This band has deep roots in the Seattle music business. John Hanberry (guitar, vocal), and George Mizobe Johnson (drums, blues harp, vocal) met in 1973 and performed in local taverns as Shadowfax. They went on to form the more metal flavored Metropolis in 1975 with Joe Centenero (keyboards, vocal). A couple of years later George and Joe teamed up with Jimmy Free (bass, vocal, guitar) to form Back to Back, a full time road band. In 1978 the lineup changed. Jimmy left and John came on board. For the next three years Back to Back was a favorite in the West Coast club scene.
Influences
Fast forward to Fall of 1999. After years of pursuing countless individual projects, the Boys wanted to play together again. A couple of casual jams led to more serious rehearsal and Trouble Boys was ready to fly. For six months they hosted the Wednesday night Blues Jam at Legends in West Seattle. During that time they made their first appearance at Issaquah Salmon Days festival. Appearances followed at local clubs includingThe Swiss, Angie's, The Raging River Saloon, Larry's Green Front and Salmon Creek, and a return to Salmon Days.
Sounds Like
From the Bluesletter - WA Blues Society 8/2003
The Trouble Boys,
Blues All Over,
Last chance Records, Seattle, WA,
Recorded at Jimmy Free Recordings, Shorline WA,
2003---
Reviewed by Robert Horn---
There are a number of blues bands in the State of Washington who toured the
region or the country a long time ago and then got busy (raising families,
individual projects, playing in other bands, etc). Some of those bands connect again years later and find they have missed playing together and realize they had created something really special when they did belong to the same band.
This is one of those bands. They have roots in Seattle's music history. John Hanberry (guitar & vocals), George Mizobe Johnson (drums, harmonica, vocals), met each other in 1973 and performed in local nightspots. In 1975 they formed a band called Metropolis with Joe Centenero (keyboards & vocals). A couple years later they started working with Jimmy Free (bass, vocals & guitar) and formed a band called Back to Back and toured the west coast for the next three years.
In 1999 they came back together. There was a lot of individual history of the 20 years not covered in this CD review but that will have to wait for future potential feature articles in the coming years. What will be covered here is what lead to this CD. For 6 months they hosted a blues jam every Wednesday at Legends in West Seattle. Off of that they got bookings at other places in the area. Now in 2003 they have released a CD called Blues All Over. This is their declaration that they are ready for you. Keep your eyes out for listings of The Trouble Boys in future Bluesletters.
The first cut on the CD is "Trouble Boys" and is the kind of blues ya gotta get on the dance floor with. The second one is " Still Not Satisfied" and they could have made a few dollars if they sold this one to Tommy Castro. It sounds like it's right down Tommy's alley. The forth song is "Once in A Lifetime." It is a slow dance song with good rhythm. Keep this one in mind if you go to catch them live and are with someone you want to be real close to. The fifth one here is my favorite one musically. It is "You're Not Tellin' The Truth" and is a pleasure to listen to and dance to. This one is so much fun that Attorney General Ashcroft may campaign against it on the grounds that it is too much fun and there must be something illegal about having this much fun.
Some other songs include "Evil Eye," "Cut You Loose," "Roll Back Those Blankets," "Water On My Fire," and "Blues All Over." There are 11 songs here and they are all good, all blues, and all can be danced to. The guitar work is good and the horn arrangements they included added a lot. I talked to George Johnson (drummer, blues harp, and vocals for the band) at the Fremont Fair a little and he said the band has taken blues in a stylistic direction of their own. Listening to it though, it has to still qualify as
blues
and I think that is good. That's the music I love the most and I am glad they are part of the local blues scene. Get out there and hear them live. If you want me to come along my number is on the 2nd page of the Bluesletter.
JW Hanberry
Guitar & Vocals
A superb guitarist/songwriter, JW grew up
around the South California surf scene
during the 60s. He can literally make time
stand still with his awesome guitar playing.
He knows all the chords!
Jimmy Free
Bass, Guitar & Vocals
Jimmy Free is the owner of Jimmy Free
Recordings. A veteran of the Seattle area
music scene this versatile
songwriter/musician plays with many of
the top bands in the area including Jimmy
Free & Friends, Guarneri Underground,
Andy O, and The African All-Stars.
George Mizobe Johnson
Drums, Vocals & Harmonica
Musician/songwriter George Johnson plays
drums and harmonica and sings and he
does it all at the same time!!
You’ve got to see it to believe it! He is also
a member of Jimmy Free & Friends.
Joe Centenero
Keyboards & Vocals
Joe’s tasteful, rockin’ roadhouse style and
imaginative orchestrations provides added
dimension to The Trouble Boys already
excellent sound. He is a native of the
Seattle area and has played with such top
bands as Back To Back and Metropolis.
