THE 2009 LINE-UP 

    COMING SOON                            

THE 2008 LINE-UP

Robben Ford is one of the premiere electric guitarists today, particularly known for his blues playing as well as his ability to be comfortable in a variety of musical contexts.

A four-time Grammy nominee, he has played with artists as diverse as Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Witherspoon, Miles Davis, George Harrison, Phil Lesh, Bonnie Raitt, Claus Ogerman, Michael McDonald, and many, many others.

Born in 1951 in Ukaih, California, Robben was the third of four sons in a musical family. His father Charles was a country and western singer and guitarist before entering the army and marrying Kathryn, who played piano and had a lovely singing voice.

Robben’s first chosen instrument was the saxophone, which he began to play at age ten and continued to play until his early twenties. He began to teach himself guitar at age thriteen upon hearing the two guitarists from The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Michael Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop.

 In the late 1960’s, Ford frequented the Filmore  and Winterland Auditoriums in San Francisco to see Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Albert King, B.B. King and all of the progenitors of blues. “It was an incredible time for electric guitar,” Ford recalls.

On his interest in jazz, Ford says,” I fell in love with the sax playing of Paul Desmond and The Dave Brubeck Quartet, and before long found Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, Yusaf Lateef, Roland Kirk, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, and of course, Miles Davis.”

These influences have stayed with Ford, playing a large part in his particular blend of jazz and blues that define him as a guitarist and allow him to play in a wide variety of settings...read more 

      Jimmy Z and the ZTribe

 BB Chung King & the Buddaheads

Michael John & The Bottom Line have made themselves well known in the blues scene and have been a favorite for all music lovers.

Their unique style of original blues roots with a high-energy sound has brought them a great deal of attention and demand from many talent buyers for many concert venues and festivals alike.  

The band has been nominated for multiple awards; most recently the prestigious Los Angeles based All Access Magazine Music Awards in which Michael John won Best Male Vocalist in all genres. 

Michael John and the Bottom Line took first place in a Southern California regional Blues competition winning the right to represent the Santa Clarita Valley Blues society in the International Blues Challenge put on by the Blues Foundation in Memphis Tennessee.

 This competition is a worldwide event in which over 1500 bands compete for the title of the world’s best-unsigned blues band.

After two days in the semi finals in Memphis, Tennessee, Michael John and The Bottom Line made it to the finals and were crowned one of the top ten best unsigned blues bands in the world, they placed fourth.  

"Michael John & The Bottom Line: Capture the true essence of the blues with crafty execution." Dale Hill, Music Connection Magazine

"Michael is a powerful, gutsy vocalist, the band is uniformly excellent, and production is top-notch ... highly recommended!" John Taylor, Blues On Stage

"I have seen and heard Michael John's vocals, a lot of raw power and emotion, and will readily attest to the legitimacy of this group as an up and coming force in the blues industry." Jon Hayes, Southland Blues Magazine

"Michael John and The Bottom Line have what it takes with their talent, expertise and spectacular musicianship to put blues music right where it belongs, ON TOP ..."

Mary Rudy, www.MusikReviewz.com

The band is working on new material and will be going into the studio to start work on their next CD release. The Bottom Line consist of Mike Mo (Michael John's son) on lead guitar, Eddie Z on Tenor and alto saxophone, Jordan Clover on Keys, Chuck Lee (Michael John's brother) on Bass and Tom "T-Bone" Broderick on Drums. For more information on the band go to www.michaeljohnandthebottomline.