The Pappy Johns Band
Encyclopedia
The Pappy Johns Band is a Canadian
blues
band whose core members have been performing together for over 30 years. Don Powless (bass), Murray Porter (vocals/keyboards) and Oren Doxtator (drums), met in 1978, and played together in the Bar Road Band. Faron Johns later joined the group, and in 2003 the group added the services of singer–songwriter
and guitarist
, Josh Miller, for their album Full Circle. The Pappy Johns Band is known to Canadian television
audience for being the house band on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
s’ variety program Buffalo Tracks.
In November 2004 the band won Best Blues Album at the 2004 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for Full Circle, and they were 2005 Juno Awards nominees for Aboriginal Recording of the Year for Full Circle.
In November 2009 The Pappy Johns Band won again for Best Blues Album @ The Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for "Havin' A Good Time Now"
, is a Mohawk originally from the Six Nations Reserve, but currently resides in Fort Erie, Ontario
. In addition to The Pappy Johns Band, Powless has played in blues bands that include Bar Road Band, The Roadhouse Band, and Painted Pony.
Oren Doxtator – drum
s, is originally from the Oneida Settlement (near London, Ontario), but he grew up in Buffalo, New York
. Currently a resident of Fort Erie, Ontario, Powless and his brother-in-law
Oren have formed a solid rhythm section for over 30 years.
John Lee - Piano/vocals, is originally from St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, but currently resides in Kitchener Ontario, has toured and written songs with Matt Minglewood, Mel Brown & The Homewreckers and Beverly Mahood.
Josh Arden Miller: guitar/vocals, is also a Mohawk from Six Nations. Miller plays guitar and vocals. He toured across Canada with Murray Porter while still a teenager
. In addition to be a member of The Pappy Johns Band, he also fronted his own bands, The Soul Kings and Three Wheel Drive.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
band whose core members have been performing together for over 30 years. Don Powless (bass), Murray Porter (vocals/keyboards) and Oren Doxtator (drums), met in 1978, and played together in the Bar Road Band. Faron Johns later joined the group, and in 2003 the group added the services of singer–songwriter
Singer–songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Josh Miller, for their album Full Circle. The Pappy Johns Band is known to Canadian television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
audience for being the house band on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is a Canadian broadcast and cable television network. APTN airs and produces programs made by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples...
s’ variety program Buffalo Tracks.
Awards
The Pappy Johns Band won the award for Best Group/Duo at the 2002 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. Band members won three additional awards: for Best Male Artist (Faron Johns); Best Song & Songwriter for Blame It On Monday (Faron Johns); and Best Producer/Engineer (Alec Fraser & Band).In November 2004 the band won Best Blues Album at the 2004 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for Full Circle, and they were 2005 Juno Awards nominees for Aboriginal Recording of the Year for Full Circle.
In November 2009 The Pappy Johns Band won again for Best Blues Album @ The Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for "Havin' A Good Time Now"
Current line-up
Don Powless - bass guitarBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, is a Mohawk originally from the Six Nations Reserve, but currently resides in Fort Erie, Ontario
Fort Erie, Ontario
Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York....
. In addition to The Pappy Johns Band, Powless has played in blues bands that include Bar Road Band, The Roadhouse Band, and Painted Pony.
Oren Doxtator – drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, is originally from the Oneida Settlement (near London, Ontario), but he grew up in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Currently a resident of Fort Erie, Ontario, Powless and his brother-in-law
Brother-in-law
A brother-in-law is the brother of one's spouse, the husband of one's sibling, or the husband of one's spouse's sibling.-See also:*Affinity *Sister-in-law*Brothers in Law , a 1955 British comedy novel...
Oren have formed a solid rhythm section for over 30 years.
John Lee - Piano/vocals, is originally from St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, but currently resides in Kitchener Ontario, has toured and written songs with Matt Minglewood, Mel Brown & The Homewreckers and Beverly Mahood.
Josh Arden Miller: guitar/vocals, is also a Mohawk from Six Nations. Miller plays guitar and vocals. He toured across Canada with Murray Porter while still a teenager
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
. In addition to be a member of The Pappy Johns Band, he also fronted his own bands, The Soul Kings and Three Wheel Drive.
Discography
- 1492, Who Found Who, First Nations Music, Murray Porter (solo), 1995
- Blame It On Monday Independent, 2002
- Skin Tight Blues A First Peoples Blues Compilation Sweet Grass Records/EMI Music Canada, July, 2002, tracks Blame It On Monday by Pappy Johns Band and Colours by Murray Porter
- Full Circle, Independent, November 2003
- Blues sur Seine compilation, France, July 2005, includes the song Make Your Mind Up by Murray Porter
- Toronto Blues Society 20th Anniversary compilation 2005 TBS, May 2005, includes the song Meat on the Bone by Murray Porter