About Me
Here is something written by the lovely and talented Debbie Hall. Thanks Deb! The Gospel According to The Rev. Dr. Johnny Mac “A religious experience†describes a Rev. Dr. Johnny Mac performance. If you scan the crowd during one of The Rev.’s shows, you’ll see bodies undulating, sweat dripping, hands waving and jaws dropping as he whips the audience into a frenzy in true revival fashion. His voice emanates from a special place familiar to those who have experienced intense pain, sorrow, joy, and anger. His guitar work is masterful, powerful, and intense. A true performer, The Rev. oozes sensuality—leaving women, and even men, wanting more. Many a straight man has confessed to having a “guy crush†on this extraordinary artist. A sensory trifecta, The Rev. Dr. Johnny Mac will amaze your ears, eyes, and soul. True to his Southern roots, The Rev’s musical career began at the age of three while playing gospel and church hymns on the piano and listening to George Jones and Merle Haggard with his father. Beyond his Southern roots as the son of a military family, The Rev.’s influences expanded with his world, bringing Motown and the British invasion to his AM radio in Hawaii. The Rev. received his first acoustic guitar from his father while he was serving in the Vietnam War, and so it began. Through the years, the music took The Rev. to Memphis, Austin, and finally Los Angeles, where fate took a strange turn. Just as he was contemplating joining Koko Taylor’s band, an accident caused him to lose a fingertip on his fret hand, putting his plans and playing on hiatus. Today, The Rev. picks and slides better than most people with all 10 fingers. As Griel Marcus, Harry Smith aficionado says, “The weirdness means the story will always be new.†True to that statement and like a preacher ministering to his flock, The Rev. Dr. Johnny Mac’s message is the human experience, in all its weirdness, calamity, and humor; and it’s new every time. If you’re not human, you won’t get it. His repertoire can be described as soul stew. The Rev. defies convention by crossing the borders of genre. He can take a pop ballad by the Bee Gees and turn it into his own unique brand of passionate and poignant testimony, followed by a purist rendition of Muddy Waters’ “Rollin and Tumblin,†topped off by a steaming, hot version of The Rolling Stones’ “Monkey Man.†His original music is exceptional and just as varied. Johnny Mac has been compared to Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter, Billy Gibbons, Duane Allman and Stevie Ray Vaughn, to name but a few. Beyond mere blues guitar, The Rev. Dr. Johnny Mac is something much more. As dark as the night, as bright as the sun, as cold as the grave and as hot as the fires of Hell. Testify Ya'll!
