Going to see Eric Johnson in DC on Friday !

Enjoy! His playing has always intrigued and entertained me but he's one player that I don't even try emulating. A lot of his voicings and patterns are unattainable with my small fingers. I saw him in 1989ish at a small club when he was promoting Ah Via Musicom. He played and talked about gear and songwriting for over 2 hours. That was a treat, I'm not surprised he's had the success he's had.
 
Gregmang said:
I’m stoked because I’ve never seen him live before and I’ve wanted to for ages - decades actually.

i even managed to turn the gf on to his music !
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That should be great. I have never sen him either but I agree somewhat with JoKeR III about not even trying to get his stuff. His chording is amazing and his picking hand uses like 7 fingers(just exaggerating. The only person I have seen(in videos anyway) get his playing down is Rick Grahm (sp?)-killer player. Use to frequent the forum a while back.

Anyway, Greg, enjoy..... He is one of my favorite players ever-in my top 5, for me, I mean!
 
I saw him on the first ever G3 tour on opening night in Concord, California. Great night with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani!

About a year or so ago he did a tour celebrating the anniversary of Ah Via Musicom by playing the full album (plus other material) with the original band from back then.

I saw that show in Sacramento - it was fantastic! He's so damn good... But loud!

A few months ago I saw him again as part of the Experience Hendrix show.

I don't think you'll be disappointed :)
 
Stratman68 said:
That should be great. I have never sen him either but I agree somewhat with JoKeR III about not even trying to get his stuff. His chording is amazing and his picking hand uses like 7 fingers(just exaggerating. The only person I have seen(in videos anyway) get his playing down is Rick Grahm (sp?)-killer player. Use to frequent the forum a while back.

Anyway, Greg, enjoy..... He is one of my favorite players ever-in my top 5, for me, I mean!
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Andy Timmons, Ian Thornley and Joe Bonnamasa often include EJ-isms in their playing.

Andy said at Vai Academy that he had to make sure not to listen to too much EJ or he'd end up sounding like him ;)
 
unix-guy said:
Andy Timmons, Ian Thornley and Joe Bonnamasa often include EJ-isms in their playing.

Andy said at Vai Academy that he had to make sure not to listen to too much EJ or he'd end up sounding like him ;)
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Hi Unix Guy,
I should have elaborated. I was not including "famous Pro's" in my comment about his style. Joe B. definitely and others dive in and out of his style.
I mentioned Rick Grahm meaning a lesser known great guitar player.
 
I've had the privilege of seeing him live a few times and will be seeing him in Atlanta in a couple of weeks. I've seen him as a solo act with just an acoustic and a piano and I've seen him with a full band...either way, it was always a memorable show!
 
I've seen Eric Johnson a number of times and he has always been spectacular. Such an awesomely talented musician and guitar player. Some of his more recent shows featured more acoustic guitar and him playing piano. Those are sides of his musical talent I wasn't really aware of years ago. He really has been under-rated or should I say that he appeals more to a cult following of fellow musicians more than he appeals to the masses. I've seen him play in some pretty small places and I fail to understand why he isn't playing to 10,000 seat halls. A truly incredible player.
 
I’m catching him next week here in Ft. Lauderdale. This will be my 3rd EJ show. Caught him a couple years ago on the Ah Via Musicom anniversary tour and back on the first G3 tour up in Boston. His tone just puts me into a dream world, it’s the most calming thing I can listen to. I WISH my wife would get into him, however, she’s not keen on Eric’s voice and instrumental music doesn’t do much for her, unless it’s Tool....and they can do no wrong in her book.

As far as copping his playing, I can do some of the 5-note cascading runs and the string skipping stuff, but his clean chord work is just on another level. When I first started playing my uncle handed me his Total Electric Guitar VHS and said “Have fun!”, I had been playing for maybe 6 months and I was just in awe. Obviously, the playing was way too above my skill level, but I took a lot of things into practice, like his bounce technique with the right hand and muting tips. I really need to get a good copy of that on DVD, if it’s available.
 
RevDrucifer said:
I’m catching him next week here in Ft. Lauderdale. This will be my 3rd EJ show. Caught him a couple years ago on the Ah Via Musicom anniversary tour and back on the first G3 tour up in Boston. His tone just puts me into a dream world, it’s the most calming thing I can listen to. I WISH my wife would get into him, however, she’s not keen on Eric’s voice and instrumental music doesn’t do much for her, unless it’s Tool....and they can do no wrong in her book.

As far as copping his playing, I can do some of the 5-note cascading runs and the string skipping stuff, but his clean chord work is just on another level. When I first started playing my uncle handed me his Total Electric Guitar VHS and said “Have fun!”, I had been playing for maybe 6 months and I was just in awe. Obviously, the playing was way too above my skill level, but I took a lot of things into practice, like his bounce technique with the right hand and muting tips. I really need to get a good copy of that on DVD, if it’s available.
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It's available on DVD. He also did another one a few years later for Hal Leonard called The Art of Guitar. Anything of his is highly recommended!
 
unix-guy said:
Check this out:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/andy-wood-teaches-ej-bonnamasa-style.159041/post-1900076
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Yes, it's possible to emulate some of Eric Johnson's sound and style. Most guitar players get wrapped up in the scale runs and speed which can be accomplished with different fingerings, picking techniques and a lot of practice. What I enjoy most about his playing though, and was alluding to, is the chord voicings he uses, a lot of which simply cannot be done with small to average hands. Don't know too many people who can comfortably fret the bottom two or three strings with their thumb over the top of the neck or can span as much of the fretboard as he can.
 
JoKeR III said:
Yes, it's possible to emulate some of Eric Johnson's sound and style. Most guitar players get wrapped up in the scale runs and speed which can be accomplished with different fingerings, picking techniques and a lot of practice. What I enjoy most about his playing though, and was alluding to, is the chord voicings he uses, a lot of which simply cannot be done with small to average hands. Don't know too many people who can comfortably fret the bottom two or three strings with their thumb over the top of the neck or can span as much of the fretboard as he can.
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The dude’s got those bulbous fingertips that seem like they were crafted just for his style and tone. Especially considering he’s been playing vintage Strats with fairly thick necks and still manages to get around them effortlessly. I can’t even attempt that stuff on my JEM because the neck is so wide, I’d imagine it’s not much easier on a tree trunk of a neck.
 
Seeing him in Chattanooga in a few weeks. I saw him on the Jimi Hendrix Experience last year and loved his stuff. Love his voice too.
 
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