Local music legend Jeff Johnson passes away
As many of you have heard by now, a large presence in the Eau Claire music scene passed away last Sunday. Jeff Johnson – perhaps best known for the bands Tatters and Another Carnival – passed away very early Sunday morning (1/22) due to health issues. He was 48.
Back in the eighties and well into the nineties, Jeff Johnson was all over the Chippewa Valley music scene – from his bands to his music store, anyone serious about local music knew who he was. Another Carnival, which evolved from Tatters, was arguably the biggest deal (tracks). The band toured across the nation, achieved the elusive record deal, and in the early ‘90s, even had a music video on MTV (something MTV used to be known for). While Another Carnival never really hit the big-big time, they enjoyed a fierce local following, and still do. According to Jeff’s obituary, his post-’Carnival group Supercell had two singles on the Adult Contemporary chart in 2000.
He also toured with The Knack as their stage manager, and worked with The Romantics and Tommy TuTone.
Many of you should remember Side By Side Pro Audio – a music/audio system shop that used to be in downtown Eau Claire in the early ‘90s, supplying the area with equipment, music lessons, and copious rawkin’ shop talk. Jeff was a partner in the store. Later on, he moved to Hudson where he maintained other shops, studios, and music festivals. He also made a name for himself as an professional audio engineer.
We hear Jeff had recently moved back to the area, and he had some new music projects brewing, sadly cut short, of course, by his passing.
Jeff’s funeral is tomorrow, 11am on Saturday, January 28, at Christ Church Cathedral on Farwell. Visitation will be an hour and a half before the service. More details here.
