 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Johnson's Crossroad")
In the crowded Sentient Bean coffeehouse, the aroma of organic chai tea mingled with the visceral growl-like vocals and powerhouse lyrics of Johnson's Crossroad to create a truly stimulating experience on March 5.
From the boisterously rugged voice of frontman Paul Johnson to the plaid shirt and unkempt beard of mandolinist Keith Minguez, Johnson's Crossroad had the bluegrass appearance .
The musicians, however, describes their sound as "Appalachian soul."
Minguez claims the genre Appalachian soul is the result of six years of not knowing how to describe their unique sound.
"At first we described it as West Virginia-bent acoustic country, but that seemed a little pretentious," Minguez said. "We don't play any bluegrass really — we just use the instruments."
And use the instruments they did, combining all the sorrowful country-themed goodness of lost love, fortune and time with the upbeat tonal harmonies of guitar and mandolin.
"The whole show was really laid back," said Doug Loeb, one of the audience members. "They really had this traditional John-Heartboard-slash- Willy Nelson-esque feel about them, and the singer's voice was really unique."
The crowd enjoyed all the perks of solid bass-tenor vocal symmetry in addition to an impromptu stage presence, all housed in the quaint coffeeshop setting. According to the band, this is exactly the kind of environment they like to play in.
"I would rather have a crowd of 10 people I've seen before, and who have brought people with them, as opposed to a crowd of 250 people who don't care," Johnson said.
Minguez couldn't agree more.
"I enjoyed playing here because people listen," he said. "When you are in the middle of a slow song and you don't hear anything. It's a really good thing."
The on-stage chemistry between Minguez and Johnson most likely stems from a long-standing friendship that began in 1998. That's not to say Johnson's Crossroad has been a band in the making for all 13 years, though.
"As far as the band goes, we've been playing together for about six years," Minguez said, describing the bands' somewhat auspicious origins. "I was just in Florida and was bored with what I was doing and wanted to play music, so I decided to move to West Virginia."
While the band originated in the bars of small-town Lewisburg, W.Va., Johnson's Crossroad call the Blue Ridge Mountains around Asheville, N.C., home.
With the debut of their first album "Blood in Black and White," the band began to accrue a fan base in the Asheville music scene.
"We still have day jobs but we play over 100 shows a year. We'll probably play around 130 this year," Minguez said. "We weekend-warrior a lot of it but we'll go on the road around three or four times a year.
"You either figure out how to do it and move forward or you fall between the cracks."
With the show at the Sentient Bean numbering their fourth trip to Savannah, the band plans to keep coming back as many times as it takes to get the fan base they want.
"We are just slowly trying to get more fans here, and that's why you keep coming back to a place," Minguez said. "I just love coming here, it doesn't take much for me. There just has to be good food — it's actually on my list of reasons to play somewhere."
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