DELMARK RECORDING ARTISTS The Rockin' Johnny Band is known for its old-fashioned phrasing and sound.

Rockin’ Johnny hit long
road to the blues

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By Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.com

What goes around comes around. This is the story of a white boy who went to Chicago for a book-learning education, became enamored of crackling, street-tough blues, began hanging out in black clubs and sitting in, apprenticing himself to the masters, and eventually became the leader of his own band, under his own name, featuring Howlin' Wolf sidemen such as Sam Lay.

And no, this isn't the story of Paul Butterfield in the '60s. This is Rockin' Johnny Burgin in the '90s.

The Rockin' Johnny Band, with guest Little Arthur Duncan, is playing at South Seas Village/Hawaiian Hut tomorrow night, a presentation of the Hawaii Blues Society (hiblues.org).

So how did Johnny become rockin'?

"Well, there was this guy with a radio show, Good Rockin' Charles, who was cool, and so I became Rockin' Johnny," said Burgin, by phone from -- where else? -- Chicago. "Sounds a heck of a lot better than the John Burgin Band."

The Rockin' Johnny Band With Keahi Conjugacion and Friends and Little Arthur Duncan Where: South Seas Village/Hawaiian Hut, on the grounds of the Ala Moana Hotel When: 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday Tickets: $26 in advance, $30 at the door, or $21 for HBS members Call: 864-6529

While this Carolina boy was attending the University of Chicago, a deejay friend was routinely sitting in with West Side legend Taildragger, and Burgin tagged along to gigs in neighborhoods he didn't know existed. "Next thing you know, I'm playing rhythm guitar regular with the band. It was really very cool and very intense -- a very long apprenticeship, six- and seven-hour gigs every night.

"I learned a lot because you have to throw out everything you think you know. Hit me like a bolt of lightning, listening to these great musicians play in clubs -- this is the way it's supposed to be. You can't learn from records, sitting in your bedroom. You do it on their terms. I was lucky. I could hang with them, go on the road with them, be the best I could be.

"You just had to let go of your preconceived notions. You strut in and play like Stevie Ray Vaughn, you aren't learning anything. Gotta toss it out. Forget who you are, start over and go along for the ride. Work long hours for no money! And you'll get there."

The Rockin' Johnny Band is known for its "old-fashioned" phrasing and sound. "My guitar is a 1961 Rickenbacker that my mom gave me when I was 17. I just prefer it. And I like the sound of old tube amps, but I'm not obsessive about it.

"The main thing is HOW you play. In the old days there was more of a conversation going on between musician and audience. Things have gotten more frantic and one-sided. Listen to Freddie King, who's been playing for decades. As the years go by, there was more and more, louder and louder. No give-and-take.

"People just listened differently. It wasn't one-sided like watching TV. They sat in clubs and dug the music. Now people go to sports bars and watch TV and get pummeled by music. Overload! It's an overkill culture.

"Remember when swing became so popular recently? That was because swing made it OK for people to be sociable, not isolated. It's like people are hungry but don't know what they're hungry for. A vitamin deficiency for real music."

The state of the blues is like the state of everything else these days, said Burgin, iffy but hanging on. "The labels aren't making money because the distributors are going belly-up, and blues is like .05 percent of the market. It's a good time to be on your own. I do OK because I have a steady work ethic: Keep hammering away!"

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