Johnny Holliday’s rotating musical collective plays at The Bounty Bar on Saturday, Feb. 10
by Miranda Steadman | Contributing Writer
Bonzii is the new musical project from local rocker Johnny Holliday that fuses blues, Latin, and jazz elements into a new sound at each show.
“Bonzii is a collective of the best musicians in Charleston,” Holliday says. “Every time I play it’s a different sound so everyone hears it a little bit different.”
On Saturday, Feb. 10, Holliday will perform, will perform original music accompanied by guest musicians on drums and bass at The Bounty Bar. Percussionist Stu White, who plays with The Motown Throwdown on the deck of the Charleston Pour House every Sunday will sit in with Holliday for this show.
One frequent guest artist that plays with Bonzii is Noah Jones, the talented keyboardist of local bands Little Bird and The Psycodelics.
“Noah might be the most creative human being I’ve ever made music with,” says Holliday.
Another musician who often performs in Bonzii is Patrick Marzett, who plays the trumpet with the local jazz-funk band Illa Zilla. Max Becker, who plays bass with alternative Southern rock band Atlas Road Crew, has also sat in with Bonzii. Holliday has been joined by skilled percussionist Oleg Terentiev and guitarist James Rubush, who both play in local bands Little Bird and The Psycodelics. Demario Kitt is another musical ace who has performed with Bonzii on drums. Other talented musicians who have played with Bonzii include soulful singer and guitarist Jeff Caldwell as well as sultry indie-pop singer Eliza Novella.
“We’re super lucky as a music community to have a plethora of players who can hang heavy with very little direction,” says Holliday, who in the past has played with the bands 87 Nights and Rattle Can. Holliday plays guitar and writes all of the music for Bonzii.
While composing, Holliday says he draws inspiration from the music of the Texan trio Khruangbin, Buena Vista Social Club, and California-based guitarist Blake Mills. Another influence of Holliday’s music includes guitarist Marc Ribot, whose work spans the musical styles of no-wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Another band Holliday has been listening to a lot lately is La Lom, a trio out of Los Angeles who play the musical rhythm of Cumbia, a traditional folk dance from Colombia.
Holliday recently returned from a trip to the Caribbean, where he visited friends and performed at several local venues around San Pedro, Belize. While there, Holliday sang blues and played traditional Cumbia music with local musicians.
His new instrumental tune “Budapest” oozes psychedelic rock with a mystifying snake charmer vibe. While almost half of Bonzii’s music is instrumental, his new song “Salt,” mixes gritty, soulful vocals against raw guitar riffs has resonated with audiences.
Holliday has played at The Bounty Bar several times and says he is stoked to take their stage again.
“The staff at Bounty Bar are some of the nicest folks and really make us feel good about the set,” says Holliday. “The fun atmosphere at Bounty feels so welcoming to our live music.”
Bonzii performs with a different lineup of musicians at The Bounty Bar on the second Saturday of every month. Other local venues Bonzii has played before include Chico Feo, The Charleston Pour House on James Island, and Bounty Bar’s sister bar The Royal American in downtown Charleston.
Bonzii will take the stage Saturday, Feb. 10 at The Bounty Bar, located at 15 Center St. For more information, call (843) 633-0355 or visit www.thebountybar.com.
