Johnny Nitro Has Passed Away. San Francisco Has One Less Awesome Blues Player

[twyacht]

Damn shame when a white boy sings blues that good, and gets taken away too soon.

Johnny Nitro and the Doorslammers, were fantastic. Caught them at the Double Door in Charlotte several years back.

He always played without the bells and whistles of modern live performances, just plug in the guitar and play. Sing it from the from heart.

(02-20) 20:41 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Johnny Nitro's life ended like one of his gigs: in an old North Beach bar, on a Saturday night, surrounded by fans.

Mr. Nitro, whose raspy voice and low-down rhythm guitar made him a beloved fixture in the Bay Area blues scene, died Saturday evening in his apartment upstairs from the Saloon on Grant Avenue, where he performed regularly for decades.

"The paramedics came. It was chaos. But when they brought his body down wrapped in a white sheet, everyone just got quiet and started applauding. It was amazing," said Futoshi Morioka, a San Francisco guitarist who was playing at the Saloon when Mr. Nitro died.

"We finished the set because Johnny would have wanted that," Morioka said. "But then we played Bill Withers' 'Lean on Me' in his honor. I just played my heart out for him."

Mr. Nitro, 59, had been suffering from heart disease and diabetes for several years. In December, he collapsed onstage and was hospitalized for several days but was back performing the next weekend, said Burton Winn of San Anselmo, the bassist for Mr. Nitro's band, the Doorslammers.

"We've lost an institution," Winn said. "When he played, it was like he was in your living room, talking directly to you. He's irreplaceable."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/20/BAN81HR1FE.DTL#ixzz1EdrD5HAN

RIP Johnny Nitro. Tell Stevie Ray Vaughn and Hendrix hello.

[shooter32]

Thanks for posting this tw, he was a great one taken way to soon!

RIP Johnny