Colorway

Solo bio:

Alex Johnson is an electric and acoustic guitarist and singer/songwriter from Massachusetts, USA. He has performed on nationally broadcast TV programs such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Ellen, and has been featured on CNN and ABC networks. His talent has allowed him to perform over 250 shows a year in twenty countries over four continents. He has toured Japan several times both as a solo performer and also with the senior singing group The Young at Heart Chorus, who had an internationally acclaimed movie made about them in 2008 (“Young at Heart” Fox Searchlight). He has performed with David Byrne (Talking Heads), Chris Collingwood (Fountains of Wayne) Richard Lloyd (Television) and many, many more. 

In the last 30 years Alex has many full-length albums of original music which he has played guitar and sang on. But his most recent band Colorway released three recordings from 2013-2018 which he is very proud of. Tokyo resident, Mott The Hoople’s keyboardist, Morgan Fisher said “Alex’s guitar playing is exceptional, and the whole vibe is positive and fun–well done!” 

Alex was born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts and has played music in the USA since the age of 5. However, in July of 2019 Alex moved with his wife to Kyoto to continue creating and performing. From the first time he visited Japan he fell in love with the Japanese culture, food, language (he is always working on his Japanese) and the people. Moving here full-time he is hoping to perform as much as he can and continue making his art. If you live in (or are visiting) Japan check out his Tour Dates page to see if he's playing near you. 

Photo: Jim Gipe

アレックス・ジョンソンはアメリカ・マサチューセッツ州出身のギタリスト、シンガー・ソングライター。アメリカではトゥナイトショー・ウィズ・ジェイレノ、エレンの部屋といった全国放送のテレビ番組で演奏したことがあるほか、CNNやABCにも取り上げられたことがある。アレックスの才能は1年に250回もの公演を4大陸、20以上の国々で演奏する機会を与えた。日本でも過去にソロとして、またヤング@ハート（高齢者がロックの名曲を歌うコーラスグループ。2008年には国際的ヒットした彼らについてのドキュメンタリー映画「ヤング@ハート」が公開されている）のバンドメンバーとして来日公演を行っている。他にもデヴィッド・バーン（トーキング・ヘッズ）、リチャード・ロイド（テレビジョン）、クリス・コリングウッド（ファウンテインズ・オブ・ウエイン）といったミュージシャン達と共演している。

アレックスはこの30年の間、自らシンガーとして歌い、ギターを演奏する多くのフルアルバムを作ってきた。中でも最新のバンド、Colorway（カラーウェイ）は2013～2018年の間に3枚のアルバムをリリースしており、一番誇りに思っている。東京在住でMott The Hoopleのキーボードプレイヤー、モーガン・フィッシャーは「アレックスのギタープレイは飛び抜けている、ポジティブで楽しいヴァイブに満ちているんだ。よくやった！」とコメントしている。


アレックスはマサチューセッツ州ボストン近郊で生まれ育ち、5歳の時から音楽を演奏している。しかし2019年7月、彼の妻と京都に引っ越し、日本で音楽活動を続けることとなった。初めて日本を訪れた時から、アレックスは日本文化、食べ物、日本語（常に日本語を勉強している）や日本の人々が大好きになった。日本に住むことになり、新天地でもライブや作曲といった音楽活動を続けていきたいと願っている。


Full band bio:

Hailing from Northampton, Mass and exuding the progressive, energetic and rootsy/indie leanings of the Pioneer Valley (home of And The Kids, The Sun Parade and Sebadoh) Colorway has put out two full length albums of finessed rock and roll (the latest release mastered by engineering god, Bob Ludwig). The band strive to make every live show an new experience where revelatory moments aren't sacrificed for the sake of a cookie cutter set devoid of rough edges. Bandleader/vocalist/guitarist F. Alex Johnson gobbles up every inch of real estate on his guitar neck while bassist Matt Clegg and drummer, Riley Godleski hold down the fort with equal parts grace and ferocity.

The band's third album, "These Are The Days" was released in June of 2018 and includes Chris Collingwood (Fountains of Wayne/Look Park) on backup vocals. The album--co-produced by Danny Bernini (Blondie, Martin Sexton, Stryper)--features nine songs about incredible love, loss, heartbreak and joy in this world we're forced to share. Eric Danton (Paste, WSJ, Pitchfork) called "These Are The Days" "a rock-solid collection of songs with catchy hooks, taut riffs and hard-won wisdom."

Colorway has shared stages with Foreigner, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Yardbirds, Delta Deep (feat. members of Def Leppard and Stone Temple Pilots), Ian Hunter and The Rant Band, and Television's Richard Lloyd (who called the band "amazing and inspiring"). The trio was also included in the 2016 Green River Festival which Rolling Stone named a "must see" music fest and the continue to tour the east coast and beyond. Alex has recently toured as a solo performer in The Netherlands, Belgium and Japan.

Though the easy way to describe the style of music is rootsy, pop-rock, don't be fooled. The band can jam, and are convincing audiences far and wide that it's possible to extend the boundaries of the traditional four minute song and still have it stuck in your head all day.