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The Johnson Brothers and The Swinging Johnsons

The Swinging Johnsons and the Johnson Brothers are club/G.B.(general business) bands based in the Boston area. We have performed an average of 200 gigs a year for the last ten years, with about 60 of these being weddings or corporate events. The band specializes in bridging the gap between the traditional wedding band and the crazy, high-energy club band. Our strength is that we have a working repertoire of over 1000 songs, from Cole Porter and Louis Armstrong to AC/DC and Kool and the Gang. We are not a bunch of old guys in tuxes playing anemic muzak. We're a bunch of old guys playing all kinds of music! We make it a point to have fun wherever we play, and the audience picks up on that energy. If you don't want to feel like you're "dancing in your dentist's office", make sure you come see the band live before choosing the entertainment for your event.

About Us

The Johnson Brothers and the Swinging Johnsons were born in the clubs, not the function hall. While most G.B bands only play for the captive, open bar/buffet wedding/corporate scene, the Johnson Brothers know what it's like to try to entertain the jaded post-everything twenty-something crowd that is the bread and butter of the nightclub business. The Johnson Brothers does so by keeping their tongues planted firmly in-cheek, knowing every request (or fearlessly attempting any they don't), and keeping the energy level cranked.

About our Two Names

The Johnson Brothers and the Swinging Johnsons are the same band. The only difference between them is whether or not we're adding our fourth and fifth members (keys and sax), and what each club owner feels like billing us as. We started using The Johnson Brothers for wedding/corporate events because it seemed less offensive. The reason we still use both names is that we've done a lot of good work under each one, and we want people to be able to find us.

Band Members

At the heart of the band are the "dueling" Chris's, namely, Chris Marsh (bass and vocals), and Chris Leadbetter (guitar and vocals). These two recently celebrated their 2,000th gig together in ten years' time (an astounding 4 gigs a week average). Their enormous repertoire and almost telepathic connection are a testament to these years in the trenches. Fearlessly following them into battle are Mark Hylander (Duke and the Drivers) on drums, Dave Ramsay (Taylor Made, Maynard Ferguson) on keys/guitar, and Hidea "Bonz" "Pat" Satoh (Kazumi Watanabe) on alto saxophone and percussion. A female vocalist and/or an additional horn player are available upon request.