In memory of a friend
Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 1:11 pm
Found out this morning that a friend of mine, Jeff Johnson, passed away Sunday:
http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/event ... /id/45961/
I met Jeff when I was hired on to manage the guitar & amp department of a music store where he worked back in the mid 80's. Even though I was "officially" the manager, it was clear that Jeff was the guy in the know. We never clashed over control and I, like many, was won over by his charisma, clarity of vision and what seemed to be an acute sense of fair play.
Jeff was beginning to focus more on his band, "Tatters", which was in the process of evolving into "Another Carnival". I had recently gotten off the road after a decade of playing cover music full time. I admired Jeff for playing original music. It was the more difficult fork in the road as far as immediate livelihood went, but the only one with a potential future. And, I liked the songs he wrote.
Another Carnival had a video played on MTV (back when MTV was actually about music). Fortunately, someone has salvaged the long lost archives and posted them on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sevenlines1987/videos
Watching and listening to "Still" ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCAOt88X ... WSViZ4OttZ ) brings back fond memories.
Another Carnival dissolved in dispute too soon. Somewhere along the line, Jeff took a wrong fork or two. He wasn't perfect, but he was a great guy. And, by anyone's estimation, 48 years isn't long enough on this planet.
Jeff, your "Unca Dave" will miss you.
Jeff Johnson (guitar) and Pat Farnand (great drummer), who also passed away far too young.
Jeff was the first guy I knew to begin to collect AC30's...and Rickenbackers.
http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/event ... /id/45961/
I met Jeff when I was hired on to manage the guitar & amp department of a music store where he worked back in the mid 80's. Even though I was "officially" the manager, it was clear that Jeff was the guy in the know. We never clashed over control and I, like many, was won over by his charisma, clarity of vision and what seemed to be an acute sense of fair play.
Jeff was beginning to focus more on his band, "Tatters", which was in the process of evolving into "Another Carnival". I had recently gotten off the road after a decade of playing cover music full time. I admired Jeff for playing original music. It was the more difficult fork in the road as far as immediate livelihood went, but the only one with a potential future. And, I liked the songs he wrote.
Another Carnival had a video played on MTV (back when MTV was actually about music). Fortunately, someone has salvaged the long lost archives and posted them on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sevenlines1987/videos
Watching and listening to "Still" ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCAOt88X ... WSViZ4OttZ ) brings back fond memories.
Another Carnival dissolved in dispute too soon. Somewhere along the line, Jeff took a wrong fork or two. He wasn't perfect, but he was a great guy. And, by anyone's estimation, 48 years isn't long enough on this planet.
Jeff, your "Unca Dave" will miss you.
- JJ_PF_AC_Still_001.jpg (96.32 KiB) Viewed 1165 times
- JJ_AC30_Rick_001.jpg (94.5 KiB) Viewed 1165 times