Chris Johns
"Taco"

“Chris is the tastemaker. His gentle but commanding touch with brushes, bundles and sticks creates his signature sound. If I walked into a show blindfolded and he was playing, I would instantly know that it was him. To me, that is the sign of a great drummer: being able to create a unique and impressive sound. Chris is one of my favourite drummers to play with, and I have had the pleasure of playing with some of the greatest players in the world.”

“An extremely talented, ambitious, artistic, steady, reliable, confident professional with great chops that understands music enough to know when to play, and when not to play both on stage as well as in the recording studio.”

“A thoughtful and creative drummer who adds his own unique voice to all of the projects he contributes to, working hard to find the perfect parts for each song.”

“Chris Johns plays the drums with expressive precision that (for me anyway) hints at reggae without actually going there.”

Although Chris “taco” Johns has been playing the drums primarily for over 30 years, he considers himself a multi-instrumentalist musician, and not simply a drummer. “When I first sit down to play, my thoughts aren’t about what kind of beat should I play to make this interesting, or what could I play that would makes others take notice. My role in Frank Deresti and the Lake Effect has always been to support the message within the songs. Songs exist as a vessel to carry that message. Before I pick up my sticks, I ask myself - what are the lyrics about? What is the underlying message, and how can I help convey that? Our arrangements can be complex; there is virtually always a variety of tightly woven instrumentation and percussion used. Because of this, it is vital to ensure that I consciously leave space and room throughout the passages, because it is within that space and room that the listener is able to best contemplate the message they are hearing.”