Warren Johnson

Bass Guitar, Background Vocals

A veteran of the Toledo music scene since the tender age of 8 years old, Warren started his interest in music much like most boys do….to impress a girl! A girl that he liked told him that she was taking piano lessons, and to win her heart, he told her that he was too!

An innocent little lie, which ended up back-firing on him, as the girl told their teacher that, and she had set up a recital in front of the whole class the next day, for these talented children! Needless to say Warren did NOT show up for school the next day!

From those humble beginnings, Warren embarked on his musical career.

He had wanted to take and learn piano, but his father being a Louie Armstrong fan, had decided upon the trumpet and coronet. So Warren started playing the coronet…and hated it! However from their he branched out, went into the military academy and mastered the baritone, tuba, sousaphone, and all other brass instruments.

He started on stringed instruments in high school playing the Upright Bass in Jazz band, and that cemented his love of music, and performing in front of an audience. That led to his playing in many garage bands, but nothing of note, until he was given the nod to play with “Myron and the Deltrons” which was a ‘50’s and ‘60’s cover band in the early eighties. This was his first paying gig which included 3 costume changes through out the night, including a “Leader of the Pack” type greaser’s look! This band played out at many outdoor summer gigs and music festivals, and ran for about three years.

He maintained that steady gig while also playing with one of Toledo’s great Blues bands – The Griwalds, and even recorded with them on one of their albums.

That was followed by a long string of bands on the Toledo music scene, including: “Lucky Strike”, “Stacked Ham”, and “Strike Back” - all of which met with enthusiastic (if only minimal) success, and they played at venues all around town. They were around at the same time (and switched off with) the Band “Hot Licks”, when they were out of town, along with a another (girl’s band) called “Girl’s Night Out”, playing at all of “Kip’s bars” around Toledo. That lasted for many years as well.

After a while Warren took a break from the bar scene, bagan attending church,and began playing in the church band. That band became the backbone of the band “Fu5ion”, which Warren is currently still a member of, when not fulfilling his duties of laying down the Bass line with Cap Averill and the rest of “Old School”.

Warren met Cap during the “Laughing Moon Network” (Cap’s band in the mid eighties) days, and has played withhim off and on, ever since. They seem to feed off each other’s groove and energy, which can truly be heard and felt in Old School’s first album titled “The Word”.

Warren has opened for the likes of Brownsville Station (Smokin’ in the Boy’s room) and has played with the likes of Rick Derringer (Rock and Roll Hootchie-coo), when his band opened for them, and Rick’s Bass player got lost! As well as Cash Mangione (Chuck Mangione’s virtuoso Keyboardist brother).

“Old School” is Warren’s latest and greatest project and with the release of The Word he along with his fellow musicians (Cap Averill, Carlos Tornes. And Clark Brooks) stands looking out into the future, and is poised for greatness.