YVR3
YVR3
Genres: blues, blues rock, guitar blues
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Curtis Salgado
About YVR3
Johnny V (Mills) - Guitar and vocals Glen Yorga - Bass and vocals Andrzej Ryszka - Drums and vocals Born in Toronto, Ontario in the early 1950's he grew up listening to his parents singing and playing music together in their home. The week-end house parties with family, friends and neighbours was where Johnny first heard and developed a passion for the guitar. Johnny's father, S.J. Mills played guitar, rack harmonica and was a very fine songwriter. Johnny asked his dad to teach him when he was 11 years old. At 12 years old, Johnny would get up on Saturday mornings to go busking in Toronto's Jewish Markets (now known as The Kensington Markets) for money to buy LP's, 45's and get to the Saturday afternoon movies at the Orpheum Theatre. When he was 13 he formed a hard rockin' blues power trio called "Fuse". Their first paying gig was at a community centre on Brock Ave. in Toronto. Over the next two years the band got tight and played at the local youth dances held on Saturday evenings. Johnny was 15 when he hit the road playing music. Johnny V made Calgary, Alberta his home in 1979 and has been a mainstay on the Blues scene of western Canada ever since. He's played many styles of music to keep the bills paid but has always remained true to his first love, the Blues. He headed up the house band at the King Edward Hotel in Calgary when it first turned to a blues format in 1985. Johnny V and the Houserockers played there 26 weeks that first year. He has been the best kept secret in western Canada for the past 21 years and has spawned a whole generation of blues players from Alberta. When guitar god Amos Garrett first moved to Alberta he befriended Johnny and talked non stop about his style, technique and song writing. Such accolades from a truly stellar guitarist such as Amos amazed Johnny. In 1991 with the birth of his son on the horizon Johnny folded up his solo efforts and formed "Triple Threat" (with Tim Williams and his old friend, harpmeister Rusty Reed) in order to be home and spend more time with his family. Triple Threat released "Terra Firma Boogie" in 1993 and were nominated for a Juno Award in the Blues and Gospel category. This CD was reissued in 1999 on Storm Warning Records and is once again available to the public. Johnny V forged his original fire-brand style of blues touring and performing internationally for more than three decades. The term "getting in your face" has never known a better illustration than when the "Vmeister" starts firing volleys of scorching guitar passages intertwined with his passionate vocals. Like the original blues greats, it has not been an easy course for Johnny to chart in order to reach larger and more understanding audiences. It's his distinctive phrasing and monster guitar tones that make the V-man stand out. He's not a one trick pony or a flavour of the day, and has remained true to the form. You may hear hints of the great players he has studied, but his style is all his own and he understands the idiom right down to the tones, licks, and equipment. If you have ever witnessed one of his live performances, the first thing you notice is he always has the right sound for the song being played. Wherever Johnny V plays return engagements are the order of the day. If not acting as a headliner, it's not uncommon to find him sitting in, supporting, or providing back-up for renowned blues statesmen. He's garnered the respect of the genres finest artists and feels fortunate to have shared the stage with such luminaries as B.B. King, John Hammond, Otis Rush, Dr. John, Amos Garrett, Delbert McClinton, Pinetop Perkins, Eddy Clearwater, Sonny Rhodes, Frankie Lee, Larry Davis, Mighty Joe Young and Johnny Clyde Copeland to name a few. Johnny V is about the Blues. All his independent recordings have captured the attention of industry professionals globally, and been nominated for Juno awards on more than one occasion. Even the recordings he played on with CanadaâÄôs blues godfather Richard Newell (AKA King Biscuit Boy) "Urban Blues Re:Newell" and Amos Garrett's "Third Man In" were both nominated for Juno awards. Fans of the blues know only to well that if Johnny V is in the house, the joint's going to rock. As world renowned bluesman John Hammond said "Johnny V is a hard working guy who really plays the Blues" Elder Chicago Bluesman Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater first noticed Johnny in 1986 and invited him to live at his home in Chicago and join the band. Eddy took Johnny out on the road to promote him to the blues audiences in the U.S. and Canada. In 1988 Eddy put up the initial capital for Johnny to start work on his first solo recording project. In 1989 Johnny released those recordings of ten original songs titled "Roosters and Hens" and won a Juno Award in 1991 for his song "I Need A Woman" from those sessions. Throughout the years that followed, Johnny pursued his own career gleaning many awards and recognition along the way. Then in September of 1998 Eddy Clearwater once again invited Johnny to Chicago to be part of his new band. Johnny accepted the offer and moved to Chicago, he performed with "The Chief" in clubs, theatres and festivals throughout the continental United States, Europe, and South America for almost a year, then in July of 1999 he accepted an offer to become a member of Billy Branch's band "The Sons of Blues" and continued touring the globe as part of the "SOB". He even welcomed in the new millennium at The Kingston Mines (Chicago's oldest and most famous blues club) performing with "The SOBs" on New Year's Eve. He remained with Billy until late January of 2000 when he was invited to fly to Riga, Latvia to groom and record with the Latvian Blues Band. He spent 7 weeks there teaching master classes and arranged, produced, mixed, and recorded a new CD called "Blues Party" released in late May 2000 on Laura Records. It was the first ever blues recording done in that country. He then was invited to Greece to perform with the original Louisiana Red (Iverson Minter). In 2001 Johnny spent almost 4 months in the Ukraine establishing himself and trailblazing a path for future bluesmen. In 2001 Johnny was invited to the Ukraine and spent almost 4 months their with a one month trip to Greece to tour and vacation with his wife and son. In 2001 he officially moved back home to Canada and put together a new version of The Johnny V Trio with drummer Andrzej Ryszka and bassist Glen Yorga (AKA YVR3). The band released a live CD titled Mustards and Relics in the fall of that year. The summer of 2002 saw Johnny and his trio crossing Canada 4 or 5 times in support of the new CD with many festival and clubs appearances. He also put together a two week Canadian tour with Amos Garrett and Big Dave McLean called "The Best of the West - Prairie Pickers". He is presently home in Calgary working locally with his band The Johnny V Trio until his son completes high school. In 2005, he recorded and released the CD "Agonostically Eclectic" in order to keep his name out there while he focuses his attention on his son and attends to his responsibility as a father. As respected blues guitarist Dave Myers said "Johnny V can play man, he's deep, real deep"
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