by Eugene Chadbourne
Will Johnson is the leader of Centro-Matic, one of the best bands to come out of Denton, TX, since the days when college rock bars in that town were so primitive that a broom inside a bucket was used for a microphone stand. South San Gabriel is the musical cousin of Centro-Matic, allowing an overlapping set of musicians to explore their country roots. In either case Johnson does not seem to be at a loss for words, scribbling down an impressive number of original songs over the years and coming up with more releases than the average indie rock bandleader.

Fans of the band also seem to like Johnson's tenor voice, the weapon behind a singing style in which pitch and meaning can become interchangeable as well as irrelevant. The Murder of Tides project from 2002 was his first solo effort, a collection of songs that apparently were not deemed suitable for either of his combo projects. Johnson has toured throughout the United States and Europe with both of his bands. He should not be confused with the William Johnson who played both banjo and guitar with Louis Armstrong in the '20s and '30s, although that certainly would add to his mystique.