Rising Stars: Meet Johnny Moezzi of Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnny Moezzi.

Hi Johnny, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born in Tehran, Iran to an Italian American mother and Persian father who met in San Francisco in the late 60’s. They left because of the revolution in 1978 and settled in Salinas Ca. where I grew up with mostly the Italian side of my family. I discovered a love of 1950’s rock n roll from an Elvis Christmas album and years later in high school began singing in a band. We were playing songs of the day, 90’s rock, some classic rock…but when I heard the guitar player messing around with some blues licks one day…it immediately connected to my closeted oldies fixation and I wanted more. Soon thereafter I snuck into a BB King performance at the legendary Monterey Fair Grounds (site of the Monterey Pop Festival) and watched as BB preached to his flock on the same stage Hendrix had lit music history on fire many years before. I began playing guitar and took it with me to the American University in Washington DC where I simultaneously began playing in clubs professionally. On trips home for holidays, I connected with members of the Richie Valenz family who had moved north to Watsonville from Pecoima years before. They let me sit in and apprentice in the blues bands they led…mentoring me in biker bars from Santa Cruz to Hollister. Upon graduating with a degree in Public Relations, I moved back to the Central Coast where I made my 1st album and began writing my own music. This album would take me and my band to London to play The Notting Hill Carnival infront of many thousands of people. Upon my return, I moved to Los Angeles where I set my sights on a career in music. While DC had been a hugely expansive experience, LA would prove to be even more-so as I soon met the legendary blues diva Miss Mickey Champion and became her guitarist/bandleader. Mickey would become a dear friend and my musical graduate school. Simultaneously, I became a resident at the infamous Piano Bar and Hotel Cafe in Hollywood where I became part of a collective known as The Beachwood Rockers Society (based out of Cranes Tavern, now Davey Wayne’s). This became my 1st contact with true singer-songwriters and collaboration that would hugely influence my own writing. All along, I had been working in restaurants to help subsidize my music habit. Quite unexpectedly, the “job job” took a turn when a friend and I bought Osteria La Buca on Melrose Ave. 12 years later we are about to open our 3rd location in Westlake Village. All the while, through parenthood, marriage, divorce and business…I have continued to play gigs and record albums, each better than the last. I just performed at 1 of the final shows at The Hotel Cafe before it’s moving to a new location, but perform regularly at MJ’s Unique Social club on Slauson Ave in Crenshaw on Sunday nights. I have a lot of new material coming out in the coming months…a few singles followed by an album.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Very challenging to continue to push myself creatively, to continue to grow as a guitarist/singer and songwriter….while learning the very daunting ropes of the restaurant world, business and partnership. Also tough to be one who’s been mentored by elder musicians my entire life, to then have to watch their decline and journeys through health and career troubles….all while interpersonal contact seems to be less and less via technology. That contact is the substance of American roots music…not IG posts and YouTube.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a singer/songwriter/guitarist that comes out of American roots music. But I listen to everything and incorporate many influences into my writing. From Tom Waits to Miles Davis to Captain Beefheart to Pavarotti….like Louis Armstrong said, “there’s only 2 kinds of music, good and bad.”. My Italian grandfather was an opera fanatic…I got to see Pavarotti perform to a private audience of only a few hundred people, in the rain, under a giant tent on a high school football field. I’ve played in the jazz caveaus of Paris (my favorite city) and hostels in Vienna. Music is magic.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
My daughter’s positive growth and my ability to be the best father I can be. Full-stop. Ok, fine…and becoming a better and better artist.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnymoezzi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnnymoezzibandpage
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnnymoezzi
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/johnny-moezzi
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4nJLGsG5yqVQUdzFJS34OP