RIP David Johnston

You guys. Mike Piehl posted on Facebook that David Johnston died yesterday.

Oh man. I loved him. 

I found him busking one day, and stood and listened. I was utterly captivated by his voice, his Dobro, his wild tumble of blond hair. I booked him in one of my showcases at the Lizard Lounge. He didn't have a CD yet. Not yet. When he made one, it blew me away. 

You were the real deal, David. Following, my review from my archives (as Lexi Kahn) and a video I found on YouTube of David busking.
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02 Dec, 2002

David Johnston
Gibraltar Records
David Johnston
9-song CD 

Somewhere between a back-alley troubadour and a world weary flower child, David Johnston is the man for whom they invented the word soulful, and his genuine grit and grizzle infuse every track on his nine song debut. 

The key to the appeal of Johnston's style is, though he defiantly shifts from brooding and rootsy ("You Outdid Yourself") to swamp-tinged and sexy ("Ten Miles of Bad Road"), to gospel-inspired ("To The Well"), that he manages to keep a certain core consistency. 

David Johnston became best known among Boston rock circles for his guitar work with One Thin Dime, a band that also included drummer John Sands (Aimee Mann), sax guru Dana Colley (Morphine), bassist Rob Jefferies (Barrance Whitfield & the Savages) and singer/guitarist Tim Hughes. When One Thin Dime was driven into hiatus (sadly, devastated by the death of bassist Rob Jefferies) Johnston continued to play in Cambridge clubs, and in the streets and subways, either with various musicians or by himself with just his battered Gibson. On this CD, John Sands plays drums and percussion, Tim Hughes contributes background vocals, and longtime friend and collaborator David Schlichting plays bass. 

Pick up this CD (CD Baby has it), and catch this guy in the Harvard Square T stop, Toad, or the Plough; I promise, feelin' good is easy when David Johnston sings the blues.

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