Feb 25, 2021
In conversation with Los Angeles-born musician, Chris Johnson credits include; Anastasia, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Madonna & Snoop Dogg, plus much more…
From humble beginnings to the most sought-after drummer on the planet today!
This week on The Entertainment Engine podcast for Season 2 we welcome a very special guest the Los Angeles-born drummer, musician — Chris Johnson to the show.
Chris Johnson is quite possibly one of the greatest and most in-demand international drummers on Earth.
We learn about Chris's time playing that first musical instrument, to the very first gig, and performing across many music Festivals and HUGE GLOBAL LIVE experiences over the past several decades.
Chris Johnson is one of the world’s most recognizable musicians, described by Live Nation Ones to Watch as “Quite possibly one of the most in-demand international drummers on earth”.
Regularly seen by audiences of millions, he works with icons such as;
Lady Gaga, Camila Cabello, Rihanna, Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Seal, and J-Lo.
Chris’s career credits also include global songwriting and production success with multiple tracks on Snoop Dogg’s critically acclaimed, Bible of Love, which entered at no. 1 on the Billboard Gospel charts.
He also features extensively on the soundtrack album of the Oscar-winning A Star is Born with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, which went straight to №1 in the Billboard 200 and UK Official Charts following its release in October.
The soundtrack has since passed 3 billion streams on Spotify.
Chris firstly developed his true desire for playing drums in his father’s church. Until this son of a preacher was then approached by the music director of R&B artist, Mya, he thought he would play in a church for the rest of his life, but no the next chapter of his life started to evolve!
Just after getting the opportunity to work with Mya, Chris knew that what he once considered was his passion, would very soon become his career!
Being such a seasoned drummer, playing alongside many notable artists over the years including; Patti LaBelle, Nelly Furtado, Chrisette Michele, Heather Headley, Lalah Hathaway, Darius Rucker, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, plus with Gospel greats with the like of;
Kurt Carr, Donnie McClurkin, Beverly Crawford, and Norman Hutchins.
Johnson credits his church roots with forming the strong foundation on which he has based his career; he never broke those strong roots and still to this day Chris can be seen at “The City of Refuge” located in Gardena, CA.
Chris has recently taken time out from his busy schedule and with the global pandemic hitting the world, which has put a stop to concerts, shows, and festivals to write and produce a NEW book.
Which is a one-stop-shop for learning how to tune your chops to pop, R&B, and gospel drumming!
This unique book/video and audio combination is the ultimate guide to developing grooves, improvisation, and technical mastery within modern music styles and settings.
The book covers Chris providing advice on playing techniques and approaches, and sharing experiences of playing in both live performances arena, mixed with studio sessions.
In addition to Chris’s insights and instruction, the accompanying videos and audio tracks showcase Chris playing to pop hits along with original music and arrangements played by his band.
There is also bonus material included featuring interviews with other industry professionals. The three-plus hours of video content are accessed online using the unique code within each book purchased!
Quote: “This book is a must-read for all aspiring musicians.” — Bassist, producer, and musical director Rickey Minor!
It was really refreshing to catch up with Chris, learning about his humble beginnings to be a seasoned international musician, with his take on the music industry today and how budding musicians can navigate the music business.
To learn more about our chat with Chris, click on the link below to discover more;
It takes a certain kind of person to reach the top of their game, and it's not all luck either, plenty of hard work, dedication mixed with talent, and love for what you do, is a great recipe for success.
With the state of the LIVE sector over the past year, Chris has been taking time to get into the studio and put down some groves, with of course practice, practice for that next call to perform anywhere in the World.
Who knows where the next show/festival will be but for sure, Chris will be there providing his professionalism and dedication to the live sector for audiences to enjoy across the world, whether this is for global selling artists or the new band coming up the ranks!
We look forward to catching with Chris throughout the year, and wish him well in all his endeavors!
By Pete Moore
