Miles Johnston
Drums
Miles Johnston has been playing music for over forty years. He started playing drums in grade school when he was ten, played in a few bands in his teens with his friend Willy Jam, and, after marriage, went on to join the Army where he stayed for more than six years. In the Army Miles played in the 7th Infantry Division Band at Ft. Ord, California, and the 3rd Armored Division Band in Frankfurt, Germany. After the service, Miles studied music at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire and then piano technology at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.
While in the Army, Miles played in stage band, concert band, marching band, and small jazz and rock groups. With the 3rd Armored Division Band he traveled throughout Germany, Holland, and France playing Fasching parades, concerts, beer tents, and Army ceremonial jobs. When Miles wasn't playing for the Army he was doing gigs on the side and when he didn't have a gig you could find him at the band hall practicing. There were musicians in the Army who had studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, too, who helped tutor Miles in his Jazz drumming.
After the Army and school Miles and his family moved to the Rochester, Minnesota area. Not able to find any Jazz groups to get involved in, Miles joined the variety trio Mixx, led by Charles Wilson-guitar/vocals with Rod Jurrens-bass/vocals. He spent a year with them and moved on to play for a year with Risky Business, led by local guitarist and singing legend Danny Schweitzer. The country and pop variety band, that also included Terry Bull-bass and Dave Zill-guitar/vocals, played both locally and on the road.
Tiring of the road, Miles hooked up with singer Tim Nelson, who had developed a big local following as a quirky front man with the group Artemus and was starting a new band called The Briefs. The Briefs were a five piece rock variety group that, owing to Nelson's endless stream of humorous antics, peculiar Morrisonesque dance steps, and powerful singing, enjoyed a strong local following. The other members of this well rehearsed band were: Mark Carithers-keys, Laird Macmillan-guitar, and Daniel McCullough-bass. The Briefs were together for three years before they broke up and Miles started a short lived rock variety band with Carithers called The Rhythm Vendors before moving on.