Biography

Hailing from Montreal, Canada TOP JOHNNY! is redefining New Classic Rock & Melodic Hard Rock with their signature sound and high-energy live performances. Their music fuses diverse genres such as Pop, Metal, Rap and Alt Rock combining them to create intense songs with catchy hooks, huge guitar riffs, pile-driving rock beats and anthemic, sing-along choruses. The result? An electrifying combination that the band hopes will, as TJ Star likes to say, “give the people what they want”. Even Canadian Rock Diva, Alannah Myles described their music as "Fantastic, rocking, fun, powerfully sung and produced! Great work!!”

The band released their debut 7 song EP “Kick It!” in November 2005 (mastered by Bryan Martin (Pretenders, Gods of Now, April Wine)) and a full-length, hard-driving, self-titled album "Top Johnny!” in December 2008 (mixed & mastered by Glen Robinson (Vovoid, Ringo Starr, Keith Richards, The Ramones, The Steve Miller Band, David Bowie, ACDC)).

TOP JOHNNY! constantly strives to give their audiences more than they expect with a slick, refined image, charismatic stage presence and dynamic live shows that succeed in exciting even the most discriminating rock fan. Their primary objective: to stimulate and engage their audiences with unique, high quality original songs. They are also ready for any performance scenario boasting a large repertoire of hit cover songs spanning over 30 years of modern, classic and alternative rock.

But first and foremost, TOP JOHNNY! want to be defined by their live shows. A TOP JOHNNY! concert is not to be missed, epitomizing pure energy and spontaneity with TJ Star regularly venturing out into the crowd to play his wailing guitar solos so he can get up close and personal with his fans. And many of the band members are also multi-talented musicians, often switching instruments in mid-show to surprise their audiences.

Formed in 2005, TOP JOHNNY! has received rave reviews for their immense wall of sound which features songwriter TJ Star's powerful vocals and searing guitar, sexy hard-driving bassist & back vocalist Karo, drummer Hitman anchoring the rock solid rhythm section and young guitar virtuoso Izzy Slater adding yet another layer of magic to the band's monumental sound. They have opened up for well-known bands like Helix and won the coveted Judges’ Best Of Show award at the 2007 Emergenza Canadian Finals with Izzy Slater also taking the Best Guitarist Award and Hitman getting the 2nd Best Drummer Award. As a further testament to their musicianship and the immense power of their live shows, Top Johnny! won or finished in the top 3 of every Battle Of The Bands they ever entered. The Bottom Line? TOP JOHNNY! ROCKS!