Bass Virtuoso Johnnie Gilmore Drops New EP “When You Come Home”

Los Angeles-based electric bassist and songwriter Johnnie Gilmore has returned with a new solo EP, When You Come Home—a compelling musical paean to the outside world in the midst of a global pandemic.

Gilmore’s stylistic versatility allows him to cover a wide range of emotions in his music, which is rare territory for a solo instrumentalist, and especially for a bassist. From bluegrass to funk to showtunes, there is a lot of ground covered on When You Come Home.

The EP opens with the countrified groove of “Vineyard Roads,” driven by Gilmore’s innovative adaptation of Tommy Emmanuel’s solo guitar technique to the bass. The title was suggested by a fan from his days as a prominent street performer in his native Boston, and the imagery of driving around Martha’s Vineyard proved a perfect match for the melody.

The lyrical pop balladry of “Wishing Well” was inspired by an unrequited love, though the theme of struggling with circumstances beyond your control resonates more broadly in these times. The self-explanatory “Cabin Fever” is a nasty funk tune that gives a musical nod to another of Gilmore’s formative influences, the renowned bassist Victor Wooten.

A gorgeous rendition of the Disney classic “When You Wish Upon A Star” offers a more somber mood and a great deal of vulnerability. Careful listeners will notice an ambient siren ringing behind the final chord—most artists would consider that a blemish, but Gilmore liked the cathartic symbolism and decided to leave it in. “When You Come Home” is a fittingly nostalgic closer, written for a friend who was moving across the country to New York. All of these performances were recorded in Gilmore’s apartment during quarantine and given extra warmth and shine courtesy of mixing engineer Joel Ferber in Los Angeles.

Gilmore’s return to concert stages in Southern California and around the nation is just one of the many things we all have to look forward to in the future—but until then, this EP will provide inspiration, comfort, and companionship to all who hear it.