What does
"Nonjohn" mean?
Welcome to nonjohn.com, the official website for music, video, commentary, and other creations by Nonjohn.
Nonjohn is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who writes music for the mind and the body. When playing Boogie Woogie, Nonjohn's left-handed ostinato juggernaut and right-handed pyroclastics create a contrapuntal, polyrhythmic, trance-inducing texture that takes Boogie Woogie piano places it has never been before. Because of his driving, high-energy Boogie Woogie grooves, Nonjohn has been called "The Texarkana Train." Harmonically and melodically, Nonjohn's music usually has a strong sense of tonality (musical key), and has been influenced by the melodies and phrasing of sources as diverse as Bluegrass and the classical music of India. However, Nonjohn also ventures into experimental and dissonant harmonies that might sound odd to some ears. Nonjohn's intense percussive style has been influenced by African, Arabic, Indian, and Samba drumming. "Fricking" (an acronym for FingeR pICKING) is the word used by Nonjohn to refer to his hammer-on style of solo guitar playing. Nonjohn's lyrics focus on social critique, timeless philosophical issues, and often have a satirical edge. Overall, the spirit of Nonjohn's music is conveyed by the freedom implied by the African Bantu word, "Mbuki Mvuki," which means to remove one's clothes in order to better dance or perform.
FAQ Bios & Philosophy Merchandise Calendar Bookings Contact Reviews & Awards Audio & Video Clips Photos Lyrics, Poetry, Quotations, & Other Writings
Print Media Archives The Boogie Woogie Foundation Fighting for Freedom Satirical Sideshow Recommended Websites
Nonjohn's YouTube Channel -- New Videos Uploaded October 20, 2010
Free Music Downloads
"Both Hands Like the Devil" -- Boogie Woogie piano improvisation by Nonjohn, with drums by Alex Ornelas
Emergence - Nonjohn's 1993 neo-classical piano dance piece MP3 Audio & Lyrics for Nonjohn's satirical single, "Texas Revelations"
Other Video Clips
Nonjohn Jazz - Video Clip of Nonjohn playing Boogie Woogie on his 1918 Knabe 6-foot Grand
World's Largest Operating Steam Locomotive - Video footage of Union Pacific 3985 captured by Nonjohn on June 17, 2004. This and much more footage of Union Pacific 3985 is contained on Nonjohn's "Texarkana Train Chase" DVD (See Forbidden Fruit Films.)
Video clips from Nonjohn's Barrelhouse concert: Boogie Woogie -- Live Boogie Woogie improvisation Emergence - Live Performance
Nonjohn performs Boogie Woogie in international waters aboard "Ecstasy" superliner on 12- 6-04. "Unbelievable!" says Larry Garlutzo. See Video Clip.
"Improvisatory music and dance are the purest forms of worship." -- Nonjohn "There are no 'wrong' notes, only 'wrong' intentions." -- Nonjohn "I don't have ideas. Ideas have me." -- Nonjohn
"In science, you have to deal with figuring out and being constrained by what is 'true' and what is 'false.' In art, everything is 'true.'" -- Nonjohn
Performing at Antone's in Austin, Texas on March 22, 2011 at the Tribute for Pinetop Perkins, who passed away the day before, March 21, 2011:
Fireant Festival, Marshall, Texas, October 9th, 2010:
Thanks to the Wiley College Cheerleaders for their great, energetic improvisatory dancing!
Above: Playing Boogie Woogie piano, hi-hat, and bass drum
Above: Harrison County Courthouse
Nonjohn playing Boogie Woogie at the Three Oaks Bed and Breakfast in Marshall, Texas, on Sunday, October 10, 2010
Other Recent Public Performances
Yale Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia, September 14, 2009:
Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne hammers out some Blues and Boogie Woogie.
Diana Braithwaite sings the Blues, accompanied by Chris Whiteley and Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne.
Chris Whiteley, Diana Braithwaite, dancer/actress Jeni LeGon, Frank Clavell (Jeni's husband), Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne, and Nonjohn (AKA John Tennison)
Nonjohn Performing Boogie Woogie at Skyward Lounge on April 11, 2009, Texarkana, Arkansas
Nonjohn Performing Boogie Woogie at The Big Easy on April 12, 2009, Texarkana, Arkansas
Nonjohn and Axel Zwingenberger at Axel's Bosendorfer Grand Piano in Vienna, Austria, April, 2006
Axel Zwingenberger is among the most prolific and influential of modern-day performers, composers, and scholars of Boogie Woogie.
Nonjohn Performing on the Water at the International Boogie Woogie Festival in Lugano, Switzerland, April, 2006
All content and associated files on the Nonjohn website: Copyright 1984-2012 by Nonjohn. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication or distribution of material from this website is a violation of applicable laws.
On the World Wide Web since 1995! Website last updated by webmaster, Bill Scribner, on January 1, 2012.