blueschica Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Jimmy Johnson, a long time guitar tech of Alex's, has passed away. He has worked with Styx for the pas few decades, and was on tour with them, Wednesday, when other crew members found he had passed away overnight in his hotel room. Some photos and a tribute from Alex and Neil below. One is an early photo (early Rush crew, taken Rexdale, Ontario, UTM Cafeteria at Erindale College; Liam Birt, Ian Grandy, and Jimmy Johnson backstage) and the other of crew members on the Roll The Bones tour. (he is in the front row of that photo, fourth from left.) From Alex- "Jimmy “JJ” Johnson was a friend and brother since he joined the Rush crew nearly 45 years ago. He was my guitar tech for half that time and a dear friend for all of it who never failed to make me smile with his quick wit and infectious laugh. We shared so many moments together both on and off stage and as fellow Virgo’s, fussed over minute details in all things which made him the perfect partner in our guitar world. I’ll miss you, Gorgo." - Alex Lifeson A previously published story about JJ from Neil--"... I often think back to a "road lesson" involving one of my oldest friends, Jimmy Johnson. He and I met around 1968, when J.J. joined my second band, the Majority (ha-our booking agency's genius slogan was "Join the Majority!"), as a "roadie." A few tumultuous years later (for both of us), when I joined Rush, J.J. became Alex's guitar tech for many years-many hilarious years. The two of them were a fine comedy duo. ... But way back in the Olden Days (when dinosaurs walked the earth), in the mid '70s, Jimmy affected a mustache (as many of us did-I sported a full-on handlebar, myself). However, in the eyes of his fellow crew members, Ian and Liam, J.J. seemed to move beyond the pale when he started wearing a small scarf around his neck, knotted with a ring. They dubbed him "Tony Orlando," and the rest of us laughed and started using it, too. J.J. blurted out a line that has resonated for decades. "But I don't want to be called Tony Orlando!" Oh, we laughed and laughed. Finally somebody put him wise, "You don't get to pick your own nickname!" ..." R.I.P. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RushFanForever Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 (edited) A few years ago there was a documentary made titled 'The Big Story Of Small Potatoes' about the local Niagara Region music scene in Southern Ontario. Neil Peart gets mentioned in the documentary, but doesn't make an appearance. Neil's early band 'The Majority' is discussed , which I've time stamped. Also Neil's other band 'J.R. Flood' gets mentioned in other parts as well. On a side note, it's interesting how there's this correlation between STYX and RUSH. The album covers for Paradise Theatre by STYX and Moving Pictures by RUSH nearly resemble the same theme. Neil Peart mentioned having inspiration for the lyric "too many hands on my time" in 'The Analog Kid' from 'Too Much Time on My Hands' by STYX according to here. Then a few years ago former STYX founder Dennis DeYoung addressed on Facebook here the similarities between the '2112' and 'Kilroy Was Here' albums. Lastly, Lawrence Gowan (a solo artist in Canada who was signed to Anthem Records with connections to RUSH) replaced Dennis DeYoung in STYX after opening for the band in Montreal back in the late 90's according to here. Edited July 27, 2019 by RushFanForever 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytserush Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Jimmy Johnson, a long time guitar tech of Alex's, has passed away. He has worked with Styx for the pas few decades, and was on tour with them, Wednesday, when other crew members found he had passed away overnight in his hotel room. Some photos and a tribute from Alex and Neil below. One is an early photo (early Rush crew, taken Rexdale, Ontario, UTM Cafeteria at Erindale College; Liam Birt, Ian Grandy, and Jimmy Johnson backstage) and the other of crew members on the Roll The Bones tour. (he is in the front row of that photo, fourth from left.) From Alex- "Jimmy “JJ” Johnson was a friend and brother since he joined the Rush crew nearly 45 years ago. He was my guitar tech for half that time and a dear friend for all of it who never failed to make me smile with his quick wit and infectious laugh. We shared so many moments together both on and off stage and as fellow Virgo’s, fussed over minute details in all things which made him the perfect partner in our guitar world. I’ll miss you, Gorgo." - Alex Lifeson A previously published story about JJ from Neil--"... I often think back to a "road lesson" involving one of my oldest friends, Jimmy Johnson. He and I met around 1968, when J.J. joined my second band, the Majority (ha-our booking agency's genius slogan was "Join the Majority!"), as a "roadie." A few tumultuous years later (for both of us), when I joined Rush, J.J. became Alex's guitar tech for many years-many hilarious years. The two of them were a fine comedy duo. ... But way back in the Olden Days (when dinosaurs walked the earth), in the mid '70s, Jimmy affected a mustache (as many of us did-I sported a full-on handlebar, myself). However, in the eyes of his fellow crew members, Ian and Liam, J.J. seemed to move beyond the pale when he started wearing a small scarf around his neck, knotted with a ring. They dubbed him "Tony Orlando," and the rest of us laughed and started using it, too. J.J. blurted out a line that has resonated for decades. "But I don't want to be called Tony Orlando!" Oh, we laughed and laughed. Finally somebody put him wise, "You don't get to pick your own nickname!" ..." R.I.P. Sad news. Read about this a few days ago. I remember reading his name on all of those album liner notes in those years and in Neil's blog much later. We'll never know but maybe Neil got to see him one last time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I can't find anything on the internet about this when I do a search. The only thing regarding his death that comes up is this thread on TRF. Isn't that strange? I wanted to find out how old he was and what he died from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JARG Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I can't find anything on the internet about this when I do a search. The only thing regarding his death that comes up is this thread on TRF. Isn't that strange? I wanted to find out how old he was and what he died from. https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=dVo7XdG6NcPb-gTPs4TICQ&q=%22jimmy+johnson%22+rush+styx&oq=%22jimmy+johnson%22+rush+styx&gs_l=psy-ab.3...2975326.75064040..75064384...6.0..2.25491.32039.20j10j5j1j6-1j1j0j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0j0i131j0i3j0i10j0i22i30j0i22i10i30j33i160j0i324j33i299j33i22i29i30.WEzQyxKkUOM&ved=0ahUKEwiRycTIrtPjAhXDrZ4KHc8ZAZkQ4dUDCAc&uact=5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I can't find anything on the internet about this when I do a search. The only thing regarding his death that comes up is this thread on TRF. Isn't that strange? I wanted to find out how old he was and what he died from. https://www.google.c...Q4dUDCAc&uact=5I don't use google. I use Duck. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemistry1973 Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 What’s up with the crew photo below? Are they holding compound bows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemistry1973 Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I can't find anything on the internet about this when I do a search. The only thing regarding his death that comes up is this thread on TRF. Isn't that strange? I wanted to find out how old he was and what he died from. https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=dVo7XdG6NcPb-gTPs4TICQ&q=%22jimmy+johnson%22+rush+styx&oq=%22jimmy+johnson%22+rush+styx&gs_l=psy-ab.3...2975326.75064040..75064384...6.0..2.25491.32039.20j10j5j1j6-1j1j0j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0j0i131j0i3j0i10j0i22i30j0i22i10i30j33i160j0i324j33i299j33i22i29i30.WEzQyxKkUOM&ved=0ahUKEwiRycTIrtPjAhXDrZ4KHc8ZAZkQ4dUDCAc&uact=5 Heartbreaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueschica Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 (edited) I can't find anything on the internet about this when I do a search. The only thing regarding his death that comes up is this thread on TRF. Isn't that strange? I wanted to find out how old he was and what he died from. There is a blog called "RushIsABand" and they have the original statement from Styx but it sounded like maybe they didn't know yet? It's so sad. There is some other news about Geddy's book signings on there but if you scroll down you will see the part about Jimmy Johnson. That is where I got most of the news about him, I'm sorry; I should have put a link. https://www.rushisaband.com https://styxworld.com/blogs/news/rip-jimmy-johnson Edited July 27, 2019 by blueschica 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueschica Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 I can't find anything on the internet about this when I do a search. The only thing regarding his death that comes up is this thread on TRF. Isn't that strange? I wanted to find out how old he was and what he died from. There is a blog called "RushIsABand" and they have the original statement from Styx but it sounded like maybe they didn't know yet? It's so sad. There is some other news about Geddy's book signings on there but if you scroll down you will see the part about Jimmy Johnson. That is where I got most of the news about him, I'm sorry; I should have put a link. https://www.rushisaband.com https://styxworld.co...p-jimmy-johnson And here is an interview with him from a few years ago in "Guitar Buyer" magazine. (I never even knew there was a GB magazine!) http://www.gorgomyte.com/images/GuitarBuyer2011.pdf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I can't find anything on the internet about this when I do a search. The only thing regarding his death that comes up is this thread on TRF. Isn't that strange? I wanted to find out how old he was and what he died from. There is a blog called "RushIsABand" and they have the original statement from Styx but it sounded like maybe they didn't know yet? It's so sad. There is some other news about Geddy's book signings on there but if you scroll down you will see the part about Jimmy Johnson. That is where I got most of the news about him, I'm sorry; I should have put a link. https://www.rushisaband.com https://styxworld.co...p-jimmy-johnsonIt says he was found on the floor of his hotel room. Maybe a heart attack? He had met up with Neil that day too, I think I read. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RushFanForever Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 (edited) Regarding the 2011 Guitar Buyer interview that blueschica posted via Jimmy Johnson's former company page Gorgomyte; I was browsing the Performing Musician links posted, which aren't active anymore. Performing Musician is now Sound On Sound. I retrieve the non-active links that are of interest to read below. Jimmy Johnson: Guitar Tech for Styx - March 2009Paulie Carrizzo: Todd Sucherman’s Drum Tech - November 2009 Edited July 29, 2019 by RushFanForever 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrinx Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 Wow very sad! I actually have his contact info on my phone. I bought several items from him a few years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUSHHEAD666 Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 Jimmy Johnson, a long time guitar tech of Alex's, has passed away. He has worked with Styx for the pas few decades, and was on tour with them, Wednesday, when other crew members found he had passed away overnight in his hotel room. Some photos and a tribute from Alex and Neil below. One is an early photo (early Rush crew, taken Rexdale, Ontario, UTM Cafeteria at Erindale College; Liam Birt, Ian Grandy, and Jimmy Johnson backstage) and the other of crew members on the Roll The Bones tour. (he is in the front row of that photo, fourth from left.) From Alex- "Jimmy “JJ” Johnson was a friend and brother since he joined the Rush crew nearly 45 years ago. He was my guitar tech for half that time and a dear friend for all of it who never failed to make me smile with his quick wit and infectious laugh. We shared so many moments together both on and off stage and as fellow Virgo’s, fussed over minute details in all things which made him the perfect partner in our guitar world. I’ll miss you, Gorgo." - Alex Lifeson A previously published story about JJ from Neil--"... I often think back to a "road lesson" involving one of my oldest friends, Jimmy Johnson. He and I met around 1968, when J.J. joined my second band, the Majority (ha-our booking agency's genius slogan was "Join the Majority!"), as a "roadie." A few tumultuous years later (for both of us), when I joined Rush, J.J. became Alex's guitar tech for many years-many hilarious years. The two of them were a fine comedy duo. ... But way back in the Olden Days (when dinosaurs walked the earth), in the mid '70s, Jimmy affected a mustache (as many of us did-I sported a full-on handlebar, myself). However, in the eyes of his fellow crew members, Ian and Liam, J.J. seemed to move beyond the pale when he started wearing a small scarf around his neck, knotted with a ring. They dubbed him "Tony Orlando," and the rest of us laughed and started using it, too. J.J. blurted out a line that has resonated for decades. "But I don't want to be called Tony Orlando!" Oh, we laughed and laughed. Finally somebody put him wise, "You don't get to pick your own nickname!" ..." R.I.P. That's horrible news chica! Wow! I just saw STYX on July 27th. So sad. RIP! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RushFanForever Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 (edited) Jimmy Johnson is given a dedication mention in the liner notes of STYX's new album Crash of the Crown. Tommy Shaw discusses his contributions as part of a new interview in the latest issue of Gearphoria on page 37 here. Edited July 15, 2021 by RushFanForever 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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