One part spaghetti western, 2 parts blues rock, a dash of country, and a whole lot of fun. If you ask Johnny, fun is really what it’s all about. From riding with raffish New England motorcycle gang, the Rapscallions, to prairie skiing (don’t ask) near his home town somewhere between North Texas and Oklahoma, his music has always been a byproduct of adventure and a life fraught with hard knocks and fast living.

As the name suggests, Johnny’s debut self produced LP, Chasing Ghosts, cleans out the closet. Smoking cigarettes for the last time with lost loves, keeping one hand on the bottle, and going down to the crossroads to sell your soul in order to play the guitar (true story), but the devil never shows up (or did he?); each song told in Southern storyteller fashion, paying tribute to Johnny’s literary past. The closing track on the album, Revival, even hints at the suicide notes left behind by the likes of Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson.

Now, Living in Maine, and performing with The Johnny Clay Shanks Band, Johnny’s newest release, Hell to Maine tells a story of barely scraping by, while finding warmth in love even in the midst of a cruel winter, and a haunted past.

Lead Vocals, Guitar / Johnny Clay Shanks
Bass, Vocals / Jacob McCurdy
Guitar / Mick Ramos
Keys / Mike Maurice
Drums / Jonathan Moore