Elton John guitarist shares his gift with local kids

By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers MY GENERATION-Davey Johnstone, music director and guitarist for the Elton John Band, shows Zoe Hoetzel, a fifth-grader at Lupin Hill Elementary in Calabasas, how to play an Elvis tune while Juliet, Johnstone's daughter, looks on. Johnstone is helping the kids get ready for a concert that will benefit their school. Juliet will play drums in the kid's band, dubbed 'The Hound Dogs.' dkmlfmsldfmsldfmlsdfsd

Davey Johnstone has been down the yellow brick road, but on the way the veteran lead guitarist for Elton John has learned all that glitters is not gold.

That’s not to say that the Calabasas resident is not grateful for his long-standing career as a professional musician.

It’s just that he discovered early on that success in the rock world is a unique recipe of persistence, confidence, the ability to laugh, and, of course, luck.

"It’s difficult to make a living with music, that’s why I consider myself very fortunate, and I’m grateful," said Johnston, 53.

He also learned that there is room for all types of performers. Some—like John—embrace the spotlight while Johnstone and others are content with a prominent spot in the background.

"Elton always wanted to be superstar Elton John, and once he became that he didn’t look back," Johnstone said. "But I have no interest in being a pop star or a rock star.

"Elton lives his life as Elton the superstar, whereas I can be Davey, his guitar player and the rest of the day I get to be Davey the family man," Johnstone said.

The interactions of a successful band are like a mariage, he added. Give and take are essential to a band’s survival.

"If you don’t give each other a bit of space, you end up fighting," Johnstone said.

The guitarist grew up in Scotland in the 1950s and ’60s. He began to play the violin at 7 and got his first guitar when he was 11. At 17, Johnstone moved to London to sharpen his skills.

Over the next several years, extensive session work gave Johnstone valuable studio experience. When he met Bernie Taupin, who was collaborating with Elton John in 1970, Johnstone was asked to play on John’s "Madman Across the Water," which became a hit.

By 1972, Johnstone was a permanent member of the Elton John band and has been with the band ever since.

Throughout his career that spans more than three decades, Johnstone continued to work on his own musical undertakings with his friends and he released several individual projects.

He initially moved to Hollywood to do session work and came to the Conejo Valley with his wife of 12 years, Kay, to raise his family in a rural setting. Looking outside his music room window toward Malibu Creek State Park, Johnstone is appreciative of the park’s beauty.

Johnstone likes to play a variety of stringed instruments and when he’s not touring, he works with other musicians and singers, including Guy Babylon, Elton’s keyboard player who also lives in the area with his family.

"We challenge each other with some difficult pieces," he said.

Johnstone believes the best players can always get better. "That applies to everything in life," he said.

Now, Johnstone is sharing his love for music with local children.

Recently, he was at home helping a group of kids rehearse for an upcoming concert to benefit Lupin Hill Elementary in Calabasas. Two of the performers were his children, Juliet and Charlie.

The kids’ band, "The Hound Dogs," will perform two songs at a third annual fundraiser concert featuring the Elton John band, minus John, who has other commitments.

Johnstone and a group of Lupin Hill parents—including Max Hoetzel, Babylon, and their wives—have organized two other benefit concerts. The Canyon Club benefits in Agoura Hills featured the school’s chorus with about 60 children.

"Performing on stage gives them confidence," said Johnstone who orchestrates the event; he said it’s an experience they remember for a long time.

The two earlier events raised almost $30,000 each for the school’s music and arts programs.

"Most of it is for music and arts because that’s where the shortage is but the school can use the funds wherever they are needed," said Johnstone.

Hoetzel devised the idea, Johnstone said. He wanted to raise money with a benefit concert, instead of by selling candy bars.

Aside from Johnstone’s children, the band includes two of Hoetzel’s children, Zoe and Max, Danny McClintick and Skylar Sausser. Evan Ghaffari, an eighth- grader at A.E. Wright who played in last year’s Beatles Tribute concert, is also aiding the venture. He is a manager, Johnstone said.

This year the kids will perform two Elvis songs in "All Shook Up," an Elvis tribute. The Canyon Club benefit is scheduled for May 15.

"Hopefully this will encourage other kids to play, said Johnstone crediting Lupin Hill’s music specialist, Peggy McClintick, for the programs offered at the public elementary school "She is a tireless worker," he said.

As he reflected on his own career, Johnstone recollected a concert in 1976 when John Lennon joined the Elton John band on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"He became a friend of ours and traveled with us in 1974 and came to the studio and recorded some songs with us," Johnstone said, adding that jamming with Lennon was one of the most memorable moments of his career.

Today, Johnstone is getting ready for another tour with Elton John. Joining him will be Babylon on keyboards, Nigel Olsson on drums, John Mahon on percussion and vocals and Bob Birch on bass.

The band is scheduled to perform in Las Vegas following several television appearances in New York and in L.A. A gospel choir from Atlanta will join the band for backup vocals on this tour, and Johnstone will coordinate this.