For Release 9 a.m. EST

June 1, 2005

 

Oven Mitt Johnson Releases Debut CD: Hot Guitar

 

"At first I didn't believe that it was possible for someone to play with an oven mitt on his left hand. Then I saw Oven Mitt Johnson. If his guitar is that hot with an oven mitt on, then I believe that it's too hot to play without one." -- David Minnick, Crabid Music

 

SACRAMENTO — June 1, 2005 — The bluesman now known as Oven Mitt Johnson used to be a typical blues musician. For years, he toured the coffeehouse and blues bar circuit, with moderate success. In those days, he was known simply as "Johnson". One night, he met Hot Glove Simms, and his world changed. Hot Glove Simms, the blues pianist with mittens on his hands, took a liking to Johnson and showed him how to take his blues to the next level.

Eventually, his guitar playing became so intense; his guitar strings would actually heat up while he was playing. In order to be able to continue his blues career without suffering serious burns on his fingers every night, he had to start wearing an oven mitt. Oven Mitt Johnson's debut release, "Hot Guitar", released on Crabid Music, is the first known recording featuring a blues guitarist playing with an oven mitt on his left hand.

Hot Guitar is also the debut release for the producers and founders of Crabid Music, David and Chris Minnick. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, the Minnick brothers now live thousands of miles apart -- Chris lives in Sacramento, California and David lives in the Detroit area. "Hot Guitar" was recorded primarily in the home studios of Chris and David over a period of 6 months between December 2004 and June 2005. Final mixing and mastering was done in Detroit.

"Our goal with Hot Guitar was to capture the raw sound of Oven Mitt Johnson's songs and guitar playing while making use of the latest technology to keep costs down and to be able to use the talents of the best musicians available in both Michigan and California," says Chris Minnick.

 

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For more information:

Visit www.ovenmittjohnson.com or www.crabid.com, or send email to [email protected]