JUNIOR JOHNNY BLOWS INTO TOWN WITH THE DRIFTER !
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New York, NY-February 1st marks the release of The Drifter, the sixth album from joumeyman blues
harmonica player, songwriter and vocalist Junior Johnny. The brand new disc includes thirteen soulful original
compositions and some of the best examples yet of Johnny's virtuoso toned blues harp. So how did Johnny Ruzich Jr ., the New York City bred grandson of polka playing Bohemian gypsies, end up devoting his life to Chicago-style blues? Like his playing, Junior Johnny's answer is both delightfully tempestuous and effortlessly profound. "When I heard Muddy Waters, I just freaked out!" he exclaims. After honing his craft in several early '60s teenage garage bands (actually "apartment bands," the neighbor-annoying NYC equivalent), Johnny was drafted and served as a combat MP in Vietnam. When his tour of duty ended, he moved to San Francisco and was soon making a name for himself with now-legendary blues men like Mike Bloomfield and Jimmy Witherspoon. Subsequently, Johnny got his dream gig performing alongside the man who would christen him "Jr. Johnny": the great John Lee Hooker. "Hooker said he wanted me to have a nickname and just gave me one on the spot," Johnny explains. "It stuck." When the twin responsibilities of family and higher education forced him to give up life on the road, Junior Johnny began a series of wildly divergent professions that later gave him grist for his highly descriptive songwriting. "I've been everything from a union carpenter to a winemaster, "he says, "but I just wanna be out there playing!" Johnny is currently busy promoting The Drifter while readying material for his next release.
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