Interview: Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson is a truly amazing guitarist. But while he certainly has the ability to blow you away with six-string flash and speed, he’s much more about feel, tone, and serving the song.

Such an approach allowed his 1990 guitar-heavy album Ah Via Musicom to become a crossover hit, selling over one million copies. This album included his signature song “Cliffs of Dover” and other gems like “Trademark” and “Righteous”. Other acclaimed albums followed, most recently the 2017 album Collage.

Johnson is revisiting Ah Via Musicom on tour, joined by Kyle Brock on bass and Tommy Taylor on drums, both of whom played on the original album and toured with Johnson after the album first took off. This interview was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for the tour’s 1/24/18 concert at the Majestic Ventura Theater. It was done by phone on 1/8/18. (Max Crace photo)