Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Johnny Stachela’s passion for the guitar ignited early in his life.
At age 5, Stachela says, “I would learn Black Sabbath riffs on a one-string toy guitar.”
He remembers the moment his commitment to music cemented.
“I was standing in the magazine aisle at Tower records, looking at a guitar ad. I knew then I had to play guitar. That was going to be my thing.”
He was right.
Stachela, an accomplished slide guitar player, has recorded with Grammy Award winning producer Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin), and he has warmed up stages for guitar legends like Dickey Betts, Robert Randolph, Robbie Krieger, Mike Campbell, and Robben Ford. But now, with the release of two EPs, Stachela is creating a legacy all his own.
Making music, for Stachela, is a calling that began with his connection to the blues.
“The blues to me has always been about the feeling. And that’s what I loved about it. Some people think the blues are sad, but for me it’s the release of emotion into musical expression. The blues is honest. It’s life. It’s so real. There’s so much feeling. There is comfort in knowing that others have the same pain. We’re all in it together.”
In 2017, Duane Betts and Johnny Stachela united to form a band called the Pistoleers. “Our friendship goes back awhile and we have a great chemistry playing music together.” The next obvious step was to focus on Duane’s original music.
Duane Betts and the Pistoleers wrapped up their first year together with the Devon Allman Project, playing a sold-out show with a host of special guests at the Fillmore in San Francisco. 2018 is off to an exciting start with the announcement that the Devon Allman Project and Duane Betts are a planning an extensive tour of North America and Europe.