Nick Johnston (guitarist)

Nick Johnston is a Canadian guitarist and songwriter who records as a solo artist.[1] As of 2019, he has released five solo records. His albums have featured the work of notable artists such as Paul Gilbert, Marco Minnemann, Guthrie Govan, and Bryan Beller. He has also played on songs by other artists including Intervals, Scale the Summit, Periphery, Polyphia, David Maxim Micic, and Mike Dawes. He has toured extensively with artists including Plini and David Maxim Micic. In May 2019 he went on a North American tour with Between the Buried and Me and The Contortionist.[2]

Nick Johnston
Johnston in 2017
Background information
Born	(1987-06-18) June 18, 1987 Rockwood, Ontario, Canada
Origin	Canada
Genres	Instrumental rock
Occupation(s)	Guitarist recording artist songwriter
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Years active	2011–present
Website	nickjohnstonmusic.com

Johnston has cited musical influences such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Jeff Beck, saying "I sound nothing like those guys, but I’m massively influenced by them".[3] Another influence was Joe Satriani. "Before listening to Joe, I don't think I understood how important a role the melodies played in building compositions", Nick stated in a Total Guitar interview. "I realised he was the guy who'd really figured it out—the balance of technique, tone, melody, and production. While players were learning blues from Hendrix and Clapton, I was learning them from Satriani".[4]

The guitarist released his own signature guitar through Schecter in 2016.[5][6] Schecter has since released additional variants of his signature guitar, splitting them into the USA Signature Series and Traditional Series, with these being premium and affordable versions respectively.[7] He is also passionate about comics and has hired comics illustrators to create his album art.[8]