Jonathon"Boogie"Long

Over the past five years, Guitar Center's annual nationwide search for the next great blues guitar player has evolved into the definitive shreddin' showdown. On September 6, the world's largest retailer of musical instruments once again showed its continuing support of aspiring musicians by declaring Jonathon"Boogie"Long as its new King of the Blues. Rising above thousands of other guitarists, Long, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, beat out five other finalists at the House of Blues in Hollywood, California, in front of a live audience and panel of celebrity judges, and shared the stage with the master jammer himself, Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes.
"Winning Guitar Center's King of the Blues is the most incredible feeling ever," says Long, who blew the doors off the joint with his punishing string bends and lightning-fast Albert King-style licks. "I actually have one of the old King of the Blues promotional banners on the wall above my bed, and I've been sleeping under it for three years. My bassist said some of it must have rubbed off on me. I'm so thankful that Guitar Center offers this kind of opportunity to an unsigned artist like me. It's just an unbelievable thing that they're doing, and I hope they keep doing it year after year."
As the new king, Long won $25,000, studio sessions with Grammy Award-winning producer Pete Anderson, and gear from Gibson, Epiphone, Egnater, Boss, and Ernie Ball.
Judges at the grand finals were Motley Crue's Mick Mars, Conan bandleader Jimmy Vivino, Joe Bonamassa, Pete Anderson, Randy Scott (who won last year's King of the Blues contest), up-and-coming rocker Tyler Bryant and Guitar World editor-in-chief Brad Tolinski. "Every year I look forward to hearing the amazing talent that GC has discovered," Tolinski says. "Jonathon played his ass off. He was totally committed and in command, and his glowing white zoot suit wasn't bad either."
For those that wish to judge Long's chops for themselves, check out the winning performance at gc.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues - Guitar World

Jonathon "Boogie" Long Releases Three Original Blues Tunes, "Bad Karma," "The Dealer" and "Do Right Woman."

Baton Rouge, LA (PRWEB) November 06, 2011
Jonathon “Boogie” Long, this years’ winner of Guitar Center’s King of the Blues competition, is pleased to announce the release of his first EP, Jonathon “Boogie” Long:The Pete Anderson Sessions. The three original songs were produced at Little Dog Records’ Studio by Grammy Award winning producer/guitarist Pete Anderson. The recording and mixing time were a part of “Boogie’s” prize package for winning the fifth annual nationwide search for the next great undiscovered blues guitar player.

The three cuts are “Bad Karma,” a punchy blues tune, “The Dealer,” a powerful ballad and “Do Right Woman” a groove to song. The band was Jesper Kristensen on drums, Mike Murphy on keyboards (REO Speedwagon’s “Ridin’ the Storm Out” vocalist) and Peter Freiberger on bass. The songs were Executive Produced by Pete Anderson, Engineered by Tony Rambo and Mixed by Sally Browder. The EP is now available on iTunes.

“Everything fell together in the sessions,” comments Jonathon. “It was like building a cake. I knew from the moment I walked in that everything was going to be really solid,” he continues. “After Pete helped me pick out the songs for the production, all I had to do was play and sing the blues,” he notes. “Feeling it in the moment is the blues and then you have to cry it out and that’s what happened in the studio,” he concludes.

Scheduled for next year, upcoming live concert performances include the Spanish Town Mardi Gras Ball at the Baton Rouge River Center on Sunday, February 4, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival on Saturday, April 14, and the Jammin’ JC Blues and BBQ Festival in Junction City, Kansas on Saturday, September 29. Recently he appeared with Luther Kent and Trick Bag at the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival in New Orleans on October 16, at Baton Rouge’s International Heritage Celebration on October 23 and at the Baton Rouge State Fair on October 31. He also regularly appears, on Tuesday’s with his blues/soul trio The Blues Revolution with Zach Matchett on bass and Chad Solomon on drums at the Big Heads Tavern in Baton Rouge.

Jonathon “Boogie” Long describes himself as being born with the blues coursing through his veins. The Baton Rouge native started playing Gospel songs on guitar at the tender age of six, a natural thing as he was raised in a Southern Baptist community. By age eight he was taking lessons and at twelve, he was playing regularly in local blues clubs and at events. He got out of school at fourteen and toured fulltime, playing bass, with Henry Turner, Jr. and Flavor, from 2003 to 2005 on the Louisiana Legends Tour. Additional tours include Chris Duarte, Kenne Wayne and Tyree Neal on the Chitlin’ Circuit, as well as 2Hipnotic on the college circuit.


He has performed, for the last four years at Jazzfest with Luther Kent and Trick Bag and has shared the stage with luminaries that include Dr. John, Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr., Monte Montgomery and Lou Marini and Steve Howard of the Blues Brothers Band, among others.

The Guitar Center’s King of the Blues finals were held on September 1, at the House of Blues in West Hollywood. Jonathan and five other finalists were selected from 4,000 entrants. The panel of judges for the live performances included Mick Mars of Motley Crue; band leader and musical director for “Conan” Jimmy Vivino; Brad Tolinsk, Editor and Chief of Guitar World Magazine; Randy Scott, last years’ winner; blues rock singers and guitarists Tyler Bryant and Joe Bonamassa; and Pete Anderson.

Prizes included $25,000 in cash, the aforementioned studio session with Pete Anderson, a Gibson Vintage Collectors Series Les Paul 1959 Reissue guitar, an Epiphone 1965 Elitist Casino guitar, Egnater Full Stack and 112 Combo Amp, Boss GT-10 Guitar Multi-Effects Processor, winner’s choice of two Boss Single Stomp Pedals, the Robert Johnson Complete Masters Centennial Edition Vinyl Box Set, Endorsement Deals with Gibson, Ernie Ball, Boss and Egnater and a feature article in Guitar World Magazine, which will be on the stands on November 7th.

For more information, please visit http://www.jonathonboogielong.com. - Written by:Marcia Groff(EMI) Published by Yahoo News

Jonathon Long doesn’t just have the blues. As the Baton Rouge-bred musician sings on the opening track of his new album, Parables of a Southern Man, he has a burning fire for the blues, and he doesn’t discriminate when it comes to subgenres.

“I try to write songs that can pertain to different people from many different musical appreciations. The way we consume music, when most stuff is downloaded, you don’t have to listen to the whole record to find a couple of songs you like, songs you connect with.”

There’s something for everybody on Parables. For the blues purists, there are timeless themes of love and heartbreak, but interpreted in a thoroughly modern way that’ll appeal to a younger generation.


On The Ride, Long howls about his desire to lose himself and find love and peace, but to do so, he has to “turn off the GPS." Struggling with the spiritual realm has always been at the heart of the blues, and Long has found a way to keep that concept current.

“I grew up in church – with the hypocrisy of the church,” he says. “People see Jesus as the perfect white, long-haired, hippy-dippy Jesus. We wouldn't recognize Jesus if he walked into a church today, simply based on what American culture has made Jesus.”

As his second record for singer/songwriter/guitarist Samantha Fish’s Wild Heart Records, Parables sees Long taking the next step in a career that has seen him grow from a child prodigy in Louisiana, where his parents signed partial custody over to Henry Turner to allow their 14-year-old to tour as part of his band, to an opener for BB King to his current status as an accomplished frontman.

Over that journey, he’s built up the chops to blast through Skynyrd-esque fuzz on Dangerous, subtle and clean country runs on Pain and the hard electric blues of Savior’s Face.


No matter the type of blues, Long keeps it classy on Parables – while there’s plenty of tasty pentatonic licks sprinkled throughout, the solos were consciously pared back, a decision that Long attributes to producer Fish.

“She wants everything to make sense, to not be too jammy. I like to get crazy and shred, but in the studio, it needs to be clean and understandable so there’s not too much confusion going on and too many notes in a measure,” he says.

“Live has a lot of room for that, so if you can capture a clean, listenable version of the song in the studio, you’re good.” - Adam Kovac, Guitar World

Back in August, we had one of those rare hallelujah moments where you get truly knocked off your feet by a player you’d never encountered before. Jonathon Long, a 31 year old from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, may not be a household name quite yet, but his effortless command of country, jazz and blues licks recalls greats such as Danny Gatton - not a comparison we use lightly.

When we caught up with Jonathon last summer, he was playing on a blues-themed cruise hosted by Joe Bonamassa. But he’s about as far from the blues-rock cookie-cutter as can be, citing Johnny A, Tony Rice and Guthrie Govan as equally important influences in his rich inner musical landscape.

He’s also got huge chops, which he delivers with the passion of a travelling preacher. We joined the charismatic Southern Suhr-slinger to get to the roots of his eclectic and electrifying style.

Louisiana is a state with a lot of music history. How did you make a name for yourself on that scene?

“I got pulled out of the music store when I was 10 or 11 years old by this lady named Dixie Rose in the town I was living in and she said, ‘You’re great, you need to come and be heard.’ So I played with her a couple of years and then eventually she introduced me to the blues jam at Swamp Mama’s in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"And I would just go hear these old players like Kenny Neal and Larry Garner, and Raful Neal was still alive. Just old souls and just good players.

“So the local guys at the blues jam that were out there touring and doing it were my biggest influences early on, in the beginning. I just knew that I could feel that it had to be real. You could get up there and try to imitate it, but everybody could see right through you if you just got up there and you tried to act it. You had to really feel it and be about it."

There are a lot of people that look past the history of the blues and they don’t give enough credit to where it comes from

“And I could tell those people, those guys who were my early influences, were truly about what they’re singing and playing, and I wanted to feel that one day. I wanted to figure out a way to get into that sort of spirit, just that soul. Almost like, even if everything was going great and I was born a rich kid with a silver spoon in my mouth - which I wasn’t, but if I was - I would still want to find the blues. Do you know what I’m saying?

"I would want to feel just the struggle. That way you could really live it and be it. So I think that’s important. “You know, the blues comes from African-American culture and the spirituals and the gospel. There are a lot of people that look past the history of it and they don’t give enough credit to where it comes from.

"I say that to say there are a lot of people that try to imitate it, but you’ve just got to feel it and have your own voice with it.”

Do the fabled ‘juke joints’ of Louisiana music lore still exist?


“There are a couple of them left, there’s not many. There’s one place called Teddy’s Juke Joint that’s been there for years and years and years in Zachary, Louisiana and it’s one of the last remaining juke joints on the blues highway. There’s not many of them left.

"Ground Zero Blues Club is Morgan Freeman’s spot [in Clarksdale, Mississippi], then you’ve got Teddy’s and then there are a couple of them around the Clarksdale area and stuff. But there are not many real juke joints left where it’s a shady little hole in the wall with a low ceiling and old memorabilia hanging around.

“Teddy still spins records. He don’t have a jukebox or have a CD player, none of that. He still spins original records and vinyls in a record booth and he’ll turn down the radio and talk, ‘Hey, pretty ladies, go ahead and get out there and shake that thing.’ And he’ll turn it down and kind of DJ, but he plays real records.

I mean, Guthrie, he’s fast but he can be as tasteful, he can play any style of music, just as good as anybody else


You’re a very eclectic player - your guitar work spans everything from country to jazz. Who are your touchstones when it comes to taste, technique and feel?

“Oh, there’s a ton of them I really like, but I’ll name three: Michael Landau, Robben Ford and... I’m just going to name a badass - Guthrie Govan. I mean, Guthrie, he’s fast but he can be as tasteful, he can play any style of music, just as good as anybody else.

"And then Robben’s tone is just unmatched... just the way that he approaches licks. And then with Michael Landau, there are no words.”

Robben and Michael are players that make great use of clear but sustaining tone that has its roots in Fender and Dumble amps. Are you similar when it comes to tone?

“Oh, yes. With those guys everything is clear as a bell, even when it’s got a little overdrive on it, it’s just crystal clear. But that has a lot to do with their hand strength and their approach to attacking a note as well. Personally, I like a lot of headroom and for the note to be clear as a bell.

"I recently got an endorsement for Komet Amplification and I’ve been using their Concorde amp. It’s like a Trainwreck, basically, but it can get real clean and crystal clear. And then on the Fast mode it has what they call instant response or instant touch response.

"When you hit something it is there and it doesn’t hide mistakes. It’s not one of these amps that’s just a pillow that hides mistakes and all that, it’s a player’s amp. I like an amp to cut through and be clear and not have too much mush on top of the note, you know?

I recently met a guy back home - he retired young and has a bunch of money. He spent countless dollars on any pedal and any amp that you can imagine

"A guitar player always is chasing tone. I recently met a guy back home named Tracy Farmer, he had a good job and retired young and has a bunch of money. And he spent countless dollars on any pedal and any amp that you can imagine but he came down to Two-Rock and Komet.

"He also turned me on to that stuff and then stuff like [pedal maker] Vemuram and the original Klon and that sort of thing. Just good stuff."

The Vemuram stuff is interesting. Do you use their pedals?

“I use the Shanks ODS-1, the John Shanks overdrive, and it is killer. I’m using my friend’s KTR on this tour and, man, I’ve been wanting to buy an original Klon. But the Shanks does that sort of thing so well that it’s almost not worth the $1,700 investment in a real Klon.

"The Klon has a warmth around the note; it puts just a touch of a real warm halo around the note that can’t be matched, though.”


Guitar-wise, you recently switched from big Gibson-style semis to a Tele-style Suhr. How come?

“Honestly, it’s just easier to carry when you’re on the road. It’s lighter and it’s less circumference of a guitar. It’s also tougher. You know, if this boat broke down I’d use it as a paddle. I mean, they’re virtually indestructible: you can bring a Tele on the road and even if the side of the neck pocket cracks or something weird happens, you can always keep it together and jam.

"It’s an indestructible workhorse, and I just figure it’s light - this one’s only 6.1lbs - and there are less things could go wrong.”

Did you have to adapt your style in any way, due to the switch from humbuckers and a shorter scale length?

“Not really. I mean, I’m not really a theory player, I just play. So I tend to pick up any guitar and just do my thing on it. I’ve played acoustics with actions so high you could look under them. Just like any real player, you can pick up anything and make music.”

Are you a Danny Gatton fan at all? It’s tempting to draw parallels between your approach to playing and his...

“A little bit. I’m a fan of everybody. I like Spanky Alford a lot. So I mix the neo-soul chords and stuff with the sweeping and finger tapping and blues, kinda like Eric Gales does. But then I also every now and then will throw in some Tony Rice or Danny Gatton kind of chicken picking stuff. I kind of melt those three things together, you know? But I came up playing blues.”

I find myself doing that all the time where I’ll be practicing or trying to figure out somebody’s licks. I have to stop myself and say, ‘You know what? You need to write a tune - Jamie Dickson