“She Stole My Mojo,” claims Johnny Nicholas

...but he seems to still have it

Johnny Nicholas’ music cannot be pigeonholed in one specific genre, from the beginning of his amazing life and musical journey to today. Nicholas’ latest release, Mistaken Identity, spans the breadth of his roots music sounds, ranging from blues (“She Stole My Mojo,” here) and Tex-Mex, to honky-tonk and rockabilly—and all but one track on this album are originals.

After finishing school, Nicholas hitchhiked and train-hopped in search of the artists and music he loved. He forged relationships with many legends of the blues, western swing, honky-tonk music and the melting pot for it all: South Louisiana and Southeast Texas. He headed north, and led the burgeoning blues scene in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and for years was a mainstay at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival.

This album is a homecoming of sorts, bringing Nicholas back to the ‘70s and the place where he grew up musically, on the prairies and bayou country of Southwest Louisiana, and Mistaken Identity is a musical tour of American roots music, each tune ringing true.

Most of the tracks on the new album, including the vocals, were recorded live. with very few overdubs. It’s jam-packed with great musicianship, story-telling and melodies that were recorded in Joel Savoy’s studio for Valcour Records.

How does he manage to make such consistent bank shots? We asked Nicholas, and his answer applies not only to his music as a whole, but this song: “There’s a whole lot of stuff that goes on that is unexplainable—especially in romantic relationships. I’m just tellin’ it like it is and using these old superstitions and folk remedies to tell the tale. Like Howlin’ Wolf said: ‘I ain’t superstitious but…’ No matter what you might think, this is serious business with a wink and a smile and some old school fear mixed in. Or as Katie Shore says: ‘I ain’t superstitious; I’m just a little ’sticious!’