Who is Lost John?

. . . a singer, a songwriter, a guitar picker, a piano pounder, and an accordion squeezer. An evening with Lost John and his band means classics by the likes of Bob Wills, Ray Price, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, Ernest Tubb, and Hank Thompson. Stir in a few Lost John originals and everyone is two-steppin', twirlin’, spinnin’ and smilin'.

Along with the dancehalls and honky tonks, John has performed in Austin's singer/songwriter clubs since 1980, sometimes playing as a solo performer, or with smaller acoustic ensembles with the likes of Ben Hogue and Boomer Norman. Lost John has performed on numerous radio shows over the years, and his CD “Don’t Make Me Laugh” received airplay on roots and Americana radio stations all over the world. Back in ‘87, John released an LP length cassette, “Lost John and the Austin Roadhouse Band.” ARB was voted third best country band in the Austin Chronicle Reader’s Poll for 1983. John was a founding member of Little Whiskey and provided vocals, keyboards and guitar for their "Something for the Pain" cassette LP recorded at Ray Benson's Bismeaux Studios in 1993. In 1997, John produced, engineered, and played piano for the Jubal Clark CD "Gypsy Cowboy," and the following year recorded, mixed, and played on Chuck Barnes’ CD, “Another Boy From Lubbock.” In 1999, he recorded and played on Cody Hubach’s “I Got the Blues” CD and also sang “The Way You Smile” for the Blaze Foley tribute album, “BFI, Too.” 1999 ended with the long-awaited CD release of “Blaze Foley: Live at the Austin Outhouse.” This critically acclaimed album was recorded by John in 1988, then remixed and digitally edited in 1999. Volume IV of the Blaze Tribute Series: “Songs for Blaze, A Friend of Ours,” released in 2002, includes “Straight to the Heart,” a song John wrote for Blaze.

John was a showcase performer at the legendary Broken Spoke during the 2004 South by Southwest Music Festival, playing with his band and special guest Johnny Gimble (recognized by the State of Texas as a True Legend of Western Swing and official State Musician!). In 2004, Gurf Morlix and John produced Blaze’s “Oval Room” CD, with 16 more tracks from the Outhouse recordings. Ethan Hawke’s biopic “Blaze” was released in 2018 with singer/songwriter Ben Dickey winning “Best Actor” at Sundance Film Festival for his gripping portrayal of Blaze.

LJC plays with his own band, with his pal Sam Bentley as the Bentley/Casner Band (BCB), and in a more acoustic format as a solo performer or fronting an acoustic ensemble. And you never can tell when he may show up in an old honky tonk or dance hall to sit in with an old friend. His 12-song CD of honky tonk, western swing, and original songs is available through the internet at MyTexasMusic and Honky Tonkin Music!!! Click on The Record for more info!!! Or, see what Merle had to say about it!!!