ABOUT US
Once upon a time, in the Deadmonton of Winter, a gal fancying herself a songwriter went to a birthday party and met a songwriter fancying himself a drummer. He poured them each a shot of gin in a glass of cheap California red, and Johnnie Ninety-Nine was born.
Alberta girl Johnnie Ninety-Nine has been playing music since she was big enough to crawl onto the piano bench in her parents' mobile home. By age 6, she was competing with music students more than twice her age at the provincial level in composition. Since then, she has eagerly danced Dixie to disco with her Muse, and has finally come full circle to an individual style influenced by the Howlin' Wolf, Hank Williams, and Hendrix she was raised on. Drawing from her deep well of heritage - farmers to outlaws, Roseburg to Bajina Basta - every song is a heartfelt gesture of respect to all the things that came before it.
Age for four years, add a sassy fiddle player and the bassist with the deepest pockets in the prairies, and you get The Johnnie Ninety-Nine Band.
Like a dishevelled railroad orphan with a six-shooter and a matching set from Tiffany’s, Johnnie Ninety-Nine and her bindle of fables raft their way down both the frigid North Saskatchewan and the mighty Mississippi on a rough-hewn wooden door stolen straight off the hinges of the village church. By age 6, she was competing with music students more than twice her age at the provincial level in composition. Since then, she has eagerly attempted every aspect of the Muse she was given an opportunity to explore, and has finally come full circle to a distinctive style heavily influenced by the Howlin’ Wolf, Hank Williams and Hendrix she was raised on. Described by one slack-jawed onlooker as a union between Marc Bolan and Janis Joplin, Johnnie’s powerful voice and unique frailing slide style on the resonator banjo electrify every room she plays.
Johnny 99 is a rock solid Bruce Springsteen song. Thanks to some poor soul inspired by the first verse, a johnny ninety-nine is also a ruthlessly efficient beverage . And in a few relevant circles, "johnny/ie" is a term of endearment. Johnnie Ninety-Nine is the result of a back forty blend of old ways and new ideas – full-bodied and somewhat dry, the robust tones of declaration complimented by the softer notes of humanness, rich in heritage with a refreshingly hopeful finish, and only getting better with age. After all, why mix high-proof music with anything less than more music?
"Johnnie kicks her Bluegrass up a notch by creating sonic textures and atmospheres, resulting in songs that are felt as much as heard. You’ll dig it if you dig: Michelle Shocked rewriting the American Country Songbook with Daniel Lanois producing the session."
-Brian Baker, City Beat (Cincinnati OH)
"Johnnie Ninety-Nine was a toe-tapping splendour."
- Robin, Texting Mackenzie (Guelph ON)
"Johnnie Ninety-Nine's voice is one of those that catches you off guard. Her youthful, smiling, slightly awkward stage presence disappears the moment she starts singing, and is replaced by a maturity and confidence that makes you sit up and take notice. She has a timeless quality that is as rustic and "old-timey" as it is fresh, young, and contemporary. The kind of voice that connects up the present with a line that draws back into the distant and dim past. It's a voice that demands attention, and then rewards the effort." Adam PW Smith Live Event Photography http://www.adampwsmith.com
"Very powerful... extraordinary." - Ali Amri, proprietor, Montmartre Cafe, Vancouver BC