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Arts & Music

Gimme Five! John of John Howie Jr. & The Rosewood Bluff

After his Two Dollar Pistols ran out of bullets, John Howie Jr. wasted no time putting together a new act, The Rosewood Bluff. The band’s been kicking up dust, playing their soulful honkytonk for eager crowds since circa 2008. Sure they’ve figured out the best pull on the pedal steal to make the barkeeps smile, but can their fearless leader handle a round of Gimme Five? See for yourself after the jump.

1. If your band were a movie monster, which would it be?
I always found it easy to relate to the Wolf Man, for whatever reason. Something about the involuntary personality change always resonated with me. Anger issues, maybe? Our pedal steel player, Nathan Golub, would be the Invisible Man, because he’s very laid back but still very there. And our guitarist Tim Shearer is British, so he’d be a guy out of one of the Hammer Films, Dr. Frankenstein maybe, as played by Peter Cushing. Great question, either way, I love all the old horror movies.

2. What’s the strangest show (or venue) you’ve ever played?
The Rosewood Bluff hasn’t really had any super strange ones yet, but my old group the Two Dollar Pistols had a particularly odd gig at a college in South Carolina once where we got heckled a bit. Someone actually yelled, “Dukes of Hazzard!” if you can believe that. I think the kids were a little self-conscious about being perceived a certain way. I’m from the country, so I can dig that.

3. Describe your feelings toward live performance.
Most of the time I adore it. It’s far less controlled, obviously, than the studio, so things happen that aren’t necessarily planned. And I like it that way! I kind of revel in it, actually. I rarely write up a set list, much to the dismay of my band. I learned that trick opening up for Merle Haggard, and if it’s good enough for the Hag, who am I to argue?

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that would really surprise people?
My love for 70’s soft-rock like The Carpenters and Bread usually surprises people. And the Monkees, I adore them, as does our bassist, Billie Feather, and our drummer, Matt Brown. That’s one influence that’s been known to raise a few eyebrows among the cognoscenti.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)
Me and my best friend used to talk about being stuntmen. Maybe that’s what I’ve ended up being, in a strictly metaphorical sense! Always having to do the work the real musicians don’t want to do and getting paid less!

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Keep checking in (here) for opportunities to see the Rosewood Bluff tear down the house. And by all means, give John a high five when you see him!