The Swinging Johnsons / Johnson Brothers

INTRODUCTION

The Swinging Johnsons / Johnson Brothers is a club/G.B. (general business) band based in the Boston area. We have performed an average of 210 gigs a year for the last fifteen years, with about 60 of these each year being weddings or corporate events. The band specializes in bridging the gap between the traditional wedding band and the crazy, high-energy club band. Our strength is that we have a working repertoire of over 2,000 songs, spanning the length and breadth of American popular music over the last six decades. We like to say we’ve forgotten more songs than the average band will learn in their lifetime. When we play in the clubs, we never use a set-list, preferring to let each night’s audience decide what they want to hear. This makes for a spontaneous, interactive musical journey each time we take the stage.

We always make it a point to have fun wherever we play, and the audience picks up on that energy.  If you don't want to feel like you're "dancing in your dentist's office," make sure you come see the band live before choosing the entertainment for your event.

ABOUT US

The Swinging Johnsons / Johnson Brothers were born in the clubs, not the function hall. While most G.B. bands only play a few times a month for the captive, open bar/buffet wedding/corporate scene, the SJ’s/ JB’s play together four nights/week every week. Unlike 95 percent of the wedding bands out there, the Johnson Brothers are all full-time musicians (no day jobs). While the average wedding band only performs together 20-40 times a year, the JBs play over 200+ shows together over the same length of time, all with the same band members. What you may not know is that the average wedding band is a revolving-door of substitute musicians and singers, necessitating a predictable songlist and stage show. Conversely, the SJ’s/ JB’s are an actual unique musical entity that can effortlessly and spontaneously go from one end of the musical rainbow to the other. There are hundreds of generic wedding bands out there, but there's only one Swinging Johnsons/Johnson Brothers.

ABOUT OUR TWO NAMES

The Swinging Johnsons / Johnson Brothers are the same band. The only difference between the two is whether or not we're adding our fourth and fifth members (keys and sax), and whether or not we’re wearing suits and being well-paid. Seriously, we started using The Johnson Brothers for wedding/corporate events because it seemed less offensive (“No daughter of mine is going to have a band called the Swinging Johnsons play at her wedding,” etc.). The reason we still use both names is that we've done a lot of good work under each one, and we want people to be able to find us when they need us.

BAND MEMBERS

At the heart of the band are the "dueling" Chris's, namely, Chris Marsh (bass and vocals), and Chris Leadbetter (guitar and vocals). These two recently celebrated their 2,600th gig together after more than 13 years (an astounding 4 gigs a week on average) and will reach 2,700 by the end of 2008. Their enormous repertoire and telepathic connection are a testament to these years together in the trenches. Fearlessly following them into battle are Perry James on drums and vocals; Dave Ramsay on keyboards; and Bob Kirby on saxophone and vocals.

(Don’t fall for the “bigger band is better” myth. The average wedding band tries to make up for what they lack in energy and spontaneity by adding a huge horn section, a couple of American Idol-rejects on vocals, and some matching vests.  The five-piece SJ’s/JB’s are popular because they are a real band of musicians, each of whom is carrying their own weight on stage, and are always “in the moment” whenever and wherever they perform.)

NEW: The Swinging Johnsons Appear in a Stephen King Novel!

It seems we've been immortalized in a Stephen King novel, of all places. In Chapter VIII, part 5 of his latest novel, Lisey's Story, the band is first mentioned:

Then, on the next page, it continues:

And finally, in Chapter XVI, part 10, King brings us back:

Copyright 2006 Stephen King

Anyway, we're guessing the horror-meister was at one of the Maine weddings we did over the years, and was nice enough to mention us by name. Thanks, Stephen, and all of our friends and fans who were nice enough to let us know about it.