Johnny B, Lennon Benefits Keep Athens Interesting Over Break
By Matthew Toledo - 11/29/2004
The Ohio University students have left town for the winter, leaving behind plenty of free parking uptown for townies and other visitors. Unfortunately for local music lovers, Athens night clubs and venues become as vacant as a ghost town during the month and a half long winter break. Although things are slow, they aren't completely dead. There are some great musical events planned thanks to the Circle Five Ranch.
December 3rd, The Circle Five Ranch will hold the first of two fundraisers for the Johnny B fund. The show, named "An Evening with the Great Conductor," will be held upstairs at the Blue Gator and will feature The Paranormals , Pat White, Danny Reese, Dave Baer, Sarah Guthrie & The Athens County Ruffians, Stella, John Goettge, Ethan Greene, Chris Biester and more.
The show will also serve as a release party for a CD recorded by Eric "Junebug" Leighton and friends as a tribute to Johnny B’s musical legacy and the lasting impact he has had on the numerous lives that he touched.
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"The Great Conductor" is an album inspired by the 10th anniversary of the death Johnny Bartlett, or "Johnny B", a local musician who served as a friend, mentor and positive musical influence on Junebug, as well as many other individuals. As this anniversary approached, the idea grew to try to pay tribute to Johnny with a show, and the album followed as a logical extension.
The album presents a handful of Junebug’s original tunes, songs from notable Circle 5 songwriters, Dan Purdom and Steve "Joe Bob" Carlson, and a few Johnny B tunes, one co-written with Leighton. The songs feature Junebug singing most of the vocals, with he and his main musical cohort, Catfish, performing all of the instrumental tracks. The intention is for it to be an album in the classic sense, intimating a story or a mood, not just a collection of songs. The overall goal is to pay tribute to the Great Conductor, Johnny B. The album was recorded and produced at the Circle 5 Studios in Athens, OH. by Leighton, with artwork and cover design production provided by Kelly Gaskill.
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December 11th marks the fifth annual John Lennon tribute show which is also sponsored by Junebug and his musician's co-operative, Circle Five Ranch.
Every year for the past five years, local musicians and fans of the the late John Lennon have "come together" to celebrate his legacy and raise money for The Johnny B fund. The show will start at 8:00 PM in order to accommodate all of the people scheduled to play.
This year Junebug plans to record as much of the show as possible for inclusion on the Circle Five web site. Many of the bands playing that night are one time musical projects formed by local and regional musicians for the express purpose of covering the works of John Lennon. In addition, the following full time bands are slated to perform: Stella, Geraldine, and The Dragline Brothers. Columbus singer-songwriter Ryan Horns has an incredible voice that has often been compared to John Lennon in several reviews of his Columbus based band, The Last Hotel.
The exact schedule is not yet available.
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The Johnny B Fund was set up in Johnny’s name to help young musicians on their way by helping to pay for lessons, instruments, and whatever else may set them on the good road towards a healthy musical life. Inquiries about (tax deductible) donations to the Johnny B Fund can be addressed to johnnybfund@circle5.org.
