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Hey, Johnny Park!

A local, Lake Charles, LA tribute to the Foo Fighters

By Stephan DarnutzerPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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There is a great fondness I have for musical performances that contain a concept...a step beyond the everyday and normal. This time around, let us discuss the tribute show. As the name suggests, it's one in which an artist's body of work or a specific work within their career is showcased due to its mass cultural impact. This type of thing can bring a plethora of excitement for an audience because...well, popular culture has made that audience well aware of its existence. There is absolutely bound to be a classic everybody-coming-together sing along! Everybody leaves the show a happy camper.

The arrival of Foo Fighters came in the mid-to-late 90's after the death of Kurt Cobain and the subsequent dissolving of Nirvana. The Foo's frontman Dave Grohl had a long and fruitful stint as Nirvana's heavy-hitting and wildly enthusiastic drummer. Having written many songs on his own during the final bits of Nirvana, Mr. Grohl found that it was time for him to continue to another musical venture. Before a band was even put together, Dave Grohl recorded and played everything on Foo Fighters's eponymous debut album (my personal favorite)...an aggressive tour-de-force of fuzzy guitars and heavy vocals that still managed to retain lots of memorable melody....such a winning combo, as far as I am concerned! Many years and many albums that followed, this band has traveled down many musical paths, from punk to alt-country, and that versatility should very much be worthy of praise. So, why am I even mentioning Foo Fighters, you ask? Well, they're the subject of a much anticipated tribute campaign, started right here in Lake Charles!

"Hey, Johnny Park!" named after a song from Foo Fighters sophomore album, The Colour and The Shape, are a group of local musicians who are forging the classic album showcase. They consist of singer Kevin Johnson, the three-guitar attack (Iron Maiden, anyone?) of Kevin Lambert, Ryan Bourque, and Thunder John, bassist Wes Spears, and Donovan Brown rounding it out on the drums. I caught wind of this whole ordeal during a visit to The Round About record store downtown via a conversation with Kevin Lambert. I'd known Kevin for quite a few years while he played guitar and keyboards for long-standing local outfit Magnolia Sons. As I had seen their shows and listened to their music throughout that time period, I had always admired Mr. Lambert's guitar approach, playing what the song needed, no more and no less. Knowing that he was going to be part of this Hey Johnny Park! project excited me because Dave Grohl is similar in the sense that his guitar playing fit what the song called for. Kevin fits that role more than adequately. So, he put me in touch with the other Kevin, Kevin Johnson to find out more. In Mr. Johnson's own words, "The idea for the classic artist showcase started over a year ago with a simple conversation. Myself, Ryan Bourque and Wes Spears were on our way back from an acoustic gig and were shooting around the idea of who we could get for a Foo Fighters tribute band. The Foo Fighters are such an influential band in the world of rock music and inspired each of us to delve into our own musical endeavors." One of my happiest findings was knowing that their shows will comprise a set delved from The Foo Fighters's entire discography, including their first album (again, my personal favorite), so that is definitely nice touch! So, in closing, concepts like this one are great to see in our local community whenever they come around, and they should keep coming around!

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