Five Questions with Brother Cane Guitarist Damon Johnson

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Music Features

Damon Johnson has played in some of the most popular rock bands in the world.

Some ‘90s rock fans may know the guitarist from his “moderately popular” band Brother Cane, but since they broke up in 2000, Johnson’s stood on stage with the likes of Alice Cooper, Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders and most recently—Southern rock’s Lynyrd Skynyrd—filling the formidable shoes of original Skynryd guitarist Gary Rossington as he battles health issues.

Johnson is one of rock’s nicest (and busiest) guys, recently releasing two solo records with his band Damon Johnson and the Get Ready and going on tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd. While on tour, he said he constantly runs into Brother Cane fans who ask when they might see a re-constituted Brother Cane take the stage.

The answer is just a few days away—in Chicago and Milwaukee—where Johnson, along Buck Johnson (no relation) on keyboards, drummer Jarred Pope and original Brother Cane bassist Glenn Maxey will play the first Brother Cane shows in over a decade.

During their run in the ‘90s, Brother Cane scored several Top 10 Mainstream Rock singles including the chart-topping “And Fools Shine On” and “I Lie in the Bed I Make” as well as “Got No Shame” and “That Don't Satisfy Me.”

The Shepherd Express talked with Johnson about resurrecting Brother Cane and his illustrious, albeit circuitous, career.

I’ve heard you say that two of your biggest musical influences growing up were Thin Lizzy and Lynryd Skynryd. So, what’s it like to have the opportunity to play in legendary bands like those?

It is still difficult to put into proper words what it’s like—it’s just a thrill. 

No one loves rock music more than me and those two bands – their catalog of studio records and their live records are stamped on my DNA. For life to go down a path, almost by accident, that these opportunities would come my way is inexplicable. Thin Lizzy especially, a band originally from Ireland and still based in the UK, it’s unfathomable that a kid from Alabama who grew up loving Bad Reputation, Jailbreak and Live and Dangerous would one day get the call to stand next to one of my biggest guitar heroes, Scott Gorham, and play those incredible songs that Phil Lynott wrote.

The Skynyrd thing makes a little more sense, because Brother Cane toured with them back in 1993. The conduit was Ricky Medlocke, who was in Blackfoot at the time, and we did some shows opening for them in Texas. We just hit it off and stayed really good friends over the past 30 years. It was Ricky that mentioned my name to the Skynyrd camp when Gary Rossington went down with health issues, and they needed someone to step in and help them finish the tour.

It’s all about loving music. I’ve been unwavering in the music that makes me happy, that inspires me, that motivates me to write and play guitar. As you get older and stay in the business, I think the world becomes smaller and smaller and there is a finite number of guys a band like Lynyrd Skynyrd can call to step into a really big situation like that. It’s an honor to play those songs and fill in for a legend like Gary Rossington.

What precipitated the Brother Cane shows? Why now?

A lot of fans have asked in person and on social media about Brother Cane. That’s a reasonable question. We had some success at radio in the ‘90s and we weren’t a big band, but a lot of people knew who we were and liked our songs. The answer is really simple—I just didn’t have any help. I haven’t had a manager since the Brother Cane days. I didn’t need a manager to tour with Alice Cooper or Thin Lizzy.

My current manager Kevin [Lee] and I have been working together for the past several years on the Damon Johnson and the Get Ready stuff and when we realized that I would have some time on the calendar with Skynyrd doing only 30 shows this year, he mentioned that we should consider doing some Brother Cane shows. I’ve always loved those songs and it feels like the timing is good right now.”

What can Brother Cane fans expect at these first two shows and how will Brother Cane go on beyond them?

We have about a half-dozen confirmed dates right now, and we’re working to schedule some dates for the fall, because Skynyrd will not be on the road during that time, but it really depends upon who shows up. Let’s see what the interest is and if the fans are motivated to come and see the band perform.

I don’t have any expectations. I remember what it was like in 1998, with songs on the radio and a major record label behind us and we still struggled to sell tickets to shows. We just never were one of those bands that tapped into the “zeitgeist” of building a big fan base. No question, we had unfathomable competition back then, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and then the next wave like Rage Against The Machine and Korn … We were just four guys from Alabama who wanted to play rock n’ roll. We weren’t trying to be trendy, wear funny clothes or do crazy sh*% in interviews or on TV. It was a tough time to be a straight-ahead band.

But the good news is nostalgia is alive and well and I think people have an inflated idea of what Brother Cane was like in the ‘90s. We don’t have a giant fan base, but the fans we do have are as die-hard as any act that’s ever played a show. To those people, we were big and as important as any of those other bands. So, between the die-hards and with a team that can help promote the band, I think we can get the word out to people who would be interested in seeing us again.

A lot of people might look at your career and ask “so why exactly did Damon leave Alice Cooper’s band or Black Star Riders?” Most musicians would appear to be set once they landed in bands of that stature …

I get restless, creatively. That might explain the return of Brother Cane as well. After leaving Black Star Riders, I was ready to chart my own course, get back behind the microphone and really have more control over my calendar. My wife and I have teenage kids at home, and I wanted to be around more for them as well.

That creative itch is always there, I’m always writing, and I just think I was ready to sing and front a band. I can’t possibly be more proud of Memoirs of an Uprising from 2019 and last year’s Battle Lessons records with the Get Ready. Those songs are as solid as anything I’ve ever done. But that’s what led me to want to move on from Alice Cooper in 2011 and Black Star Riders in 2018.

I love being in bands, but as you get older it’s challenging to get five guys on the same page—about the music, the plan, touring, calendars … Some guys in their 50s and 60s still want to be on the road 200 days a year—not me. My wife and kids come first; my career is second. I just feel so fulfilled right now. I feel like I have finally. somehow, cracked the code of that word balance. I’ve talked about it my whole career, but I don’t think I’ve really had it until the last four or five years.

If I had still been in Black Star Riders, I would have had to pass on the Skynyrd opportunity and that’s had a big impact on the Brother Cane thing. That’s all Ricky Medlocke wants to talk about is Brother Cane.    

Final question is a tough one: Which musician(s) would you say you have enjoyed playing with most over your career? Not who’s the best or most popular—who do you have the most fun with?

“What a great question. I’ve never been asked that … The very first thing that came to mind is that in 2011, Alice Cooper added his old friend Steve Hunter to the band. To get to play with a legend like Steve Hunter that year, talk music with him—he’s just one of the understated greats of classic rock. What a thrill for me to share the stage with that guy. Steve became a friend, a confidant and advisor.

Your question is tough—I’ve played with some of the greatest drummers in the history of rock, Eric Singer, Jimmy DeGrasso, Brian Downey in Thin Lizzy. Standing next to Scott Gorham and Ricky Medlocke, that’s just goosebump material for the kid that had posters of those guys on his bedroom wall when I was 15 … It’s just a reminder of how fortunate I am and to have had the chance to do these things.

Yes, I’ve worked hard and I’m gonna keep working hard—but you’re motivated to do the work because you know something good is coming. I think that’s the secret of the universe. Get up every day, do the work, let the chips fall where they may, and you never know what gonna happen … 

Brother Cane with special guests, Bad Boy

Friday, play 8 p.m., April 22 at Northern Lights Theater–Potawatomi Hotel and Casino. For more information,visit

paysbig.com.