About Me
* PLEASE NOTE: This MySpace page is currently moderated by Michigan Mike (from NedFest). I designed the page because the band doesn't have a website at the moment. Blackdog approved it and I will give him or Dave the keys to this car (ie the password and and username) if they decide they want it. Until that time, personal messages likely won't reach them, although no inbound e-mail messages will be deleted. Thanks!
Individual Band Member Bios:
Dave Johnston, born in Aurora, Illinois, spent his extra-curricular time at the University of Illinois learning banjo. One year after he started he was out playing gigs. His first ensemble was a group called Giblet Gravy. Some of the members split off with Dave to form The Bluegrassholes which fell apart due to other members differing sense of priorities (i.e. finishing school). Dave decided that he needed to move to the Northwest in order to hone his banjo playing and was eventually drawn to Nederland, Colorado's acoustic music scene. Yonder Mountain String Band has created further opportunities for Dave to stretch out on the banjo and become an even more progressive and improvisational player. Dave's goal is to become an ambassador of acoustic-related music as well as a respected player within the strict bluegrass idiom.
John Ridnell, during his first cross-country tour in 1991, was four songs into his set in a St. Louis joint called Blueberry Hill when a guitar player named Chuck Berry walked in. Soon after, Ridnell coaxed the legendary Berry into doing a few numbers. Berry took Ridnell's guitar “and tore the house up†with Johnnye B. Goode, Roll Over Beethoven, and other classics. “He put these deep scratches in my guitar,†says John. “If anybody else did that I'd choke them. But I treasure those scratches.†Black Dog was working its way from New York City to Colorado, and when the band reached its final gigs in the Rockies, John knew he had come home. Certified guitarslinger John “Black Dog†Ridnell (the nickname is a long story, but harks back to days of teenage excess and has since stuck with the band) grew up in Bronxville, NY. By the age of 15 he was fronting homespun garage bands and playing what he calls Bronx River Delta blues and rock and roll—Clapton, Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd, whatever he could cut his chops on. He and childhood friend Matt Baxter (Jefferson Airplane's After Bathing at Baxter's —that Baxter) launched a band called the Crucial Jive, until one day a young kid said, “What's so crucial about your jive?†The band morphed into The Jive, doing the obligatory house parties and teen dances. John had taken lessons from several teachers when one day he discovered records by jazz guitarist Link Chamberlain. “I tried to imitate what he was doing, but just had no foundation for it,†says John. Chamberlain took the kid under his wing and turned his head around in terms of what he taught and what he expected of his pupil. “If you're not really going to do it, don't do it,†Link told John. “If you're really going to do it, you should be practicing six hours a day.†It took John a little time to work up to that level of commitment, but he did. But Chamberlain died two years later, and John moved to Ithaca, New York, to test the college scene. He stayed seven years. “There were so many colleges there, so many frats, that it really was like Animal House.†Now based in Colorado, John and a rotating roster of top musicians have released a half dozen studio CDs and several lives discs, while John has issued one solo CD. And as Black Dog continues to cover a lot of musical ground, John finds himself and the band busier than ever—over 300 gigs last year showcasing their on-your-feet, contagious blend of blues rock funk and jazz. “We write and play as many styles as possible,†John says. “The rock and roll and blues are always there, of course, and we have a lot of original tunes as well. But depending on the gig we might even throw in our versions of Miles Davis or Duke Ellington. Whatever gets you moving.†As one CD title says, it's “For the Sake of the Groove. Blackdog has been leaving audiences in awe with sheer musicianship and stage presence. This is no ordinary Mountain Ensemble! Incorporating any and all musical genres from funk, to smokin' blues, to reggae and calypso ballads, sometimes all in one song! Blackdog's tenure on the music circuit has brought the band to open for or share the bill with such greats as Taj Mahal, Derek Trucks, Phish, Blues Traveler, Mick Taylor, Duke Robillard, James Cotton, and Cracker among others.
Eric Thorin, a native Coloradoan, got his start on piano and trombone at an early age from the prodding of his musical parents and later studied bass at the of Northern Colorado. He played in salsa bands such as Kizumba and Conjunto Colores, toured extensively with rock act The Thugs, made up a third of the Flamenco/Indian ensemble Curandero, and toured with the Tony Furtado Band for four years. He was a member of steel band Pan Jumbies and continues to appear in various Jazz and Acousticsettings throughout the year. Eric has served as a clinician and guest artist at the Yellowstone Jazz Festival, Augusta Heritage Center, Grand Targhee Bluegrass Academy and Sorrento, BC Bluegrass School. He currently lives in Lyons, Colorado and continues to perform with a variety of musicians including Hamster Theater, Jefferson Hamer, Theano and Chuck Lamb, Matt Flinner, Drew Emmitt, K.C. Groves, Manuel Molina's Combo Caliente, Mark Sloniker and Art Lande. In 2004 Eric produced a collection of songs for Japanese elementary school children who are learning English. Eric has been playing with Open Road since summer 2002 and currently tours with the Drew Emmit Band and Brother Mule and Jake Schepps Expedition. Other artists Eric has performed or recorded with include Ronnie Bedford, Stanley Jordan, Billy Eckstein, Adam Nussbaum, Peter Erskine, Scott Amendola, Bela Fleck, Paul McCandless, Scott Nygaard, Rob Ickes.
Dave Watts founded and plays drums in The Motet, and his biography goes here.
