Local musicians raise tuneful ruckus in memory of Johnny B. 

Upstairs at the Blue Gator tomorrow night, Eric “”Junebug”” Leighton and friends will pay tribute to a local musician whose life ended abruptly 10 years ago.

“”An Evening with the Great Conductor”” will celebrate the life and musical influence of Johnny Bartlett (most commonly known as “”Johnny B””), an Athens artist who probably still would be grinning over his guitar, mingling at open stages and mentoring fledgling musicians if he had not died on Dec. 4, 1994.

Contributing to Friday’s entertainment will be performances by the Paranormals, Pat White, Danny Reese, Dave Baer, Sarah Guthrie & the Athens County Ruffians, Stella, John Goettge, Ethan Greene and Chris Biester — a handful of whom performed the night of Johnny B’s death, when Leighton decided their band’s scheduled show was meant to go on.

“”At one point, around 6 that evening, I realized if we didn’t play the show he’d be pissed at us,”” Leighton recalled. Bartlett had passed away at his home earlier that afternoon, without a clear cause of death. The planned gig was with the Renaissance Cowboys, a band Bartlett fronted with Sarah Guthrie singing backup and Leighton on drums.

“”Since he was the front guy, we didn’t play as the Renaissance Cowboys would have, but we rounded up some folks,”” Leighton said. “”It was pretty weird. It was the toughest show I’ve ever played, but it was exactly what we needed to do in order to process the grief.””

Local folk artist Guthrie said that night’s show was meant to be. “”That’s what he would have wanted us to do — the band plays on.””

Guthrie recalled meeting Johnny B and his family when she moved about three doors down from them on Franklin Street in Athens. “”I had long hair down to my butt with a little baby,”” she said, “”and his wife had long hair down to her butt and a little baby… People would always confuse us, and that’s how I met them.””

The Renaissance Cowboys was just one of Johnny B’s numerous projects. Leighton said Bartlett was a “”jammer for sure,”” and Guthrie described his style of rock as funk-inspired.

A sample of his songwriting can be found on the album, “”The Great Conductor,”” which was recently recorded and produced at Circle 5 Studios near Athens. The album, which developed after the idea of the memorial concert, includes two Johnny B tunes, one that he and Leighton co-wrote, and songs by other Circle 5 songwriters such as Dan Purdom and Steve “”Joe Bob”” Carlson.

“”The album is more a reflection of me than it is of him,”” said Leighton, whose talents were expanded beyond punk-rock drumming after Johnny B encouraged him to keep singing.

“”I tend to be more folky at this point,”” Leighton explained. “”The whole album is kind of a concept album. The idea was to convey a mood and tell a story through songs, but not explicitly. The last song, called “”Johnny Reb,”” is from Catfish’s buddy who also died. Even though it’s not about Johnny B, it kind of sends the idea of Johnny floating into myth.””

John “”Catfish”” Juliano, who did all the album’s instrumental tracks with Leighton, recalled, “”Johnny B went around and inspired a lot of people, played music on a lot of open mics, and was a good guy. I didn’t know him all that well, but what I did know, I liked.””

This wasn’t a unique take on Bartlett. Guthrie describes him as fun loving and outgoing, and Leighton said he was everybody’s best friend and confidant.

“”I don’t want to say he was a loser magnet, but he would befriend people that others would shy away from,”” Leighton said. “”A happy dude, you know? Always a big grin on his face.””

He also would record himself playing Christmas songs on his reel-to-reel four-track and distribute the tapes during the holiday season. Another hobby was photography, and he always would keep a camera in his truck in case an eye-catching bird came around.

“”His funeral was at Galbreath Chapel, and when it was over, when everyone was leaving and spilling out into the area behind the chapel, this Peregrine falcon came screaming in and landed in a sycamore tree,”” Leighton remembered. “”It was making all kinds of noise, and in my mind, I thought, ‘Well, there he is.’ That was just in my mind, but several years later I saw his widow, and we got to talking about it. She said her youngest son, who was about 2 at the time, had noticed it, too. And when that falcon came flying in, he had said, ‘There’s Daddy.'””

Leighton, who at 35 is one year older than Johnny B was when he died, said it feels strange to outlive him. “”For some reason I’ve been carrying the torch for him — he’s stuck with me. I want to try to do my part to help people remember him and to help repay the gifts he gave me. In a certain sense it sounds kind of cheesy, but that’s how I feel about it.””

One way his gifts are extended to others is through the Johnny B Fund. Proceeds from Friday night’s show and a portion of album sales will go to the fund, which helps young musicians pay for instruments and lessons. The fund usually collects from the John Lennon Tribute (fifth annual show next Saturday), but tax-deductible donations also can be made my inquiring at johnnybfund@circle5.org.