Photo By: Catherine MacDonald Costner

The John January Band was formed to give birth to this epic LP. Each musician, an army of four, is accomplished. I also had the opportunity to meet them and hear them play live, which animated their album in the best way possible. I had the pleasure of sitting down with John, to discuss his latest album entitled, True.

John January is a force to be reckoned with and each member of the band brings this album to life packing a punch. Pam Rowen supports vocals while playing keyboard and adds that feminine element to balance out all that testosterone surrounding her. Steve Ussery is the massive drummer and vocals; Jim Beck is the badass Bass player also adding vocals to the mix. The guests on the album are John Chambers of The Bayou Brothers on Accordion, Bill Fish, Violin, and Alicia Previn with Violin solo. This album is dedicated to John’s beloved late mother Maxine MacDonald and his cousin, Bob Woods.

John’s mom saw early on that he was passionate about music and began his lessons at the age of seven years old. Both his mom and dad were musical; Maxine played accordion, and John’s dad had a great singing voice. His older brother, Joe, is also his lifetime inspiration due to his eclectic musical tastes and writing abilities. John also took up keyboards, enjoyed playing bass and even drums. Maxine provided John with great teachers as she saw that John was passionate about music.

And man, does it show! His vocals are spot on with a depth and clarity that resonates pure passion with talent. His guitar playing is off the charts, and you can see his early influence of Jimi Hendrix bleed through his fingers when he plays!

The album starts off with the song So Much Going On which alerts you to the upbeat get up and dance vibe that cannot be denied. The big band sound wasn’t intentional but with Pam on keyboards and Steve and Jim in the rhythm section it just leaked in. This is the perfect song to introduce the rest of the songs on this album.

What Do You Want From Me

is the next song on the album which dives into John’s composition abilities as he pleads for “a peaceful transition” in life. John pulls much of his lyrics from personal experiences, especially from relationships, which is what we all can relate to. When Two Hearts Play The Blues is a beautiful rendition—kinda sad, kinda sexy… Solid and great guitar playing which gives it so much depth and feeling.

The next song is One For The Gypsies which is my personal favorite. It speaks to my gypsy soul and the story of love and loss. Drummer Steve also collaborated on writing this piece. For No Good Reason is a bit in your face asking Why? Why? Why? Which you will understand when you listen to it. Blues musician Bill Hoagland inspired this song in a lot of ways and collaborated with John on the lyrics.

Otay Mud brings you back to classic rockn’ ‘blues with a very cool instrumental which was Clapton inspired, followed by a Savoy Brown song Tell Mama which is the only song on the LP that John didn’t write.

The album closes perfectly with the acoustic Gospel of

Goodbye Year bringing it full circle. John went to a desert hot springs in Death Valley when the lyrics came through for this song. There are many layers as he recounts saying goodbye to a past relationship, as well as knowing his mom is always with him so there is no need for goodbyes. His love and gratitude really come through in this song.

One thing I witnessed more than anything after listening to this album and hearing The John January Band play live is the extreme passion John has as he’s mastered his craft and is ready to take his passion to new heights.

I encourage everyone to listen to True and if you are listening to it via streaming please give it a great review. It is very apparent that these accomplished musicians put their heart and soul into every note, and I look forward to what the future holds. Also, if you get a chance to hear them play live go see them. They are a blast! I’m looking forward to them winning the San Diego Music Awards Best Album category for next year so be on the look out and vote.

You can also check out their website, johnjanuaryband.com for updates and events

P.S. An all blues album is in the works…

By: ~ 3rdEyeScribe ~ Dana Plant / BackStage360