Gigging
Around Gotham by
Hat Nentoff
Article & photo provided by Dejie Johnson : dejie.johnson@turner.com
: bio : resume (word
doc.)
There's a new sound blowing through the burg nowadays -- a rich, heady cocktail of soulful sambas, beat-crazy bossa, and, yes, a soupon of Tin Pan Alley. I have seen the future: its name is UberEasy.
UE's a jazz-pop quartet, if labels are what turns you on. But if you're willing to leave your squarish preconceptions behind, you're in for a wild, wild ride. What makes this deluxe combo run more smoothly than a new Continental on Interstate 95? Let's pop open the hood and take a peek at engine.
UE wouldn't be UE without the singular charms of its chanteuse, Miss Dejie "Lady D" Johnson. Miss Johnson's scintillating synthesis of Anita O'Day's phrasing, Annie Ross's brashness and Eartha Kitt's j'ne sais quois could stir the passions of a dead mans loins and can do considerably more than that to those of the living.
Providing accompaniment to her dulcet tones courtesy of his blond, hollow-bodied baby is guitarist Barry "The Voiceless Les Paul" Koch, the slickest six-string slinger this side of the Catskills. Don't let his professorial demeanor fool you: this guy is a goateed geyser of unbridled guiterrorism, and hes just about ready to blow!
On bass and harmony vocals, Brian "The Lion" Matson never fails to provide stalwart support to his mates, and when he "cuts loose" as on his legendary rendition of "Singin' the Blues" - nary a toe is left untapped (and dig this, ladies: as of the date of this writing, The Lion is available. The line forms at the rear).
But who is that mysterious fellow providing the latin-tinged heartbeat to the merry proceedings? What dark thoughts are harbored beneath the distinctive headgear of The Ubers' conga man? You can try to ask Dean "Dino" Treadway for a glimpse into the inner workings of his clean-pated noggin, but be prepared to have your mind blown by the result. Contemplative, inscrutable and downright irresistible, Dino's skin-slapping is rivaled only by the eerie majesty of his crooning one listen to his oft-requested take on "Almost Blue" will convert the staunchest of unbelievers.
Individually, the Ubers are each at the top of their respective fields; as a team, they're as unbeatable as Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, a hotdog, and a cold can of Rheingold. If they're playing in your neighborhood, call the babysitter and tell her it it'll be a late, late night - you're going to be snapping your fingers 'til dawn.
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Dejie Johnson has sung with orchestras, big bands, trios, solo piano, and an acappella bop duo to audiences of 2 to 25,000. She has acted on stage, in movies, on television, and in commercials and in 3D.
She currently works at Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. where she has managed to leave her desk to co-hosted 'The Buddy Potato Show, a pilot for TBS. She has also lent her voice to Judy Jetson, her hands to TBS's 'Dumb&Dumber' spot (not typecast), sang September's 'This Month on TCM' spot, and currently appears as Mrs. Huggsby on Cartoon Networks' Freakazoid spot. She recently shared the stage and her microphone with Ted Turner at a company rally.
Dejie arrived in Atlanta in '77 via a club band and left in '82 with a paper bag full of clippings after performing in local theater and cabaret clubs. She headed for NYC seeking even more fame and fortune and didnt do too badly. In '92 she returned to reestablish career connections to find the Atlanta entertainment scene greatly changedas well as the skyline.
Atlanta career highlights include opening the Egleston Children's Hospital Christmas Parade, offering sodas as a bartendress in 'In the Heat of the Night', receiving a cease and desist for her portrayal of Melanie in a musical spoof of 'Gone with the Wind' at the now defunct Showcase Cabaret in Ansley Mall, and hosting a cabaret evening from the mainstage at Piedmont Park. Fondest memories are of the also now defunct plush cabaret room and restaurant, Tyrones at Pershing Point.
New York City career highlights include playing an autistic mining camp prostitute in the pre-Broadway musical tryout of 'Shot Through the Heart', being the only female Plaid in the pre-Off-Broadway version of 'Forever Plaid', performing on stage, in clubs and on radio with acappella bop duo 'The New ABC's', and working on her 22 minute 3D music video 'Japanese Fan'.
Please see Resume (word doc.) for details.