Johnny Burgin phased out his blues career to be a husband and a dad and often found himself working two full-time jobs to support his family. His 70-hour workweek left no time for anything, let alone a band, songwriting or rehearsal. Years passed.
One day while he was at work, managing a Farm and Fleet in Rockford, his wife pawned his guitar.
"Now ex-wife," he clarifies.
"You can't stay away from music," says Burgin, who is back on stage. "The blues scene had been my whole world — my friends, my social life." His show this week is a birthday celebration for his publicist at Delmark Records, but it also serves as Johnny's proper reintroduction to the scene — as well as a reunion with the man who gave him his start, his blues benefactor, Jimmy Burns.
"It's because of him I got my deal with Delmark. My band was his backing band. But I went my way and he went his, so this is a real icing on the cake, to play this show together," says Burgin, his admiration for local legend Burns audible. With a new Rockin' Johnny album on the way and European tour dates in February, Burgin feels like he is truly back where he belongs. Only this time, he has a real appreciation for what is in front of him.
"When I was younger, in the '90s, so much just fell in my lap, just happened for me," says the guitarist. "I had a good career, but when you are in your 20s, you put this stupid pressure on yourself. I would be playing Smoke Daddy and be concerned with who was there, or what guy wasn't. I didn't get it."
Now in his 40s, Burgin says that playing is easier: "I am playing for myself. Playing the blues. It's better playing the blues when you get older. I feel like I am better at this than I ever have been."
After a decade away, Burgin says he's bringing something to the table as a musician that he didn't have before: "A sense that life is precious, that all of this is precious. I was gone for so long, and to be without music, to be away from my friends and this whole world …" he trails off. "Some of the guys I used to play with in the '90s, they're dead now. You get older and you realize nothing is guaranteed; it can all be taken away from you at any time."
onthetown@tribune.com
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