Search - Jojo Hermann :: Smiling Assassin

John Herman - Wilco Meets Tom Petty

David Barsotti | MILL VALLEY, CA United States | 05/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Hermann is the keyboard player for Widespread Panic from Athens, GA. But he has lived in and around Oxford, Mississippi since 1987, playing coffeehouses and clubs in Mississippi and Memphis. He toured the South xxtensively with Beanland until 1992, when he went to Athens to play with Widespread Panic. His relentless touring schedule has left little time to come home to Mississippi and play with his old friends. In October 2000, however, he spent three days in the studio with Luther and Cody Dickinson of The North Mississippi All-Stars and Paul "Crumpy" Edwards of Bloodkin to record the debut album of John Hermann called Smiling Assassin. Produced by Hermann and Bruce Watson at the Money Shot studio in Water Valley, Mississippi, Smiling Assassin is a collection of ten country songs that would been gathering dust in Hermann's closet. There is a version of Doc Pomus' "Lonely Avenue," which was a hit for Ray Charles. John Bell, singer for Widespread Panic, lends his powerful vocals to this cut. A lot of other great musicians also sat in on the sessions. Cary Hudson of Blue Mountain (who is also Hermann's neighbor near Taylor, Mississippi) plays fiddle on the title cut and adds a raucous harmonica on "Run You Down." George McConnell, currently of the Kudzu Kings, and Hermann's band mate in Beanland, added his trademark guitar sound to "Mountain Hideaway," "Abilene" and "Swamp Tag." All the guys from Widespread Panic also lent their support. Todd Nance, the drummer, recorded his first ever 12-string guitar track on "Don't Throw It Away." John Hermann has been playing with Luther and Cody Dickinson for many years in Mississippi. They met partly through their father Jim Dickinson, who produced Beanland's first album in 1989. Luther and Cody were just getting started on the Memphis scene back then, with their band DDT. They are currently touring around the world with the North Mississippi All-Stars, the hottest rock n' roll band on the circuit. Although John Hermann has played keyboards on more albums than anyone can possibly mention (his favorite is with Vic Chesnutt), Smiling Assassin, with a lot of help from his friends in Mississippi and Athens, is the first time he ventures into the realm of guitar player singer / songwriter"

Great "all JoJo" Album

W. Scott Marks | Alameda, CA USA | 05/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm used to listenig to a Widespread CD and hearing a couple of JoJo songs. I've always really liked the JoJo stuff, so it's great to finally get a whole album of his work. I highly recommend this album to my fellow WP fans."