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Community Corner

Soulful Mix Hits Capitola: A Q&A with Musician Jonny Fabulous

Patch caught up with local musician Johnny Fabulous to talk about his latest project, the Johnny Fabulous Trio.

Local musician Johnny Fabulous has been plugging away on the piano since he first learned how to use it at 3 years old. He's played with various bands at all of the local venues and his smokey smooth voice and catchy dance numbers have amassed a following over the years.

His latest band, the Johnny Fabulous Trio, will be playing regular Tuesday evening gigs all summer long at Severino's Bar and Grille in Aptos from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., and Fabulous plays solo every Thursday at Paradise Beach Grille on the Esplanade.  Fabulous recently spoke with Capitola-Soquel Patch about his latest projects, song-writing methods and musical inspiration.

Capitola-Soquel Patch: What kind of music do you play?

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Johnny Fabulous: That's a hard question. Well, my slogan is "Discovered in the hallways of the blues, drawn from the wells of gospel and inspired by the colors of jazz - that's Johnny Fabulous." A little bit of jazz, a little bit of rhythm and blues.

Patch: You've played with various bands, who are you playing with right now? 

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Fabulous: In this ensemble it's just a trio, with David Tucker on Drums, and The bass blayer is Bill Bosch.

David is also an excellent vocalist. David toured with Sista Monica and Maria Muldaur who had a really big hit in the 70s called Midnight at the Oasis. Bill has been playing in the Santa Cruz area for probably 35-plus years. He worked with the Cool Jerks when they were pretty hot in the 80s.

Patch: What do you like about playing in a trio?

Fabulous: The thing I like about the trio format is the fact that both those guys sing well. We do some three-part harmonies, which are just fantastic. I still get goosebumps hearing their voices. 

Patch: What do you like about playing at the Twighlight concerts in Capitola?

Fabulous: It’s an amazing setting. It’s just fantastic. The first time we did the Twighlight concert it was an unusually warm day in Santa Cruz, and as we were finishing up there was an enormous full moon coming up over the bay.There were about 2,500 people there that day.

You’re looking at the Capitola wharf and the Venetian apartments. And people are there really to relax and enjoy music so everyone's on their best behavior. You’re playing maybe 100 yards from the water. People dance, you can see little kids running around. It's just a very lovely scene.

Patch: What is your favorite spot to play in Santa Cruz County? 

Fabulous: That’s a good question. I have lots of favorites. I guess to be honest, my favorite right now is playing at Severinos. The trio performs there every Tuesday night. We do a mixture of my original compositions and then we have a bunch of dancers that come back every week, and we do a certain amount of Sinatra and Nat King Cole as well. 

Patch: Has playing with the trio advanced your music in any way?

Fabulous: Playing with them has improved me as a performer dramatically. I’ve heard that if you play tennis, you want to play with someone a little better than you, and that's how you improve and that's kind of how it's been in this ensemble.

Both of them have vast experience in music and touring that I don't have. There isn't a week that goes by that I don't learn something, so I'd guess that the music has matured and our sound is much more defined. We sound like a real band.

Patch: I'm curious how you write your songs, do you have certain writing rituals?

Fabulous: I usually have something I'm chewing on, and I would say that over the years I’ve written more songs in my car than actually at the piano. The easiest is when I’ll have a lyrical idea first and then I’ll come up with a musical idea to accompany it. It's always a lot easier that way than to start out with the music and try to fit words to it. But it does happen both ways. Sometimes i’ll jokingly say "this next one’s based on a true story," and really, a lot of the songs are.

For example, Steppin' Stone is a real catchy, danceable song with some good harmony in it. The subject matter is, you meet somebody and there's chemistry, and they’re just really showering you with attention, but not too far into it you find that their boyfriend just moved out, and that it's really a rebound thing, and really you’re just a stepping stone to their next relationship in life.

Patch: So are a lot of your songs written about love?

Fabulous: I would say they’re more about life in a broader spectrum than just  love.

Patch: How and when did you get into playing music?

Fabulous: We had a piano at the house, and my mom says that at about 3 I discovered that I could get sounds out of it by touching the keys. And she said that by the time I was 4, I was picking out melodies and at 4:00 or 5:00 I would call her in the room and say "hey mom, I wanna play this thing I made up."

Patch: I know you said you were influenced by blues, gospel and jazz. Who were your musical influences growing up? 

Fabulous: The other side of the coin that's probably deeper in my bones are old guys like Billy Preston, a singing piano player and a great organ player, and  Edgar Winter. Tom Jones as a vocalist was definitely an influence, and there were some gospel singers when I was a teenager that definitely influenced my direction too, like Andraé Crouch. 

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