Ed Johnson

Currently, Ed is very excited and pleased to be performing on drums with the new band Channel Theory in support of their recently released new album. The new album "These Things" from Channel Theory is receiving great airplav on both College radio and AAA stations all across the US and Canada....You can buy the new Channel Theory album on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody or NIMBIT.....................Ed left 4 on the floor in 2004. Importantly, 4 On The Floor was frequently referred to, by the local press, as Cincinnati's best dance band...performing the best oldies at many large events for the past 25 years. Now you can listen to a few of the band's original tunes on our original CD. 4 On The Floor was first formed in 1981 by Tim Deardorff. Over the years many members changed, and in the mid 90's Greg Kottmann and Kim Hagerty joined the band...to add their great musicianship, and their strong lead vocals.In 1996 Tim Deardorff called Ed Johnson, then Executive Vice-President Sales and Marketing at Heinz, to join the band. It was a great way for the drummer to lower his high stress levels caused from managing a large Fortune 500 company. Ed started playing drums in 1964 at the age of 10. At the age of 14 he met John Graf, a lead guitar player and lead vocalist. John was a free spirit and he loved to play Jimi Hendrix type solos. His voice was strong and mature for his young age. Both Ed and John would frequently jam playing several Hendrix and Cream tunes. The two soon answered an ad in the paper for a drummer and lead vocalist. That is when Ed and John (passed 1973) first met Pete Ferrell (MIA) and Stan Bolsega (passed 2007). After the audition, a new group was formed -TRAIN CITY BLUES BAND. By 1969 TRAIN CITY was playing local gigs, including clubs in Old Town Chicago. It was somewhat awkward for Ed to be perfroming to 3am at the early age of 15, but it was great practice and led to bigger jobs for Train City.The band gained notoriety, and performed at many local High Schools, Colleges, Universities and several night clubs in Chicago. The big break soon came when Train City received a call from Dex Card, a local promoter, to open for Rufus (ex American Breed) at the Wild Goose. This was a great opportunity... the band later returned to open for bands like Shadows of Night (Gloria), Mason Profit, Brownsville Station, and REO Speedwagon. Train City soon was performing all their own original material - a cross between Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. John Graf wrote most all the original songs and sang lead vocals. Later, in the summer of 1971, Train City was booked at several outdoor Rock Festivals opening for other national acts in Illinois and Indiana, performing at Indiana University, Valporaiso University, and Purdue University.But the excessive lifestyle soon overtook John whom became increasingly addicted to several drugs. The band became disfunctional, and later Ed met his future wife in 1971 at a club they performed at called The Lottery in Elgin, Illinois.Ed decided to quit the band in November 1971, to prepare for College to major in music compostion and later married in 1972. In 1973, Ed's best friend in Train City, John Graf, died from a drug overdose, and one of the best future lead vocalists and lead guitarists died before he ever had a chance to land that big recording contract. This deep wound stayed with Ed for about 25 years...and he was able to heal some of the pain by joining the band 4 On The Floor. The ultimate payback came in 1998 when 4 On The Floor went into the GROUP EFFORT RECORDING STUDIO to record nine originaL songs, written by Tim Deardorff and Kim Hagerty. Ed Produced the CD... and hired Bill Halverson from Nashville to fine tune and master the final mix. We hope you enjoy the songs...