New Buffalo

Brian Allison is a full-time singer/songwriter from Chicago and is a culmination of vast musical influences to create an experience that is equal parts unique, fresh, and accessible to all listeners.

Spice up your Thursday with a 30 minute Latin Dance lesson followed by open dancing. Lessons are given by the experts at South Bend Latin Dance.  

Along with music composition and recording, Struwin has a deep fondness for performing live, and considers playing venues across the country both a primary goal for, and a benefit of, his musical career. He has toured heavily throughout the middle of the continent, from Michigan to Colorado, and earned himself the title of "Kalamazoo Acoustic Idol" in 2004. During that time, he shared the bill with The Doobie Brothers, Robert Bradley’s Black Water Surprise, and Greensky Bluegrass, and shared the stage with members of Umphrey’s Mcgee and The David Crosby Band.

The fourth of seven children, John Royce Mathis was born on September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas. As a small boy he learned an appreciation of music from his father Clem who taught him his first song, “My Blue Heaven”. He sang in the church choir, school functions, community events, for visitors in their home as well as amateur shows in the San Francisco area.

In 1954, Johnny enrolled at San Francisco State College (now called San Francisco State University). While there, Johnny set a high jump record of 6’-5 1/2”. Just as when he was in high school, Johnny’s name was frequently mentioned in the sports sections of the Northern California newspapers. While there, a fellow student brought Johnny in for a Sunday afternoon jam session at a local nightclub. It was at the Black Hawk that Helen Noga, co-owner of the club, first heard him sing. She decided that she wanted to manage his career.

In early September of 1955, Johnny landed a job singing weekends at Ann Dee’s 440 Club. He continued his studies at San Francisco State and gained additional fame as a high jumper. In early 1956, Johnny was asked to attend the trials for the 1956 Olympic teams that would travel to Melbourne, Australia that summer. At the same time, Columbia Records requested that Johnny come to New York to start arrangements for his first recording session. Clem helped his son decide that his future and best interests were with the recording company. So, Johnny gave up his chance to become a member of the USA Olympic Team. He went to New York to record his first album in March of 1956.

The first album was a collection of jazz-oriented renditions of popular standards, “Johnny Mathis: A New Sound In Popular Song”. Soon, Columbia placed Johnny under the supervision of producer Mitch Miller. Mitch favored using Johnny’s voice to sing soft, romantic ballads. At his second recording session, in the fall of 1956, Johnny recorded two singles. These songs were to become among his most popular all-time greatest hits: “Wonderful, Wonderful” and “It’s Not For Me To Say.” These successes were followed by the monumental single “Chances Are” which became Johnny’s first #1 hit. In late 1959, Johnny recorded another song that became synonymous with the name of Johnny Mathis, “Misty”.

“Johnny’s Greatest Hits” went on to become one of the most popular albums of all time and spent an unprecedented 490 continuous weeks (almost 10 years) on the BILLBOARD Top Albums Chart. This record has been noted in the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS.

Johnny has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame three times so far for "Chances Are", "Misty", and “It’s Not For Me To Say”, and in 2003 received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Most impressive of all is at 82 years old he is still touring & recording, having recently released his newest album titled “Johnny Mathis Sings The Great New American Songbook”.

97Nine (ninety-seven nine) is the premier classic rock cover band in the Midwest. 97Nine plays classic arena rock like no other band can play, with that infectious energy and passion you grew up loving so much. We dare you not to pump your fist.