Electromagnets (featuring Eric Johnson)
Original Band Lineup
- Eric Johnson – Lead Electric Guitar
- Kyle Brock – Bass Guitar
- Bill Maddox – Drums, Percussion
- Brion Walker (Early Years) / Steve Barber (Keyboards)
Note: Electromagnets was a legendary Austin, Texas-based jazz-rock fusion and progressive powerhouse formed in the early 1970s. Long before Eric Johnson achieved international solo stardom with "Cliffs of Dover," this fiery instrumental collective served as his ferocious proving ground, showcasing mind-bending technical prowess, complex time signatures, and blazing speed.
Extensive Biography
Electromagnets formed in Austin, Texas, in 1973, initially emerging out of a local band called Mariani. Brought together by drummer Bill Maddox and bassist Kyle Brock, the group soon recruited a young, unassuming guitar prodigy named Eric Johnson. Blending the high-energy improvisational framework of Return to Forever and the Mahavishnu Orchestra with heavy progressive rock muscle, Electromagnets quickly became a mythical live attraction across Texas and the American Southwest.
Despite their blistering musical tightness and jaw-dropping technical precision, the band struggled to secure major commercial backing in an era dominated by mainstream disco and traditional rock. Record executives famously remarked that their complex, instrumental music was "too jazz for rock and too rock for jazz." However, their self-titled debut album, recorded in 1975 and independently released, instantly became an underground holy grail for guitarists and fusion aficionados worldwide.
Following the band's initial dissolution in the late 1970s, the members remained deeply intertwined: Eric Johnson, Kyle Brock, and Bill Maddox formed the foundational core of the Eric Johnson Group that recorded Johnson's landmark 1986 debut solo album, Tones. Electromagnets reunited for selective live performances over the decades, cementing their status as one of the most fiercely influential, ahead-of-their-time fusion acts in American music history.
Discography & Archival Releases
Studio & Official Albums
- Electromagnets (1976 / Mars Records) – The legendary self-titled debut studio album featuring tracks like "Milky Way Home", "First Landing", and "Nubian Sundance".
- Electromagnets II (1996 / Ark Records) – Archival release featuring unreleased studio recordings and high-octane radio broadcasts from the mid-1970s.
Notable Live & Compilation Features
- Live at the Vulcan Gas Company / Armadillo World Headquarters (1974–1975 bootleg recordings widely circulated among guitar collectors)
This 30 minute program aired in 1975 on Playback, a music show produced by WPBA, the Atlanta PBS station. It includes four complete songs, two short interviews with the band, and a snippet of another song over the closing credits. The band's master tape of the broadcast was loaned out for promotional use and lost for over 20 years before it resurfaced. A limited VHS release followed in 1997 and sold out long ago. No official reissue has ever been made, and this footage has been effectively lost media since.
This is a direct transfer from an original VHS copy, uploaded for historical preservation. Eric plays a daphne blue 1957 Stratocaster here, and a 1960 Les Paul Standard through a 100 watt Boogie head into a Marshall straight 4x12. If you enjoy this, seek out the Electromagnets album, remastered and reissued on Rhino with two live bonus tracks.
I claim no ownership of this recording. All rights belong to the Electromagnets and Park Street. If a rights holder wants this removed, contact me and I will take it down promptly.
Electromagnets (Eric Johnson) 1975 PBS "Playback" TV Special Performance and Interviews (Rare VHS)