Chris Johnson is a singer, songwriter, and rock guitarist with a few hundred bar tabs’ worth of stories to back it up. Midwest raised, Army Infantry hardened, Berklee College of Music educated—then west coast corrupted, seeking fame and fortune via a ’76 Chevy Nova with nowhere to be and a lot of songs to write.
He spent the mid-80s as one of the house guitarists for the legendary Alameda Allstars in the Bay Area, jamming with the likes of Brad Gillis, Danny Chauncey, and Davey Pattison—not a bad classroom.
Since then he’s fronted a string of bands—Two Far Down, Citizen, JJ Fate, and southern Wisconsin festival favorite Skyrock—and built a side life as a producer and engineer, fluent in digital music production (ProTools, Logic, Studio One).
His songwriting lives somewhere between melodic hooks and real-life grit, which is a polite way of saying it hits harder than it looks.
Favorite venus/gigs of all time include SummerFest in Milwaukee, with 11 performances . Harley-Davidon's 105th Anniversary Celebration in Milwaukee, opening for Puddle of Mudd, Joan Jett, Blue Oyster Cult and Peter Frampton. Best bar gigs go to Plum Crazy, RJs, Crown & Anchor and the iconic Park Street Saloon in Alameda.
He’s also logged some notable almosts—auditioned for Bay Area fav Billy Satellite, Emi Canyn in LA, and came this close to Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, who hired somebody before he even got in the room. Turns out ‘almost’ doesn’t pay the bar tab.
He currently calls the upper midwest home, where he lives with his wife, his dogs, and a guitar collection his wife is starting to notice.