheddaboutit! Next time it will be different! Better, so come prepared to "Rock the house" I'll be ready, willin' and ready to blow holes in Volkswagens!
Dirty deeds...An addendum to the "Jager Johnson" band story!
Ah yes and the culmination of that phrase! Compliments of some rabid AC DC fan no doubt! "Done with sheep!" and yes, before you get your hackles up there is a corollary here. I gather there might be some "inside joke here" as well but Dave was somewhat ceremoniously presented with an "anatomically correct" blow up sheep ..er.."bedroom toy" to the strains of the AC DC song "Dirty Deeds". I say somewhat only because they might have made a bigger deal of it, (the presentation that is) especially since I get the impression that Dave is somewhat of a prankster in his own right! At any rate, Dave graciously accepted the symbol of a bygone era when "Men were men, women were scared and so were the sheep" and very UNCERIMONIOUSLY mounted said sheep on the "BUTT" end of his mic stand. This was soon insufficient and Ricky, trying hard not to be outdone, attempted to insert his telecaster up the errant sheep's wazoo,only to again be usurped by Dave who appeared to mount the somewhat shocked looking quadrupedal, ruminant mammal, and in true cowboy fashion and proceeded to ride the cloven-hoofed beast around the stage as if he were being drug behind the poor frightened animal.
I will grant you this, that sheep held up pretty well under the pummeling it took that night, and of course that offered these cowboy kooks one more good opportunity to wreak havoc on an already shellshock crowd. This mayhem brought screams of joy and laughter from the crowd which seemed to have an uncanny sense of clairvoyance in unraveling the mysteries of some of the profound things that happened both on stage and "in the house". It was clear to this intrepid reporter that nothing would REALLY surprise this crowd especially, if Dave was involved in the shenanigans!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My review will posted on here shortly but if you there either night or both of 'em, we'd love to hear your thoughts about how it went, how much fun you had or not and what you think worked or needs to change? We want feedback from you our friends/fans so we continue to ROCK HEAVY and keep the music going!!!!!
Thanks and we'll see you at the next show,
Ricky (Lead Chicken-Picker)
Friday, April 4, 2008
What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been...
Hey everybody, how have y'all been? It's been a long time since I posted anything on the blog but I couldn't think of a better title than to borrow one from one of the coolest bands around, the Grateful Dead. 10 years...man I can hardly believe it, it seems like only yesterday we were playing one of our first show at the Silverado Saloon for a handful of people, thinking this may have been a big mistake with trying to have our own band after all the success Ryan & I had with Ray Jr, & the I-95 Band. In the beginning, we had a lot of long nights and there were times when we just wanted to pack it up & get real jobs and stop fooling ourselves. There were nights when we shut 'er down @ midnight because we either playing to the same "drunks" that had been there since noon or just bar personnel...depressing but "that's how it goes playing in a band"; you've gotta pay your dues, take your lumps, pick yourself up & dust yourself off and get back on that horse. Growing where we did, music was the only thing that kept us out of trouble and a lot our parents played music or instruments so this was bound to happen. I can remember watching my dad and his brothers sitting around a fire, drinking beers and picking some guitar and thought it was the coolest thing in the world...right there I knew what I wanted to do: PLAY GUITAR. I got my first guitar when I was 13 or 14 and it wasn't long after "driving my friends crazy with my one-note, one-string riffs" that I surpassed my dad and his brothers in prowess on the guitar but I couldn't sing a lick. I focused on the guitar more than anything else in my life, except for football and other sports. Alright, enough about my life....After about 3-4 years of "paying dues" things really started to happen for WJ and we started playing more high-profile gigs like street dances (I can still remember my first street dance booking like it was yesterday) and other things like that. We even started playing at the bars our folks used to go to when we were younger and that was a little surreal but also cool. As most of you know, with all of the good that was happening for us, there had to be some bad spots as well...losing band members, gigs being cancelled due to the economy and DJ's/Karaoke taking the spotlight 'cuz it was cheaper to have that than book "live music". We've played hundreds of shows and I would say 90-95% were really good and a lot of fun...we got to play WE-FEST, KICK'n UP KOUNTRY, the 1st Moondance Jammin Country Fest (and we're going back this year too!) and a lot more. When will it all end, I can't say but I will enjoy it while it lasts and I'm able to do it so when I'm old & gray I can say it was one hell of a ride and I wouldn't trade one single thing...one single minute of it for the world.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Wild & Wooly Weekend
Hey everyone, yeah I know it's been awhile since the last post but as they say "better late than never" right? Well, this weekend's show at the Firehouse was very interesting to say the least and full of fun, good music and some challenges. First off, we had our original drummer Jimmy-Ben-Jammin' with us for Friday's show and we had a b-l-a-s-t; we played some old songs we haven't done since Lyle started and some of the ones we used to perform when we were just starting out...good times. Saturday was full of chills (I was sicker than a dog: temp of about 100 and spraying Chlrolaseptic Throat Spray before each set and literally shivering the whole damn night), thrills (Dave was attending to some personal business and didn't arrive until later in the night), spills (someone spilled Lyle's beer...how rude) and more. I thought it went well; in fact, I thought it went better than I had expected with our buddy Bergie filling in a guitar and singing a few tunes. We even kept a theme going thru the weekend by having Louie, Jim's replacement, filling in for the night. All in all the weekend was fun, although stressful and challenging at times, and I'm ready for a little break so I can shake the f#@kin' cold and get back to learning some more new tunes. We're still going thru the "list" and weeding out some of the so-so tunes for new ones & some good ol' rock songs that we love to play too. Until next time, keep on keepin on and we'll see ya at the show!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Enough rest...it's time to R-O-C-K!!!!!!!
Well, we're are almost done with our "hiatus" and are getting ready to take the show on the road again this summer...finally, but it's been great...getting some fishing in, a little golfing and spending time with the family. We'll be rehearsing for the Moondance Jammin' Country Fest in two weeks (got your tickets yet?) and we have some great gigs coming up next weekend: Friday the 22nd, Cohasset Fire Dept. "Hook & Ladder" Dance at Portage Park. Always great fun and we are very honored to be a part of it every year and help Dewey and the boys. Saturday night is the "Concert at the Creek" and I'm not sure what is going to happen at that one...but it will be fun & exciting! I've been working on some new covers that are on the radio now...some Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, and Brad Paisley. I can't for y'all to come out and hear them cuz' it's been awhile since we've learned anything new due to a lot of personal issues with band members and getting a new drummer (although he's not really new anymore, I mean it's been almost 7 months or so since he started with us) and Chris has fit in perfectly and beyond expectation with this band. Well, I should go (and grab myself something domestic, light & cold) but keep checking with the website for new dates, news, gig reviews, and all things ROCK HEAVY!!!!!!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Shallow Thoughts From A Deep Mind
Don't buy too much into the title of this posting...I couldn't think of any titles that were clever.
Well, we have a few gigs left before we start our Summer tour and we are looking forward to it. The reason why is simple: we won't be playing in ANY bars this summer. No indoor shows, weddings; just festivals, street dances and things like that. Speaking of weddings, we have officially played our last one; yep, we won't be doing any more weddings at all...never again...'nuff said.
We go back to the 'Creek this weekend for some fun & games...should be a good one and we won't be back there until mid-June. We have about 7 shows total this summer (give or take) and that leaves us some time to do other things like spending time with family, fishing, golfing, camping and a whole lot more. Speaking of golfing, we will have news very soon on this years' Whiskey Johnson Golf Scramble...we raised quite a few bucks last year, hopefully this year we can beat that and have some more cool things like possibly a "live performance" of good ol' WJ...just need to find a venue that would have us come & play and we'll invite some buddies to jam as well.
I will have a "review" of this weekend's gig at the 'Creek and get some more pics up on the website too. Merchandise pictures are coming this week, no if's, and's or but's about it.
We'll see y'all at the 'Creek this weekend and don't forget: next weekend we're at the Firehouse in Coleraine (might as well be our damn second home) and then we won't be around the Iron Range until mid-September...ROCK HEAVY!!!!!!!!
Well, we have a few gigs left before we start our Summer tour and we are looking forward to it. The reason why is simple: we won't be playing in ANY bars this summer. No indoor shows, weddings; just festivals, street dances and things like that. Speaking of weddings, we have officially played our last one; yep, we won't be doing any more weddings at all...never again...'nuff said.
We go back to the 'Creek this weekend for some fun & games...should be a good one and we won't be back there until mid-June. We have about 7 shows total this summer (give or take) and that leaves us some time to do other things like spending time with family, fishing, golfing, camping and a whole lot more. Speaking of golfing, we will have news very soon on this years' Whiskey Johnson Golf Scramble...we raised quite a few bucks last year, hopefully this year we can beat that and have some more cool things like possibly a "live performance" of good ol' WJ...just need to find a venue that would have us come & play and we'll invite some buddies to jam as well.
I will have a "review" of this weekend's gig at the 'Creek and get some more pics up on the website too. Merchandise pictures are coming this week, no if's, and's or but's about it.
We'll see y'all at the 'Creek this weekend and don't forget: next weekend we're at the Firehouse in Coleraine (might as well be our damn second home) and then we won't be around the Iron Range until mid-September...ROCK HEAVY!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Partyin' Up in the Frozen Tundra!!!
Hello everyone, sorry I haven't been to good with posting our gig coverage. I'm tryin' though so cut me some f#@kin' slack (LOL). This past weekend up in Roseau was so awesome I can hardly write about it because I'm still coming down from all of the excitement. We had a blast on Friday and we had more of a listening crowd for the first few sets, which was just fine, and then we tore it up 'til they had us shut 'er down. Saturday we didn't get to practice so we spent half of the day playing that PS2 game "Guitar Hero II" at our friend's house. They were nice enough to put us up for the weekend and feed us...brave folks to have a band like ours stay at their house. Back to game, we all tried it and after a few times we got the hang of it. Dave, Chris and I were playing the game (when AJ & Lyle were nappin') and seeing all of the different tunes that they have on there. After a good nap (important before each show, ask any musician) we had an awesome Walleye dinner and got ready for the evening. When we got to the bar @ 8:45 pm, it was already packed and full of people ready to have a good time. We tried some new songs for them and they went over pretty good. We finally got some damn law & order on the stage with the help of a "set-list" written by AJ & Dave on their 4 hour quest to get to the show Friday night. I think it really focuses on our performance, sound and talent (you know, before all of the Jager & beer starts to take affect...ha,ha,ha). We are sounding better than we have in awhile and Chris continues to impress folks wherever we go and the band too. This weekend is back at the Firehouse (I don't have to tell you how much fun we have there, so if you never been there, come and check it out. After that is a little break, a wedding and then back to the 'Creek.
See y'all out on the road somewhere...
See y'all out on the road somewhere...
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