The YIQ color space at Y=0.5. Note that the I and Q chroma coordinates are scaled up to 1.0. See the formulae below in the article to get the right bounds.

An image along with its Y, I, and Q components.

YIQ is the color space used by the NTSC color TV system, employed mainly in North and Central America, and Japan. It is currently in use only for low-power television stations, as full-power analog transmission was ended by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on 12 June 2009. It is still federally mandated for these transmissions as shown in this excerpt of the current FCC rules and regulations part 73 "TV transmission standard":

I stands for in-phase, while Q stands for quadrature, referring to the components used in quadrature amplitude modulation. Some forms of NTSC now use the YUV color space, which is also used by other systems such as PAL.

The Y component represents the luma information, and is the only component used by black-and-white television receivers. I and Q represent the chrominance information. In YUV, the U and V components can be thought of as X and Y coordinates within the color space. I and Q can be thought of as a second pair of axes on the same graph, rotated 33°; therefore IQ and UV represent different coordinate systems on the same plane.

The YIQ system is intended to take advantage of human color-response characteristics. The eye is more sensitive to changes in the orange-blue (I) range than in the purple-green range (Q) — therefore less bandwidth is required for Q than for I. Broadcast NTSC limits I to 1.3 MHz and Q to 0.4 MHz. I and Q are frequency interleaved into the 4 MHz Y signal, which keeps the bandwidth of the overall signal down to 4.2 MHz. In YUV systems, since U and V both contain information in the orange-blue range, both components must be given the same amount of bandwidth as I to achieve similar color fidelity.

Very few television sets perform true I and Q decoding, due to the high costs of such an implementation^{[citation needed]}. Compared to the cheaper R-Y and B-Y decoding which requires only one filter, I and Q each requires a different filter to satisfy the bandwidth differences between I and Q. These bandwidth differences also requires that the 'I' filter include a time delay to match the longer delay of the 'Q' filter. The Rockwell Modular Digital Radio (MDR) was one I and Q decoding set, which in 1997 could operate in frame-at-a-time mode with a PC or in realtime with the Fast IQ Processor (FIQP). Some RCA "Colortrak" home TV receivers made circa 1985 not only used I/Q decoding, but also advertised its benefits along with its comb filtering benefits as full "100 percent processing" to deliver more of the original color picture content. Earlier, more than one brand of color TV (RCA, Arvin) used I/Q decoding in the 1954 or 1955 model year on models utilizing screens about 13 inches (measured diagonally). The original Advent projection television used I/Q decoding. Around 1990, at least one manufacturer (Ikegami) of professional studio picture monitors advertised I/Q decoding.

Image Processing[link]

The YIQ representation is sometimes employed in color image processing transformations. For example, applying a histogram equalization directly to the channels in an RGB image would alter the color balance of the image. Instead, the histogram equalization is applied to the Y channel of the YIQ or YUV representation of the image, which only normalizes the brightness levels of the image.

Formulas[link]

These formulae approximate the conversion between the RGB color space and YIQ for a very popular non-FCC version of NTSC.

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): R, G, B, Y \in \left[ 0, 1 \right], \quad I \in \left[-0.5957, 0.5957\right], \quad Q \in \left[-0.5226, 0.5226\right]

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \begin{bmatrix} Y \\ I \\ Q \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 0.299 & 0.587 & 0.114 \\ 0.595716 & -0.274453 & -0.321263 \\ 0.211456 & -0.522591 & 0.311135 \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix} R \\ G \\ B \end{bmatrix}

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \begin{bmatrix} R \\ G \\ B \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0.9563 & 0.6210 \\ 1 & -0.2721 & -0.6474 \\ 1 & -1.1070 & 1.7046 \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix} Y \\ I \\ Q \end{bmatrix}

Two things to note regarding the RGB transformation matrix:

• The top row is identical to that of the YUV color space
• Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \begin{bmatrix} R \\ G \\ B \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 1 \\ 1 \\ 1 \end{bmatrix} \implies \begin{bmatrix} Y \\ I \\ Q \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 1 \\ 0 \\ 0 \end{bmatrix}

NOTE: The FCC version of NTSC, which is currently on the books for over-the-air analog color TV broadcasting, uses a slightly different matrix, which is:

"EQ′=0.41(EB′-EY′)+0.48(ER′-EY′). EI′=-0.27(EB′-EY′)+0.74(ER′-EY′). EY′=0.30ER′+0.59EG′+0.11EB′." (Quoted from Code of Federal Regulations §73.682.)

References[link]

• Buchsbaum, Walter H. Color TV Servicing, third edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1975. ISBN 0-13-152397-X

External links[link]

• Demonstrative color conversion applet

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2009)

Harald Schmidt
Harald Schmidt
Born	(1957-08-18) August 18, 1957 (age 54) Neu-Ulm, West Germany
Occupation	talk show host, comedian and television producer
Website
Sat.1 Official Site

Harald Franz Schmidt (born August 18, 1957 in Neu-Ulm, Bavaria) is a German actor, writer, comedian and television entertainer best known as host of two popular German late-night shows.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

As son of refugees who fled from South Moravia (now Czech Republic) in 1945, Schmidt spent his youth in Swabian Nürtingen, where he went to grammar school. Due to his strict Catholic upbringing he devoted time to the Roman Catholic church, serving as choirmaster and playing the organ.

At the age of 21, Schmidt went to Stuttgart to attend drama school for three years. After that, he gained on-stage experience at Städtische Bühne (Municipal Stage) in Augsburg. His first role was that of the 2nd Mamaluke in Lessing's Nathan the Wise. In 1984, Harald Schmidt became a text writer for the cabaret Kom(m)ödchen in Düsseldorf and in 1986, was honoured as "Best Newcomer cabaret artist" and toured through Germany with his own show.

Television[link]

Before long, TV noticed the talented young comedian and in 1988 Schmidt began to host his first TV show, MAZ ab. This was followed by shows like Psst! and Schmidteinander, but the biggest boost to his career occurred in 1992, when he started hosting the popular Saturday night show, Verstehen Sie Spaß? (a variation of Candid Camera). Schmidt was awarded Germany's most important TV award, "Adolf-Grimme-Preis", which would be followed by many others. Just one year later, he was honoured as the "Entertainer of the year" and awarded the famous Bambi award and the Golden Camera.

In 1995, Schmidt changed from the publicly funded TV station ARD to the privately owned channel Sat.1 and started the late night talk and variety show, Die Harald Schmidt Show. From 30 June 2003 the show was broadcast five days a week, including Monday evening. On the 8th December 2003, Schmidt suddenly announced the end of the show, following a change of management of Sat.1. The last show was aired on the 23rd December 2003.

Harald Schmidt and Manuel Andrack live in Karlsruhe

"Creative break" and show relaunch[link]

In 2004, Schmidt toured through Germany with a live comedy show, featuring his former late night show sidekick Manuel Andrack. On December 23 of the same year, the new show Harald Schmidt began featuring Andrack, back on ARD, where Schmidt had begun his television career 16 years earlier.

In October 2005, his daughter Amelie was born.

Harald Schmidt resides in Cologne with his partner Ellen Hantsch, a school teacher, and five children, the eldest being from a former relationship. Little is known about the children and their two mothers as Schmidt shields them from the public. In interviews he hardly talks about them.

Shows[link]

[edit] Harald Schmidt Show (Sat.1)

Schmidt is host of the German late night show comparable to Late Night with Conan O'Brien or Late Night with David Letterman, which has now begun a second run after a year-long "creative break". The original show, named Die Harald Schmidt Show and shown on German television network Sat.1, featured stand-up comedy as well as famous national and international guests.

In its later years, the show became a critics' favourite due to Schmidt's "intellectual" sense of humour. For example, he hosted one show completely in French. On another occasion, the screen was blacked for half of the show making it into a "radio broadcast". Another time, he disproved a critic who had written that it is impossible to spend several minutes on TV just cracking nuts.

[edit] Harald Schmidt (ARD)

Schmidt began a second run with a new show on publicly funded ARD, this time without "celebrity" interviews and with even more discussion of current events in a rather freely associative manner. As the German entertainer Thomas Gottschalk recently quipped, Schmidt will always attract the student and intellectual crowd, Gottschalk himself will take care of the rest.

On his first show after the break Schmidt appeared with long hair and a fluffy full beard (which looked kind of grey-white-blond-yellowish and reminiscent of Ernest Hemingway and made it to the newspaper headlines the next morning) making fun of his long absence from the public. Although he claimed right on: "I swear, I shaved this morning!". After summer break in 2005 the "celebrity guest" segment was reintroduced.

[edit] Schmidt & Pocher (ARD)

Late in 2007, Manuel Andrack was replaced by Comedian Oliver Pocher, who had a more active part than his predecessor, and some other elements changed as well. The broadcast's title was changed to "Schmidt & Pocher", trying to attract a younger audience. Oliver Pocher was less educated and "less intellectual", a fact that caused some criticism among Harald Schmidt's core audience and broadsheet newspaper comments in Germany.

[edit] Harald Schmidt (Das Erste)

As of 2011, Schmidt hosts a live show for Das Erste each week.

[edit] Return to Sat. 1 as Harald Schmidt Show again

On September 15, 2011 Schmidt returned to his former network Sat.1 picking up is former show name of Die Harald Schmidt Show again. Sat.1 cancelled the show after one season due to low viewer levels.^[1]

[edit] Harald Schmidt Show (Sky Deutschland)

Starting September 11, 2012 new episodes will be shown on Sky Hits HD and Sky Atlantic HD, two channels of the German Pay-TV network Sky Deutschland.^[2]

Concept/crew[link]

The self-proclaimed hypochondriac became popular for his cynical jokes, cruel remarks and wry intellectual wit. (Even though he is obsessed with health he was able to lampoon this weak spot in a self ironic TV commercial for a medicine curing colds.) Schmidt models himself after people like Johnny Carson and Conan O'Brien, but adds few factors and qualities to his show himself.

He engaged in long, seemingly boring conversations with his "supervising producer" Manuel Andrack (known as "chief dramatic adviser"), who sat at a desk next to Schmidt's, and, like Letterman, also included his staff in the show, for instance, his band leader Helmut Zerlett and his cue card girl Suzana Novinscak (both omitted in the new show). After a few new shows, Schmidt celebrated the return of French woman Nathalie Licard. Previously Schmidt's reporter in the old show, she sat on a stool, opposite Manuel Andrack, in front of the band. On occasion, she was involved in the goings-on (like dressing up as Eliza Doolittle in front of the audience, helping Schmidt to bring people from the audience who were chosen to form an impromptu choir etc.). It has been announced on the 28th of March 2012 that the "Harald Schmidt Show" will end on the 3rd of May 2012 on SAT1.

Criticism[link]

Especially during the first years of Die Harald Schmidt Show, Schmidt was sometimes criticised for making fun of minorities like foreigners or gays. He also did some Adolf Hitler imitations in his show (in one of these he as Hitler warned young people not to vote for racist and nationalistic parties). However, especially Schmidts more unorthodox and politically incorrect jokes have garnered the show a reputation as cult television and his supporters accused critics of being incapable of understanding satire.

Awards[link]

Awards include three German Television Awards, the viewers choice award Bambi, the Grimme Award, the Golden Camera and the Golden Lion as best showmaster.

Related meme[link]

A picture of Schmidt, with a beard and long hair, holding up his index finger, is the basis of an Internet meme known as "fgsfds."

References[link]

External links[link]

• Die Harald Schmidt Show (old site)
• Harald Schmidt at the Internet Movie Database
• Schmidt's new Show (SAT.1)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2011)

Helmut Berger (born Helmut Steinberger, 29 May 1944) is an Austrian film and television actor. He is most famous for his work with Luchino Visconti, particularly in his performance as King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Ludwig, for which he received a special David di Donatello award.

He appears primarily in European cinema, but has also acted in films such as The Godfather Part III and Iron Cross.

Early life and education[link]

He was born in Bad Ischl, Austria, into a family of hoteliers. Berger initially trained and worked in this field, even though he had no interest in gastronomy or the hospitality industry. At age eighteen, he moved to London, England, where he did odd-jobs while taking acting classes. After studying languages in Perugia, Italy, Berger moved to Rome, Italy.

Career[link]

In 1964, he first met the film director Luchino Visconti, with whom he later had an intimate relationship. Visconti gave him his first acting role in the film Le streghe (The Witches, 1967) (in the episode "La Strega Bruciata Viva"), but he gained international prominence as the amoral Martin von Essenbeck in Visconti's The Damned (1969). In that film, in what is perhaps his best-known scene, he mimics Marlene Dietrich in the film The Blue Angel (1930). In Visconti's Ludwig (1972), Berger portrays Ludwig II of Bavaria from his blooming youth, to his dissolute final years. In 1974, Berger starred with Burt Lancaster in Visconti's Conversation Piece.

Berger has worked in television, most notably in the role of Peter De Vilbis in nine episodes (1983–1984) of the prime-time soap opera Dynasty (1981–1989), which he did only for money (he would later call it "crying on the way to the set but laughing on the way to the bank"). This was his last appearance in a television series.

In the thriller film Iron Cross (2009) he played Shrager, an aging character believed to be an old SS commander responsible for murdering Jews during World War II.

Berger has starred in two films directed by Peter Kern – Blutsfreundschaft (shown at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival (2010), and Mörderschwestern (in post-production).

Honors[link]

In 1969, Berger was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in The Damned, and in 1973, he won a David di Donatello – the Italian equivalent of an Academy Award – for his performance in Ludwig.

In 2007, he received a special Teddy Award at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival (2007) for his overall professional achievements.^[1]

In 2011, he received a Kristián Award, awarded at the Czech film festival Febiofest "for Contributions to World Cinema".^[2]

Filmography[link]

(director in parentheses; all films except as noted)

1967 – Le streghe (The Witches) (Luchino Visconti) 1968 – The Young Tigers (Antonio Leonviola) 1968 – Sai cosa faceva Stalin alle donne? (Maurizio Liverani) 1969 – The Damned (Luchino Visconti) 1970 – Dorian Gray (Massimo Dallamano) 1970 – The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Vittorio De Sica) 1971 – Un beau monstre (Sergio Gobbi) 1971 – The Bloodstained Butterfly (Duccio Tessari) 1972 – Ludwig (Luchino Visconti) 1972 – La colonna infame (Nelo Risi) 1973 – Les Voraces (Sergio Gobbi) 1973 – Ash Wednesday (Larry Peerce) 1973 – Reigen (Otto Schenk) 1974 – Conversation Piece (Luchino Visconti) 1975 – Order to Kill (José G. Maesso) 1975 – The Romantic Englishwoman (Joseph Losey) 1976 – Salon Kitty (Tinto Brass) 1976 – Victory at Entebbe (Marvin Chomsky) 1977 – Beast with a Gun (Sergio Grieco) 1978 – Il quinto comandamento (Duccio Tessari) 1978 – The Biggest Battle (Umberto Lenzi) 1979 – Le rose di Danzica (Alberto Bevilacqua) 1980 – Fantômas (Claude Chabrol) 1981 – Mia moglie è una strega (Castellano & Pipolo) 1982 – Deadly Game (Károly Makk) 1982 – Victoria! La gran aventura de un poble (A. Ribas)

1983 – Eroina (Massimo Pirri) 1983 – Femmes (T. Kaleya) 1983 – Victoria! 2: El frenesì del 17 (A. Ribas) 1983 – Veliki Transport (V. Bulajic) 1983–1984 – Dynasty (television series) 1984 – Victoria! 3: La razon y el arrebato (A. Ribas) 1985 – Code Name: Emerald (J. Sanger) 1988 – Faceless (Jess Franco) 1988 – Act of Revenge (Salvatore Nocita) 1989 – La Puritana (Nini Grassia) 1990 – The Godfather Part III (Francis Ford Coppola) 1992 – Adelaide (Lucio Gaudino) 1993 – Boomtown (Ch. Schrewe) 1993 – Ludwig 1881 (F. Dubini / D. Dubini) 1995 – L'affaire Dreyfuss (Y. Boisset) 1996 – Teo (Cinzia TH Torrini) 1996 – L'ombra del faraone (S. Ben Barka) 1996 – Last Cut (Marcello Avallone) 1997 – Die 120 Tage von Bottrop (Ch. Schlingensief) 1999 – Under the Palms (M. Kruishoop) 2002 – Zapping Alien (V. Zeplichal) 2004 – Honey Baby (Mika Kaurismäki) 2005 – Damals warst du still (R. Matsutani) 2008 – Blutsfreundschaft (Peter Kern) 2010 – Iron Cross (Joshua Newton) – post-production 2010 – Mörderschwestern (Peter Kern)

See also[link]

	Austria portal
	Biography portal
	Film portal
	Television portal

• List of Austrian film actors

Bibliography[link]

• Coriando, Paola-Ludovika (March 2006). "La poesia del volto: ritratto di Helmut Berger attore viscontiano. Cineforum. Issue #452.

References[link]

1. ^ Schupp, Karin (17 February 2007). "Teddy Today". Teddy Award. http://www.teddyaward.tv/2007/index2.asp?KategorieID=1045&InhaltID=1803/. Retrieved 10 April 2011. 
2. ^ Staff writer (30 March 2011). "Festival Diary: Wednesday 30th". Febiofest. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

External links[link]

• Helmut Berger at the Internet Movie Database
• Salon for Helmut Berger, unofficial fan site in Japanese and English^{[dead link]}

Persondata
Name	Berger, Helmut
Alternative names	Helmut Steinberger
Short description	Actor
Date of birth	29 May 1944
Place of birth	Bad Ischl, Austria
Date of death
Place of death

Eric Johnson
Background information
Also known as	"EJ"
Born	(1954-08-17) August 17, 1954 (age 57) Austin, Texas, United States
Genres	Rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Guitar. vocals, piano
Years active	1969–present
Labels	Ark21, Warner Bros., Capitol, Favored Nations
Associated acts	G3, Joe Satriani, Alien Love Child, John Petrucci, Electromagnets, Mariani
Website	http://www.ericjohnson.com
Notable instruments
Fender Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster

Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is an American musician, songwriter, and vocalist from Austin, Texas. Best known for his electric guitar skills, Johnson is also a highly proficient acoustic, lap steel, resonator, and bass guitarist as well as an accomplished pianist and vocalist.

Johnson has mastered a wide array of musical genres evidenced by the many different styles incorporated in both his studio and live performances including rock, blues, jazz, fusion, soul, folk, New Age, classical, and country and western.^[1]

Guitar Player magazine has called Johnson "one of the most respected guitarists on the planet".^[2] Johnson's stylistic diversity and technical proficiency with the guitar have been praised by Bill Hicks.^[3] His 1990 platinum-selling, full-length album, Ah Via Musicom, produced the single, "Cliffs Of Dover", for which Johnson won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.^[4]

Life and career[link]

Born into a musically-inclined family, Johnson and his three sisters studied piano and his father was a whistling enthusiast. Johnson started learning the guitar at age 11 and rapidly began progressing through the music that would heavily influence his future style, including Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Chet Atkins, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Jerry Reed, Bob Dylan and Django Reinhardt, among others. At the age of 15, he joined his first professional band—Mariani, a psychedelic rock group. In 1968, Johnson and the group recorded a demo, which saw extremely limited release; years later the recording became a prized collector's item.^{[1][5][6][7][8]}

After graduating from high school, Johnson briefly attended the University of Texas at Austin and traveled with his family to Africa. He eventually returned to Austin, and in 1974 joined a local fusion group called Electromagnets. The group toured and recorded regionally, but did not attract attention from major record labels and as a result disbanded in 1977. However, the strength of Johnson's playing attracted a small cult following to the group's early recordings, and decades later their two albums were given wide release on compact disc.^[9][10]

The Electromagnets with Eric Johnson performing at N.C. State University, Raleigh, N.C., on April 11, 1976

Following the Electromagnets' demise, Johnson formed a touring trio, the Eric Johnson Group, with drummer Bill Maddox and bassist Kyle Brock. They played to audiences around Austin and in 1978 recorded a full length album entitled Seven Worlds. Although the album showcased the band's sound, contract disputes held up the album's release for several years. Seven Worlds was eventually released in 1998 on Ark21 Records.^[11][12] Unable to secure a new management contract, Johnson began working as a session guitarist for some well-known acts, including Cat Stevens,^[13] Carole King, and Christopher Cross, among others.^[14] While a session musician, Johnson continued to perform locally, developing a flashy but tasteful electric guitar sound. His career rebounded in 1984 when he was signed to Warner Bros. Records. There is some disagreement about exactly how Johnson caught Warner Brothers' attention, with some reports suggesting that pop superstar Prince recommended him after hearing him perform on the public television program Austin City Limits. Others suggest that it was singer Christopher Cross and producer David Tickle who recommended Johnson to the label.^[15] In any case, Johnson's major-label debut, Tones, was unveiled in 1986 with Tickle as co-producer.

Success[link]

In May 1986, Guitar Player magazine ran a cover story about Johnson. The article helped promote the release of Tones and brought Johnson critical praise as well as elevating his profile in the guitar and music community.^[16] The album's track "Zap" was nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, but as a whole the album didn't sell well and Warner Brothers let Johnson's contract expire. He signed on with indie label Cinema Records, distributed by Capitol Records.^[17]

By the time Johnson released his 1990 Capitol Records debut album, Ah Via Musicom, he was regularly winning awards for his musicianship in the guitar press. During this period, Johnson also drew recognition for the rich, violin-like tone he coaxed from his vintage Fender Stratocaster. The album's second track, "Cliffs Of Dover", exemplified his unique sound and won Johnson a 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Ah Via Musicom was a crossover hit, and was certified platinum.

Fellow Texan, the late comedian^[18] Bill Hicks, opened for Eric Johnson on at least one occasion in the Eighties. The highly intoxicated Hicks made light of Eric's lack of hit singles, as well as his vegetarian and teetotal lifestyle, by suggesting that if Eric were to eat a Hamburger and drink a beer he would be able to write more popular songs. After this incident Bill Hicks was not asked to open for Johnson ever again.^[19]

Johnson is an admitted perfectionist, and those traits seemed to work against Ah Via Musicom's follow-up release. Unhappy with his recordings, Johnson mastered, then later scrapped, several completed tracks for the new album and delayed its release for three years, on top of the three years he had spent touring in support of Ah Via Musicom. He also had setbacks involving musical growth and personal issues while recording his next album Venus Isle.^[20][21]

Venus Isle was finally released on September 3, 1996. It was a unique album with world influences that demonstrated Johnson's growth as a guitarist, songwriter, producer, musical arranger and vocalist. But the album received mixed reviews and did not match the success of its predecessor. As a result Johnson was dropped from Capitol Records. He rebounded with a successful tour from October to November 1996 with fellow guitarists Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Named the 'G3' tour, it resulted in a successful platinum-selling compact disc and DVD titled G3: Live In concert. ]] In 1998, Eric Johnson was among the judges in Musician magazine's "Best Unsigned Bands" competition, along with Ani DiFranco, Moby, Art Alexakis of Everclear, Keb' Mo' and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.^[22]

In 1994, Johnson formed a side project called Alien Love Child and played shows sporadically while recording Venus Isle. The positive fan feedback from the shows made Alien Love Child a permanent gig. A live performance recording, Live And Beyond, was finally released in 2000 on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label, showcasing their new songs. The Alien Love Child project helped Johnson move away from his perfectionistic tendencies and loosen up enough to embrace and release a live album.^[23][24][25]

Johnson eventually returned to the recording studio, releasing Souvenir in January 2002 on his own Vortexan Records. The album, released on the Internet, received nearly 65,000 plays in the first seven weeks after it was made available on mp3.com.^[26] Johnson promoted Souvenir with an electric tour in 2003 and an acoustic tour in 2004.^[27][28]

In 2004, Eric Clapton invited Johnson to perform at his first successful Crossroads Guitar Festival. According to Johnson, he was scheduled to perform onstage with Clapton, but it fell.^[29]

Johnson's next studio album Bloom was released in June 2005, again on Vai's Favored Nations label. The album was divided into three sections with different musical styles, intended to showcase Johnson's versatility.^[30] His December 1988 Austin City Limits performance was released on both DVD and compact disc on New West Records in November 2005. His instructional guitar DVD, The Art of Guitar (Hal Leonard Corporation), was also released at the end of 2005.

In January 2006, a man named Brian Sparks was arrested for posing as Johnson and in the process defrauding businesses out of about $18,000 worth of guitars and equipment.^[31] Also in 2006, some of Johnson's guitars that had been stolen 24 years before were recovered.^[32]

In September 2006, Johnson took part in a theatrical production titled "Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar" – the first definitive theatrical journey through the guitar’s colorful and controversial 3,500-year history. In September 2007, Johnson participated in a second theatrical production by the same company titled "Love In: A Musical Celebration" in which he performed a Jimi Hendrix set, a tribute to the year 1967, often called "The Summer of Love".^[33] Also in late 2006 Johnson participated in a second G3 tour in South America, with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci.

Johnson had been working on an all-acoustic project^[34] and a live video from his 2006 Tour with Satriani.^[35] However these were shelved in 2007 in favor of cutting a new studio album.^[36]

His hit single "Cliffs Of Dover" appears in the game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Johnson has also signed up with "Operation Immortality", a project to create a digital time capsule of their DNA and humanity's achievements in the event of a global calamity.^[37]

Guitar and equipment[link]

Guitars[link]

Johnson is best known for playing stock Fender Stratocasters and Gibson ES-335 electric guitars through a triple amp setup that consists of Fender, Dumble Amplifiers and Marshall amplification amplifiers. Johnson has also played other guitar brands such as Robin, Rickenbacker, Jackson and a Charvel, which appears on the cover of the Ah Via Musicom album. In 2001, Johnson added a Gibson Custom Shop '59 Les Paul Reissue to his guitars of choice.

Johnson has had several models built to his specifications for sale in the mass market. In 2003, C. F. Martin & Company released a limited-edition Eric Johnson Signature MC-40 guitar built to his specifications. Johnson donated 5 percent of the profits of the guitar's sales to his father's alma mater, Jefferson Medical College^[38] In 2005, Fender released an Eric Johnson Signature Fender Stratocaster also built to his specifications. Johnson has also released other signature gear such as GHS Eric Johnson Nickel Rockers Electric Guitar Strings, DiMarzio DP211 Eric Johnson Signature Custom Pickups, and a Fullton-Webb amplifier. Jim Dunlop also has released an Eric Johnson signature Jazz III plectrum. In early 2009, Fender released the Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Rosewood model, featuring the same specifications as the Eric Johnson Maple Neck guitar, with the addition of an unusual 3-ply, 8-hole white pick guard, hotter treble pickup and a bound rosewood laminate fingerboard with pearloid dot position markers.

Effects[link]

He uses effect pedals such as the Ibanez Tube Screamer,^[39][40] Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face, BK Butler Tube Driver, TC Electronic Stereo Chorus, Vox CryBaby wah-wah ^[41], ToadWorks Barracuda flanger ^[42], Prescription Electronics Experience octave fuzz ^[43], Xotic AC Booster, MXR Flanger/Doubler, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man delay, Boss Corporation DD-2 Digital Delay ^[44], MXR 1500 Digital Delay, Line 6 Echo Pro Studio Modeler, and up to two Maestro Echoplex tape delays.^[45][46] All of these are connected to multiple A/B boxes to create sounds and tones that are both clean and distorted. Although the majority of Johnson's setup is vintage, he has recently started using more modern equipment, including a stereo chorus made by Analog Man and a Fractal Audio Systems Axe-Fx. ^[47]

Recording[link]

In late 2006, Johnson switched from recording in analog^[48] to digital format.^[49]

Popular culture[link]

Guitarist Alex Lifeson of Rush gave a thank you to Johnson in the liner notes of Counterparts for being the inspiration for the guitar solo in the song "Cut To The Chase".

Guitarist Steve Morse recorded a song titled "TruthOla", which is a tribute to Jeff Beck, Alex Lifeson, and Eric Johnson. The song is on Morse's album "Major Impacts".

Solo albums[link]

• Seven Worlds (1978, reissued in 1998)
• Tones (1986)
• Ah Via Musicom (1990)
• Venus Isle (1996)
• Souvenir (2002)
• Bloom (2005)
• Live from Austin, TX (2005)
• Live From Austin TX '84 (2010)
• Up Close (2010)

Early singles played on[link]

• "Re-Birth Day"/"Memories Lost And Found" by Mariani (1970)
• "Come In Out Of The Rain" by Jay Aaron Podolnick (1975)
• "Talkin' About Her"/"It's All With You" by Christopher Cross (1976)
• "Thermal Underwear" by Project Terror (Bill Maddox) (1977)
• "That Rider Down" by Bill Colbert (1982)

Albums played on[link]

Group albums[link]

• Perpetuum Mobile' by Mariani (1970)
• Electromagnets by Electromagnets (1975)
• Live and Beyond by Alien Love Child (2000)
• Electromagnets 2 by Electromagnets (2006, originally recorded in 1976)

Compilations[link]

• The Austin Christmas Collection by Various Artists ‒ "What Child is This" (1980)
• The Austin Christmas Collection, Vol. 2 by Various Artists ‒ "What Child Is This" and "Is There A Santa Claus" (1983)
• Guitar Speak by Various Artists ‒ "Western Flyer" (1988)
• KLBJ's Local Licks Live by Various Artists ‒ "Camel's Night Out" (1990)
• Instrumental Moods by Various Artists ‒ "Cliffs Of Dover" (1991)
• Guitar's Practicing Musicians, Vol. 2 by Various Artists ‒ "Cliffs Of Dover" (1991)
• KLBJ's Local Licks Live by Various Artists ‒ "Desert Rose" (1993)
• True Voices by Various Artists ‒ "At The End Of The Day" with Susan Cowsill (1995)
• KLBJ's Local Licks Live by Various Artists ‒ "S.R.V." (1996)
• 13th Millennia Soundtrack by Various Artists (1996)
• G3: Live In Concert by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson (1997)
• Merry Axemas Volume 1 by Various Artists ‒ "The First Nowell" (1997)
• Guitar Gods by Various Artists ‒ "Trademark" (1998)
• KGSR 107.1 Broadcasts Vol. 7 by Various Artists ‒ "Tribute To Jerry Reed" and "The Only Thing That's Real" (1999)
• KGSR 107.1 Broadcasts Vol. 8 by Various Artists (1999)
• The Best of Rockline by Various Artists ‒ "S.R.V." (1999)
• Moods Box Set by Various Artists ‒ "Cliffs Of Dover" (1999)
• Rock Guitarist Forever Best by Various Artists ‒ "Soulful Terrain" (1999, Japanese-only release)
• KLBJ Local Licks Live by Various Artists ‒ "Shape I'm In" (2001)
• Band Together by Various Artists ‒ "Shape I'm In" (2002)
• Texas Guitar Slingers Vol. 1 by Various Artists ‒ "Enzo Shuffle" (2002)
• Relief Fund Compilation Album Benefiting the World Trade Center by Various Artists ‒ (2002, unreleased)
• Fender Stratocaster 50th Anniversary by Various Artists ‒ "Trademark" (2004)
• Don't Mess With Texas Vol. 2 by Various Artists ‒ "Boogie King" (2004)
• KGSR 107.1 Broadcasts Vol. 12 by Various Artists ‒ "Song For George" (2004)
• Austin Music Vol. 6 by Various Artists ‒ "Sunarround You" (2007)
• Keep Punching by Various Artists ‒ "Forever Yours" (2007)
• Gibson Presents: Hot Tones in High Definition by Various Artists ‒ "World Of Trouble" (2008)
• Various Artists: This is Fusion Guitar by Various Artists ‒ "Beck's Bolero" (2009)

Guest appearance work[link]

• Once Upon a Rock by American Peddlers ‒ "Circle Song" (1977)
• Back to Earth by Cat Stevens ‒ "Bad Brakes" (1978)
• Gene Morris by Gene Morris ‒ "My Friend" (1979)
• Pearls by Carole King ‒ "Dancin' With Tears In My Eyes" (1980)
• Johnny Dee & The Rocket 88's by Johnny Dee & The Rocket 88's ‒ "No More" (1980)
• Christopher Cross by Christopher Cross ‒ "Minstrel Gigolo" (1980)
• The Shake Russell/Dana Cooper Band by The Shake Russell/Dana Cooper Band ‒ "Waitin' Here For You" and "Goin' Down Judah" (1981)
• Sunrise In Corpus Christi by Faron Evans (1982)
• One to One by Carole King (1982)
• Long Time Friends by Alessi ‒ "Rise Up" (1982)
• Til You Came Along by Bobby Giles (1982)
• Tomás Ramírez by Tomas Ramirez ‒ "SA Stroll" (1983)
• World Beat by Dan Del Santo ‒ "Ain't That Askin' A Little Too Much?" (1983)
• Pressure by Pressure ‒ "Save A Little Time" (1983)
• Peripheral Vision by McColl & Tracey (1984)
• Marc Anthony Thompson by Marc Anthony Thompson ‒ "Recover Gracefully" (1984)
• Stand Up by Steve Morse Band ‒ "Distant Star" (1985)
• Street Language by Rodney Crowell ‒ "Ballad Of Fast Eddie" (1986)
• Guitar Speak by Various Artists ‒ "Western Flyer" (1988)
• Willie Jones by Willie Jones ‒ "So Long Mary Jane" (1990)
• Inside Out by Jay Aaron (Podolnick) ‒ "Ronda" (1990)
• The Urge by Stuart Hamm ‒ "On Our Dreams" and "Lone Star" (1991)
• Rush Street by Richard Marx ‒ "Keep Coming Back" (1992)
• The Hunter by Jennifer Warnes ‒ "Lights Of Louisiana" and "I Can't Hide" (1992)
• Rendezvous by Christopher Cross ‒ "Nothing Will Change" (1992)
• Herman Harris & the Voices of Hope by Herman Harris (1993)
• Read My Licks by Chet Atkins ‒ "Somebody Loves Me Now" (1994)
• What The Hell Was I Thinking? by Dweezil Zappa (1994, unreleased)
• Wave of the Hand by Carla Olson ‒ "I'm Tryin'" (1995)
• Angelica by Various Artists ‒ "Ave Maria" (1997)
• Merry Axemas by Various Artists ‒ "The First Nowell" (1997)
• Angels, Horses & Pirates by Little Blue ‒ "Wait Until You Get Here" (1997)
• Rosebud by Stephen Doster ‒ "There Is No Time" (1998)
• Walking in Avalon by Christopher Cross ‒ "When She Smiles" (1998)
• Koko's Hideaway by Van Wilks ‒ "Vanquila" (1999)
• Fingers And Thumbs by Adrian Legg ‒ "Lunchtime At Rosie's" (1999)
• Been A Long Time by Double Trouble ‒ "In The Garden" (2001)
• Last Of The Cowboy Vampires by Lance Keltner ‒ "Chain Gang" (2001)
• More To Life Than This by Mike Tramp ‒ "On The Good, The Sad, And The Ugly" (2003)
• A Guitar Supreme, Giant Steps in Fusion Guitar by Various Artists ‒ "Resolution" (2004)
• Fusion For Miles, A Guitar Tribute: A Bitchin' Brew by Various Artists ‒ "Jean Pierre" (2005)
• Industrial Zen by John McLaughlin ‒ "New Blues Old Bruise" (2006)
• Viva Carlos: A Supernatural Marathon Celebration by Various Artists ‒ "Aqua Marine" (2006)
• Hero Shuffle by Rex Paul (Schnelle) ‒ "Hero Shuffle" and "Reminds Me of Austin" (2006)
• Walk On by Roscoe Beck ‒ "Together All The Time" (2006)
• The Devil Knows My Name by John5 ‒ "The Washing Away Of Wrong" (2007)
• Freeway Jam: To Beck and Back by Various Artists ‒ "Beck's Bolero" (2007)
• Lovers by Bobby Whitlock and CoCo Carmel ‒ "Layla" (2008)
• From The Reach by Sonny Landreth ‒ "The Milky Way Home" (2008)
• Bridging the Gap by Doyle Dykes ‒ "Red Clay" (2008)
• Big Neighborhood by Mike Stern ‒ "6th Street" and "Long Time Gone" (2009)

Instructional DVDs[link]

• Eric Johnson: Total Electric Guitar by Hot Licks (1990)
• Eric Johnson: The Fine Art of Guitar by Hot Licks (1996)
• Eric Johnson: The Art of Guitar by Hal Leonard Corporation (2005)

Television appearances and videos[link]

• Austin City Limits (1984, 1988, 1996, and 2000)
• One To One Tour (Video) by Carole King (1983)
• Nova (PBS Special) – "Nautilus: 500 Million Years Under the Sea" The Chambered Nautilus (1987)
• Live at the Bottomline, New York – Japanese TV broadcast (1990)
• MTV Rock N' Jock Softball – performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" (1991)
• The Tonight Show – performing "Cliffs Of Dover" (1991)
• Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's "Guitar" – Japanese release – Warner Brothers (VHS and LaserDisc) (1991)
• BB King And Friends...Live At The Woodlands by Houston PBS (1993)
• Chet Atkins and Friends (TNN Special) ‒ "Read My Licks" (1994)
• Baseball: Inning 9: Home by The Baseball Film Project (1994)
• G3: Live In Concert by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson (1997)
• Electromagnets: Live on PBS Playback (1975) re-released on VHS (1998)
• Double Trouble with Special Guests – Austin City Limits (2001)
• House Of Blues (Webcast Live) – Alien Love Child Tour (2001)
• Big Wreck and Friends (Webcast Live) – Roy Thomson Hall – Toronto, Ontario (2001)
• Guitar Show – Australian Television Broadcast (2002)
• Jennifer Warnes DVD-A from AIX – unreleased (2003)
• Crossroads Guitar Festival (2004)
• 107.7 The Bone Studios Radio Show (2005)
• James Burton International Guitar Festival (2005, unreleased)
• Live in Austin, TX (2005)
• Satriani Live (2006)
• Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar (2006)
• Love In: A Musical Celebration (2007)
• Anaheim (Live) (2008)

Video games[link]

• Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock ‒ "Cliffs Of Dover" (2007)
• Guitar Hero World Tour ‒ "Camel's Night Out" (2009)

Awards and chartings[link]

• Albums:
  • 1991 – Ah Via Musicom (album) – Grammy – Best Rock Instrumental Nomination
  • 1991 – Ah Via Musicom (album) – Billboard magazine – Billboard 200 – (#67)
  • 2006 – Bloom (album) – Grammy – Best Pop Instrumental Nomination

• Songs:
  • 1987 – "Zap" – (Tones) – Grammy – Best Rock Instrumental Nomination
  • 1990 – "Cliffs Of Dover" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Mainstream Rock Tracks – (#5)
  • 1990 – "High Landrons" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Mainstream Rock Tracks – (#31)
  • 1991 – "Righteous" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Mainstream Rock Tracks – (#8)
  • 1991 – "Trademark" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Mainstream Rock Tracks – (#7)
  • 1992 – "Cliffs Of Dover]]" – (Ah Via Musicom) – Grammy – winner – Best Rock Instrumental Performance^[4]
  • 1997 – "Pavilion" – (Venus Isle) – Grammy - Best Rock Instrumental Nomination
  • 1998 – "S.R.V." – (Venus Isle) – Grammy – Best Rock Instrumental Nomination
  • 2002 – "Rain" (Live and Beyond) – Grammy – Best Pop Instrumental Nomination

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Eric Johnson Interview on FingerstyleGuitarists.com