Geared Up: Johnny 99 Discusses His Fender Telecaster of Choice

With a few singles now, including the recently released “Never Stay Down,” the stage is set for Johnny 99’s new album. The untitled album is due for release this fall via North Country Collective, Johnny’s highly anticipated new alternative country full-length. This will be his sophomore album, following up 2021’s Words Left Unsaid. The album will feature more of Johnny’s unique take on classic country, ideal for a dance floor. It’s been quite an evolution for Johnny 99, considering his musical background. North Country Collective is indicative of an artist having fun with the many directions in which he can take his music.

Johnny 99 is the alter ego of John Sponarski, a well-established Canadian musician perhaps best known for his role as guitarist in Dallas Green’s City and Colour. He has recorded with Green and has been a touring member of the group since 2021. With his role in City and Colour, Johnny has learned a lot about music, and he has tried to apply those lessons to his own work. He made his debut as Johnny 99 in 2016 with a four-song EP as part of Light Organ Records’ Railtown Sessions. Before that, he was one half of the acclaimed roots rock duo Portage and Main.

Whether he’s touring or writing and recording, Johnny always finds a way to keep busy as a musician. He became a well-established session guitarist in the Vancouver area, working on numerous records. Johnny has since relocated to Toronto, where he fully immersed himself in his work as Johnny 99.

We are pleased to be joined by Johnny 99 for a Geared Up interview in which he discusses the guitars and pedals he utilizes both for his own solo work and for when he’s out on tour with City and Colour.

First things first, what’s your current setup?

Johnny 99: “I have a few different setups because I’m not always doing the same thing. Specifically, when it comes to pedalboards, I currently have three on the go. I have a big touring board that’s mostly used with City and Colour. I have my studio/fly board for playing my own gigs, session work and live work with other artists. And I also have a tiny gig bag board for smaller local shows that don’t require a lot of different sounds. I assemble all my own rigs, but the actual pedalboard for my fly rig was built by Dobreden Woodworks.

“For amps, I mostly rely on smaller Fender combos. With City and Colour, I run my 1974 Princeton Reverb in stereo with a handwired Fender 5E3 Tweed Deluxe. For my own shows or work with other artists, I take my Princeton or my 1970 Deluxe Reverb. If I ever have to go ampless playing for another artist, I use a UA Dream 65.

“When it comes to guitars with City and Colour, I bring out my 1974 Gibson ES-335, my 1969 Gibson SG, my modded Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster, and my B-Bender Telecaster that was put together for me by Chris Lemky. For my own shows, it’s all about the B-Bender.”

Johnny 99’s fly rig

What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?

“For City and Colour, the guitar I use the most is my modded Jazzmaster. It’s got a Mastery bridge/trem as well as Seymour Duncan Antiquity I pickups. That guitar is a huge part of my sound for that band, and I would struggle to do a show without it. Outside of City and Colour, though, I am a Telecaster player. If I had to own just one guitar without question, it would be a Telecaster. The Telecaster I play the most is a parts-caster. It has an MJT body with a Glaser B-Bender and a Musikraft neck. I spec’d the neck off of another Telecaster that I love and had Chris Lemky finish it and put the guitar together. It also has Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups in it.

“That guitar is like a limb for me. My new album, which is coming out this fall, was written in part to allow me to play that guitar the way I wanted to and really make use of the B-Bender.”

What about the Telecaster makes it so important to you?

“I am a huge fan of Clarence White and The Byrds. Clarence is famous for having helped create the B-Bender and then having pioneered the style of playing that can only be accomplished with it. Later players like Albert Lee, Bob Warford, Bernie Leadon, Marty Stuart, and Brent Mason would continue on in that tradition. The B-Bender allows you to bend the B String up a whole tone by pulling down on the shoulder strap. This allows you to get some pedal steel-like licks. It’s just such a unique sound, so few players use the B-Bender.

“It is also so integral to that early California country sound that I am obsessed with. Without the Bender, it’s just a normal Telecaster. With the Bender, you truly play differently. I really made an effort on my new album to try to pay homage to the tradition of B-Bender playing while also trying to do my own thing with it.”

Johnny 99’s fly rig, uder the hood

Did you use this Telecaster during the recording of North Country Collective? If so, please elaborate on how and for what parts.

“My B-Bender Telecaster is the only electric guitar I played on my new album. It is that integral to the sound. As I said earlier, I wrote this album in part because I really wanted to be playing this way. The songs are a vehicle for the playing. It came from a place where I began to realize I wasn’t going to get hired by someone else to play like that. There just aren’t that many folks (especially in Canada) writing music in this very specific niche. I came to realize that the only way I was going to get to play this way was if I wrote the songs myself. I took great care to write guitar solos for this new album that were fairly B-Bender-centric.”

If you could, or wanted to, what would you tweak or mod on this guitar?

“If I could add one thing to this guitar, it would be to add a palm E-Lower like the Clarence White Guitar has, again, another device that allows the change of the pitch of a string. This one allows you to lower the high E-string down a semitone again to achieve some pedal steel-type licks.”

Johnny 99’s small board

How easy is it for you to tweak the device and get the tone/sounds you need?

“The original Clarence White guitar has a cavity built on the back to house the mechanics needed for the string benders. There is a great player/builder named Kevin Skrla (Tone Star Pickups), who I know has made some modern recreations of the Clarence White guitar with both Benders. My B-Bender, however, is made by Joe Glaser in Nashville, and instead of housing the mechanics on the back of the guitar, they are inside the body.

“To my knowledge, I don’t think a Palm lower that functions/looks like the one from the Clarence guitar exists that could be installed in my guitar. So to answer your question, it would be hard!”

How does this guitar hold up with regular touring and gigging?

“A Telecaster is basically a 2×4. They are, in my opinion, the best guitars to tour with. They are solid as a rock, and you really don’t have to worry as much about them as other styles of guitar that are more prone to damage.”

What piece of gear gave the longest service? Are you still using it?

“Without a doubt, the piece of gear that I have owned the longest and has also been in use the whole time is my Greer Lightspeed Overdrive. If I had to own one Overdrive to do it all, that would be it for sure. I have used it on many pedalboards over the years, but it currently lives on my City and Colour touring board. When that pedal is on a board, it does not get turned off. It is magic.”

What’s your dream instrument?

“I’d love to someday play the Clarence White guitar. I went and saw Marty Stuart some years back, who currently owns and plays the guitar. When the show ended, Marty put the guitar on a stand and walked off stage. As people were filing out, I walked up to the front of the stage and just stared at that guitar. I knew it was likely the closest I would ever get to it. Marty’s guitar tech saw me standing there and struck up a conversation with me. He was kind enough to bring the guitar over and chat about it with me for what felt like ages. It was amazing.

“I also feel the same way about the Vince Gill ’53 Telecaster. Vince is one of the greatest Telecaster players on earth, and in his hands, for me, that guitar is the benchmark Telecaster sound. If we are talking about a guitar I’d love to own, it would be a white guard 1954 Telecaster, but if I had that kind of money, I’d sooner buy a house!”

Johnny 99’s Fender Telecaster

Which company do you think has provided the most support to you as a musician? Any sponsors who deserve a shoutout?

“I have been endorsed by D’Addarrio for ages. They are incredible and very supportive. I am also endorsed by ENKI cases, which are the cases I use on the road. They are very versatile, lightweight, and incredibly rugged and dependable. I am also endorsed by Goodwood Audio and use their Underfacer on my big pedalboard. Incredible folks over there and great pedalboard solutions. I have also got some help from the fine folks at Supro and Fender along the way!”

What’s a brand or bit of gear that everyone else seems to love that you can’t stand?

“Tube screamers. I can’t stand them. I cannot, for the life of me, get a good tone out of a tube screamer.”

Johnny 99’s big rig