::History of the Band::
The guys in the band thought it would be cool to let you know a little bit about ourselves and the story of how this band came to be. Whiskey Johnson was formed in March of 1998 by Ricky Halverson and Ryan Koskela. While it was very difficult for a new band to get rolling, the years of playing in other bands helped speed up the process and soon the band was performing all over the Iron Range. There was alot of hit-or-miss with finding the right mix of musicianship and personalitiesand there were questions on whether the band could actually continue playing.
The answer to that question came in the form of a bass player and also a drummer. In July of 1998 Lyle Thronson agreed to join and play bass guitar and shortly after that, a guy by the name of Jim Benjamin took on the duties of playing drums. Soon the calendar was filling up with bookings and they were looking to grow. In 2000, someone came along that the guys knew and wanted to help with the growth process. This guy was A.J. Michaels, an old friend of previous bands the guys had played in. He came on board to run our sound, play harmonica (he's really good), and the mandolin. A.J. was the perfect addition to this growing band.
As the band gained more momentum and started traveling further away from home, we sadly had to part ways with Jim. As difficult as it was to not have Jim behind the "skins", we decided the show must go on. Now it is 2002 and we found the missing piece to our proverbial puzzle...Dave Thronson. Dave was in the band "The Lost Cowboys" with his cousin Lyle and his brother Doc. The addition of Dave into the band was an instant change for the better. We were playing even more places and really gaining popularity. But, yeah there's a but, with all the fun we had Ryan dropped a bombshell on us...heannounced he was leaving the band after 5 great years. This too was very difficult to handle and after some long talks, we decided again to keep playing.
We couldn't have Dave playing behind the drums cuz' he got the crowds going, sang alot of our tunes, and he simply wouldn't do it (ha, ha). It was 2003, the year of Louie. The newest member of Whiskey Johnson, Louis Scipioni joined up in July of 2003. He is the final missing piece to this crazy puzzle. Louis injected some "youth" into this band with his passion for music and his style of playing.
Well, I guess we're starting a new chapter with good ol' WJ; Louie has made the decision to leave the band and pursue other interests...we wish him well and know we'll get him out to see us sometime. It is sad but true fact of this business that bands go through changes and we're headed for a pretty big one real soon, but it will be fun. We have found our new drummer and his name is Chris; he is from Hibbing and as a matter of fact, related to Dave & Lyle. We are very excited for this next chapter for WJ and couldn't be happier to have Chris on board.
So, there you have it, the whole updated saga of Whiskey Johnson. The band that plays it all: Alabama, AC/DC, Waylon, ZZ Top, and much more. We hope to be coming to an area near you soon.