Rick Johnson (musician)
Encyclopedia
Rick Johnson is an American musician who is best known as the bass player
of Grand Rapids, Michigan
's Mustard Plug
. He also has worked with Bomb The Music Industry!
and released solo material as "The Rick Johnson Rock And Roll Machine."
where he was heavily involved in the their band system. During high school he was part of the Mona Shores High School award winning marching band in which he played trombone
and electric guitar
. Along with the marching band he also played bass guitar
in the Jazz band, trombone in Symphonic band, and a short stint playing upright bass in a school organized bluegrass band.
guitarist Colin Clive to join up with Mustard Plug to the present. Rick has also been seen playing bass with the likes of Bomb The Music Industry!
, The Stitch Up, Cheap Girls, and more. Starting in 2007 Rick began producing select groups the first being Cheap Girls from Lansing, Michigan
.
Bass Player
Bass player can refer to:*Bass Player , an album by Rhombus*Bass Player , a magazine for bassists*Bassist, or bass player, a musician who plays the bass guitar...
of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
's Mustard Plug
Mustard Plug
Mustard Plug is a ska punk band from Grand Rapids, Michigan.Formed in 1991, the band's original members were Dave Kirchgessner, Mike McKendrick, Colin Clive, and Anthony Vilchez. Currently the band consists of Dave , Brandon Jenison , Jim Hofer , Nate Cohn , Colin Clive , and Rick Johnson...
. He also has worked with Bomb The Music Industry!
Bomb The Music Industry!
Bomb the Music Industry! is band from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. They write, produce, record, and distribute all of their music under the leadership of songwriter and producer Jeff Rosenstock....
and released solo material as "The Rick Johnson Rock And Roll Machine."
Early life
Rick Johnson grew up on the west side of the state of Michigan in the city of Muskegon. Johnson attended the Mona Shores SchoolMona Shores Public Schools
Mona Shores Public Schools is a public school district located in Michigan, United States, in the western side of the state near Lake Michigan. The district includes most of the city of Norton Shores, which is just south of Muskegon.-Background:...
where he was heavily involved in the their band system. During high school he was part of the Mona Shores High School award winning marching band in which he played trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
and electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. Along with the marching band he also played bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
in the Jazz band, trombone in Symphonic band, and a short stint playing upright bass in a school organized bluegrass band.
Career
Starting around 1998 Rick started a constant touring with his then band Wack Trucks. In 2003 when the Wack Trucks went on hiatus he started touring under a solo project dubbed The Rick Johnson Rock and Roll Machine. During a tour in 2004 he was asked by Mustard PlugMustard Plug
Mustard Plug is a ska punk band from Grand Rapids, Michigan.Formed in 1991, the band's original members were Dave Kirchgessner, Mike McKendrick, Colin Clive, and Anthony Vilchez. Currently the band consists of Dave , Brandon Jenison , Jim Hofer , Nate Cohn , Colin Clive , and Rick Johnson...
guitarist Colin Clive to join up with Mustard Plug to the present. Rick has also been seen playing bass with the likes of Bomb The Music Industry!
Bomb The Music Industry!
Bomb the Music Industry! is band from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. They write, produce, record, and distribute all of their music under the leadership of songwriter and producer Jeff Rosenstock....
, The Stitch Up, Cheap Girls, and more. Starting in 2007 Rick began producing select groups the first being Cheap Girls from Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
.
Full length albums
- Wack Trucks "Crabbage in Your Mouf Biatch" (1994) no record label
- Wack Trucks "Council Records" (1995) "unreleased no record label"
- Temple of Doom "Pictures of the Redneck Community" (1996) "cyberland records"
- Presidents Of the USSR "S.T." (1996) "cyberland records"
- Skeptics "Basement Tapes" (1996) "cyberland records"
- Skeptics "Delta 88" (1997) "skeetone records"
- Skeptics "One For the Road" (1998) "skeetone records"
- Wack Trucks "Hows About Smash Rockin'" (1998) "dr. larry records""rereleased (2000) pocket records"
- Skeptics "Live at Baker College" (1998) "pocket records"
- Wack Trucks "Shake This" (2000) "offsite records"
- Wack Trucks "I Blow Up" (2002) "no record label"
- Rick Johnson Rock and Roll Machine "S.T." (2003) "rastan records"
- Rick Johnson Rock and Roll Machine "Emotional Fascism" (2004) "rastan records"
- Wack Trucks "Original Hits" (2005) "rastan records"
- Rick Johnson Rock and Roll Machine "Remember Forever and Ever and Ever" (2006) "rastan records"
- Rick Johnson Rock and Roll Machine "Six Crappy Months Pt. 1" (October 2006) Quote Unquote RecordsQuote Unquote RecordsQuote Unquote Records is a donation-based online independent record label, founded and run by Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches frontman Jeff Rosenstock. The label is an example of Rosenstock's DIY ideals...
- Manic Sewing Circle "Summer Spins" (2007) "Bouncing Betty Records" guest vocals on tracks 1 and 2, theremin on track 2
- Bomb The Music Industry! "Get Warmer" (2007) "Asian Man RecordsAsian Man RecordsAsian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
/ Quote Unquote RecordsQuote Unquote RecordsQuote Unquote Records is a donation-based online independent record label, founded and run by Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches frontman Jeff Rosenstock. The label is an example of Rosenstock's DIY ideals...
" plays bass on 10 tracks and theremin on 1 track - Mustard Plug "In Black and White" (2007) "Hopeless RecordsHopeless RecordsHopeless Records is an independent record label located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. The label was started in 1993 by Louis Posen and financed by a group of private investors. Hopeless's artists are generally considered punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, or alternative rock, but some...
" plays bass on all tracks and keyboards on various tracks - Bomb The Music Industry! "Scrambles" (2009) "Asian Man RecordsAsian Man RecordsAsian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
/ Quote Unquote RecordsQuote Unquote RecordsQuote Unquote Records is a donation-based online independent record label, founded and run by Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches frontman Jeff Rosenstock. The label is an example of Rosenstock's DIY ideals...
"
E.P.s
- Rick Johnson Rock and Roll Machine/Cartridge Family "Their Majesties Semi-Automatic Request" (2005) "Bermuda Mohawk Productions"
- Rick Johnson Rock and Roll Machine/Bomb The Music Industry!Bomb The Music Industry!Bomb the Music Industry! is band from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. They write, produce, record, and distribute all of their music under the leadership of songwriter and producer Jeff Rosenstock....
"Presidents Day Split" (2006) "Asbestos Records" - Rick Johnson Rock and Roll Machine/The EmotronThe EmotronThe Emotron is a one-man musical group influenced by Atom and his Package and GG Allin. He performs original material in a karaoke-esque style, using a Yamaha QY700 sequencer among other instruments....
"Reinventing Axl Foley" (2008) "Asbestos Records"
Studio work
- Rappers Guild "Solid Guild" raps on a track appears as The Santa Clause
- Apollo "S.T." Plays Bass Guitar
- Bomb The Music Industry! "Goodbye Cool World" Plays Bass on The Track "From Martyrdom to Star(tyr)dom" and Sings on "Side Projects are Never Successful"
- The Void Union- Plays Theremin on an undertermined track.
- Manic Sewing Circle "Summer Spins" Plays Theremin and Sings on Various tracks
- Cheap Girls-"Find Me a Drink Home" Produced and Engineered entire record. Also plays keyboards on various tracks.
Equipment
- BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
es:- LaklandLaklandLakland Guitars is a Chicago, Illinois-based manufacturer of electric bass guitars. The company's first bass combined elements of the Fender Jazz Bass and the Music Man StingRay. The company's current line-up includes basses inspired by classics like the Fender Precision Bass and Jazz Bass as...
Basses - Ernie Ball StingrayMusic Man StingRayMusic Man StingRay is an electric bass guitar by Music Man, introduced in 1976.- History :In 1971, Fender employees Forrest White and Tom Walker, unhappy with the way CBS was managing the company, left their positions with Fender to start their own venture. First known as Tri-Sonic and then later...
Basses - G&LG&LG&L is a guitar design and production company founded by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Dale Hyatt in the late 1970s. Fender sold his company named Fender in 1965. He designed and produced instruments for Music Man in the 1970s through his company CLF Research. When relations with Music Man...
Basses
- Lakland
- AmpsAmplifierGenerally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
:- Gallien-KruegerGallien-KruegerGallien-Krueger, also referred to as 'GK' , is an instrument amplifier manufacturer. The company is based in Stockton, California, and was founded in 1968....
- Gallien-Krueger
- StringString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s:- GHSGHS (strings)GHS Strings is a Battle Creek, Michigan based guitar and bass guitar string manufacturer. The company was founded in 1964, and in 1975 was bought by Robert McFee, who is still the CEO...
- Medium Gauge Super Steels
- GHS