Eric Johnson to release new album "Up Close - Another Look"

UK Release Date: Monday 1st April 2013
To coincide with Nationwide UK Tour

Provogue Records (a division of Mascot Label Group) is pleased to announce the UK release of Eric Johnson’s special edition album "Up Close - Another Look" on Monday 1st April. The album coincides with Johnson’s nationwide UK tour which starts at London’s Shepherd Bush Empire on Wednesday 3rd April (tour dates listed below).
Guitarist, songwriter and singer Eric Johnson brings listeners up close to his stunning musicality when the Grammy winning artist releases a custom European version of his sixth studio album. The 13-track affair presents 12 new Johnson compositions, plus his version of the Electric Flag song Texas.

Praised by All Music Guide as one of the "very few musical artists [to] achieve a true signature style which makes comparisons to other musicians impossible," Johnson expands, deepens and enhances his sound on his first album release since Bloom in 2005.
The title reflects the revelatory and spontaneous performances on Up Close - Another Look as well as its sonic immediacy, thanks to Johnson's second look and revisions on six songs plus mixes on the seven others by legendary veteran engineers Richard Mullen and Andy Johns.

"I decided to let go a bit and allow things to happen and just go with the flow," explains Johnson of his approach to the album. "I like my work to have a high proficiency, but I also
wanted to go for the energy and magic of the performances."
The many live shows he's performed in various configurations since the album came out in America in 2010 and the songs he's already recorded for his next album prompted Johnson to replay some tracks and revise and remix them to make what the Austin Chronicle praises as a disc that "brings out the best in him" even better.
"The whole premise of this new record I've started making is to perform with more of a live feel in the studio," he explains. "So when I got this European deal, I listened to the Up Close record and heard a few ways I could do that with this album." After refining his technique and tone to masterful levels over the course his recording and performing career, "I've found that the music happens more naturally live and that's what I am trying to address more in the music I record."

The album has already earned high praise in the music press. "Guitar fans – prepare to be dazzled," raves MusicRadar.com. All Music Guide notes how Johnson "continues to find interesting ways to hone his specific craft on Up Close," and Guitar Player magazine observes, "Despite the esteemed company, however, it is Johnson’s spectacular guitar work that elevates the record to empyrean heights."
Lyrical themes of reflection, emotional revelations, personal growth and fulfillment are underscored on the album by Johnson’s most daring, urgent, progressive and at times raw and fervent guitar work to date. As with all of Johnson’s work, his all-encompassing style draws from rock, blues, pop, country, jazz and classic to exemplify his stature as "an extraordinary guitar player accessible to ordinary music fans," as the Memphis Commercial Appeal observes.

Johnson burst into the musical mainstream with his landmark 1990 album Ah Via Musicom, which won him a Grammy, yielded a record three Top 10 instrumental hits like "Cliffs of Dover" from a single LP release, and earned him platinum sales status. Enshrined in Guitar Player’s Gallery of Greats and named one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century by Musician magazine alongside numerous other awards, Johnson’s career has been marked by his gift for writing songs with vivid and indelible melodies and lyrical, concise and adventurous playing that focuses on melody and the song rather than six-string gymnastics.
A frequent collaborator with other guitar legends, he has continued to explore the myriad possibilities of guitar-based musical artistry since his debut major label release in 1986, Tones, that landed him on the cover of Guitar Player.
Up Close - Another Look is energized by Johnson’s continuing focus on broadening and enriching his work "I wanted to bare myself a little further and show myself more," he says. "I want my music to always grow and have more of a profound meaning and impact."

24 HOUR BOX OFFICE: 0844 478 0898
BOOK ONLINE: www.thegigcartel.com
All Tickets £25 (except £30, London)

London o2 Shepherds Bush Empire
Wednesday 3rd April
Tickets: £30 / Box Office: 0844 477 2000
Doors 7pm/ Stage 8pm
Shepherd's Bush Green, London W12 8TT
www.o2shepherdsbushempire.co.uk

Harrogate Theatre
Thursday 4th April
Tickets: £25 / Box Office: 01423 502 116
Doors 7pm / Stage 7.30pm
Oxford Street, Harrogate, HG1 1QF
www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk

Edinburgh Queen's Hall
Friday 5th April
Tickets: £25 / Box Office: 0131 668 2019
85 - 89 Clerk Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9JG
Doors 6.30pm / Stage 7.30pm
www.thequeenshall.net

Manchester Royal Northern College of Music
Saturday 6th April
Tickets: £25 / Box Office: 0161 907 5555
Doors: 7pm / Stage: 7:30pm
124 Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9RD
www.rncm.ac.uk

 Birmingham Town Hall
Sunday 7th April
Tickets: £25 / Box Office: 0121 345 0600
Doors: 7:30pm / Stage: 8pm
Victoria Square, Birmingham, B3 3DQ
www.thsh.co.uk

Salisbury City Hall
Monday 8th April
Tickets: £25 / Box Office: 01722 434 434
Doors: 7:30pm / Stage: 8pm
Malthouse Lane, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP2 7TU
www.cityhallsalisbury.co.uk

ERIC JOHNSON - ESSENTIAL FACTS

Eric is enshrined in Guitar Player magazine’s Gallery of Greats and was named one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century by Musician magazine. He has won and placed high in numerous readers and critic polls conducted by guitar publications over the last 25 or so years, most recently in 2010 when he was named Guitarist of the Year by Guitar International. Eric has also won more Austin Music Awards (33) than anyone else since they began in 1981, including Musician of the Year and Best Electric & Acoustic Guitarist plus Best Instrumental & Video, and was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame in its first year in 1983.
He won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Cliffs of Dover" in 1992. He’s also been nominated for the Best Rock Instrumental Grammy for his album Ah Via Musicom and the tracks "Zap" (from Tones) and "Pavilion" and "S.R.V." (both from Bloom). The Bloom LP received a Best Pop Instrumental nomination, plus the track "Rain" from the Alien Love Child album Live and Beyond for a total of six Grammy nominations.
His songs "Cliffs of Dover," "Trademark" and "Righteous" were Top 10 Album Rock hits and "Pavilion" and "High Landrons" were Top 40 singles.
Eric has recorded and/or performed with such other notable guitar players as Chet Atkins, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, James Burton, Jerry Reed, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani (on the original G3 tour), John McLaughlin, Jimmie Vaughan, Sonny Landreth, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Dweezil Zappa, Adrian Legg, Peppino D'Agostino, Andy McKee, John Petrucci and others. He was tapped by Eric Clapton to play the first Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004, and has appeared on four Experience Hendrix tours. He has also played with such esteemed rhythm sections as the Les Paul Trio, Double Trouble (bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton), and bassist Will Lee and drummer Anton Fig of the "Late Night with David Letterman" band.
He has paid homage in song to such players as Jerry Reed ("Tribute to Jerry Reed" on his album Bloom), fellow Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan (the Grammy-nominated track "SRV") and Wes Montgomery (who Johnson saluted in his Ah Via Musicom song "East Wes"). As well, Alex Lifeson of Rush credits Johnson as the inspiration for his guitar solo in the song "Cut To The Chase," and Steve Morse recorded a song titled "TruthOla" as a tribute to Jeff Beck, Alex Lifeson, and Eric.
Eric has recorded and/or performed with such musical artists as Carole King, Cat Stevens, Christopher Cross, Rodney Crowell, Richard Marx, Jennifer Warnes, and Carla Olson, among others.
Musical instrument and equipment makers have developed with Eric and market Eric Johnson custom and signature items such as: Fender Stratocaster electric and Martin MC-40 acoustic guitars, Fullton-Webb amplifier, DiMarzio DP211 Custom Pickups, Dunlop Fuzz Face pedal, Eminence EJ1250 12-inch guitar amp speaker, GHS Nickel Rockers Electric Guitar Strings, and signature Jazz III guitar picks.
He has released three instructional videos: Eric Johnson: Total Electric Guitar, Eric Johnson: The Fine Art of Guitar and Eric Johnson: The Art of Guitar.
"Cliffs of Dover" is the final qualifying round song on the video game "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" and Eric's song "Camel's Night Out" is featured on "Guitar Hero World Tour."
"An extraordinary guitar player accessible to ordinary music fans." – Memphis Commercial Appeal
"Eric is a wonderful cat. He’s always been one of my favorite people in the world, as well as one of my favorite guitar players. The guy has done more trying to be the best that he can be than anybody I’ve ever seen. He plays all the time, and tries to get his instrument in perfect shape all the time. He works hard on his tone, sound, techniques. He does incredible things with all kinds of guitars – electric, lap steel, acoustic, everything. Few people understand that when the guy was 15, he was playing Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery stuff, and he was doing it right – that's pretty cool! The guy deserves a lot more recognition than he's ever gotten. Eric is an honest human being, and he cares about everything. Just listen to him and learn." - Stevie Ray Vaughan
"Eric Johnson plays guitar the way Michelangelo painted ceilings: with a colorful vibrancy that's more real than life." – The New Age Music Guide
"When I first heard Eric, he was only 16, and I remember wishing that I could have played like that at that age." – Johnny Winter
"Johnson entices listeners with seductive sounds and soulful playing rather than seeking to impress solely with displays of technical virtuosity." – Guitar Player
"The distinct guitar stylings of Eric Johnson never cease to astound, amaze and entertain." – Vintage Rock
"Eric has more colorful tone in his fingers than Van Gogh had on his palette. He is one of those few musicians who keeps getting better and better." – Steve Vai
"While his fabled technical prowess precedes him (after all, this is the man who once wowed Prince), there is more to Johnson than guitar. He is the complete package – a creative singer/songwriter who is one with his instrument. Throughout the evening, Johnson danced romantically across the stage with his guitar as he tapped switches on his pedal board and changed his trademark tones from dirty to clean and back again to evoke different moods and textures – all effortlessly. Pure sonic bliss." – Grammy.com
"Eric Johnson, bar none, is one of the greatest guitar players in the history of the electric guitar. I'm proud to call him an inspiration." – Joe Bonamassa
"Very few musical artists achieve a true signature style — one which makes comparisons to other musicians impossible. But Texas guitarist Eric Johnson arguably comes as close to this echelon as any musician from the past quarter-century." – All Music Guide
"One of the most respected guitarists on the planet." – Guitar Player
"Eric Johnson? Damn, that guy can play!" – Billy Gibbons

Eric Johnson – Official Website
www.ericjohnson.com

Eric Johnson - Facebook
www.facebook.com/OfficialEricJohnson

Eric Johnson - Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/EJUpClose

Mascot Label Group
www.mascotlabelgroup.com