Evan Johns And The H-Bombs | en

Evan Johns and the H-Bombs was a rock and roll band formed at late seventies in Washington, D.C..

After playing with Danny Gatton (who hired Johns to be his front man, using Evan's song "Redneck Jazz" for his first album), Evan moved to Austin, Texas in 1984 joining the LeRoi Brothers. By 1985 his band The H-Bomb (Mark Korpi - guitar, Dan McCann - bass, Jim Starboard - drums,) joined him in Austin. Since than they have released numerous albums defining the term "psychobilly." Evan Johns has since appeared on over 50 albums, recording with everyone from Timbuk 3 to Eugene Chadbourne to Neko Case. Sidelined briefly by cataracts in the late 90's, Evan Johns continued to write and record, releasing a live album in 1995 and eventually meeting up with LA instrumental band Hillbilly Soul Surfers.


Evan Johns (July 12, 1956 ─ March 11, 2017) was an American guitarist specializing in a variety of music, including rockabilly.

Johns was born in McLean, Virginia, and began his musical career in the Washington, D.C. area. There, Johns met and played with guitarist Danny Gatton, writing three songs (including the title track) for Gatton’s 1978 album, Redneck Jazz. After his stint with Gatton, Johns founded his own band, called "the H-Bombs", which became popular playing regular gigs in the DC area. Among the group's fans was Jello Biafra, founder of the Dead Kennedys, who in liner notes to an H-Bombs EP, described the H-Bombs' music as "a little Tex-Mex here, garage power there, all whipped into a witch's brew of spitfire guitar and Evan's trademark vocal growl. This is the real stuff."

In 1984, Johns relocated to Austin, Texas, to join the band The LeRoi Brothers. In Austin, Johns performed on the 1985 compilation album, Trash, Twang and Thunder by several Austin guitarists who styled themselves as Big Guitars From Texas; the album earned a Grammy nomination for rock-instrumental music.

In 1985, Johns re-formed the H-Bombs in Austin and continued as its leader. Johns and the H-Bombs played together for several years thereafter, becoming known for their eclectic repertoire, summarized by one reviewer as "cajun, rockabilly, punk, surf, blues, country – even spaghetti Western soundtrack music."

In the mid 1990s, Johns began to suffer alcohol-related and other health problems, and stopped playing regularly in 1998.

Johns passed away from complications of liver disease on March 11, 2017 in Austin, Texas age 60.

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