A long, long time ago....

Back in 1990 Robert Johnston had enjoyed all that he could stand of living in Athens, GA and made the decision to return to his hometown of New Orleans, LA. Having spent most of his musical years in bands where he was the only songwriter, Robert decided to enlist Dave Hirstius, another New Orleans based singer/songwriter, in putting together his next band. The two approached drummer Billy Schell, who had just returned from a stint playing semi-professional Australian rules football. They rounded out the lineup with Robbie Tevault on bass. They played loud pop songs and dubbed themselves Moving Targets.

Shortly thereafter Robbie quit the band and was replaced briefly by Fred Leblanc (of Cowboy Mouth fame). Fred then left and Robbie returned to the fold, only to be abducted (apparently) by aliens and never heard from again. Dave and Robert took turns playing the cursed four string instrument ("you play it", "no, you play it"), and then John Malone restored order by stepping in and playing bass for awhile. Remember John, he shows up again later.

After Robert completed his inpatient anger management program (the first one), the band took to the road, only to have John leave the group to enter an inpatient passivity management program. The role of bass player was subsequently played by Wendell (no last name, looked like Lou Reed), Jeff (nice guy, bad hair, worse girlfriend), and Billy (not to be confused with the drummer, and easy to tell apart since this Billy liked to cross dress).

Finally, John was convinced to rejoin the band, and Billy the Cross Dressing Bass Player disappeared (Robert’s whereabouts during this time have never been fully accounted for).

So, to review, at this point the band consisted of Robert on guitar and vocals, Dave on guitar and vocals, John on bass and vocals, and Billy on drums. Then Dave quit to go to medical school (really) and, out of sheer exhaustion, as well as a desire to ensure that no other cross dressers sneaked their way into the band, the remaining three elected to continue on as a trio.

The band also decided to change their name around this time, after getting a cease and desist letter from a Boston record label that had another Moving Targets signed up and releasing records. It was sort of the Queen Mother of Rejection Letters - "we don’t like you, we’re not going to sign you, and we’ll sue you if you don’t change your name." They settled on "The Boondoggles." A "boondoggle" is defined as a "trifling or pointless project".......perfect. And, after only 6 or 7 months of local clubs billing them as "The Barn Owls" and "The Bilge Dogs" everyone finally learned how to spell the new name. They were on their way.

In 1994 The Boondoggles released their debut CD, "Every Dog Has Its Day", on industry juggernaut Gulf Shrimp Records. The band found itself in the unprecedented position of having two songs, "Won’t Look Back" and "You Know Where To Find Me", placed in heavy rotation by B-97 and 106.1 The Zephyr, two major New Orleans FM radio stations. They played at Zephyrfest in front of an audience of 20,000 with acts like Bush and Matthew Sweet, and were also asked to play the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. They sold several pressings of the CD, nobody quit the band (a first), and their entertaining and exuberant live shows were well attended throughout the region. New Orleans Magazine named them one of the "50 Hottest People to Watch", Offbeat Magazine proclaimed them New Orleans’ best up and coming band, and Tulane’s Hullabaloo noted that "The Boondoggles manage to separate themselves from similar contemporary bands with a combination of sound, lyrics and style."

In 1997 the band followed up with their second CD, entitled "2^nd Heaven" (a Billy-ism: "that show was so great, I’m in 2^nd heaven"). This CD found the band honing their style of energetic, guitar-driven, melodic songs, and also featured guest performances from Dave Malone of The Radiators, as well as Peter Holsapple and Russ Broussard from the Continental Drifters. The Times Picayune called it "a sunny, energetic, consistent collection of guitar pop." Offbeat Magazine described "2^nd Heaven" as being made up of "acoustic ballads, rootsy rockers, a well-chosen cover, and a shopping bag full of guitar hooks", and praised its "uptempo rock songs with melodic hooks and clever wordplay."

Following the release of "2^nd Heaven" The Boondoggles began branching out into different directions, playing acoustic shows and expanding the range of their original songs. They continued to play popular New Orleans venues like the House Of Blues, Tipitina’s and the Howlin’ Wolf, often playing with great New Orleans bands like the Radiators and the Continental Drifters. Billy’s medication appeared to be working, and Robert’s routine misdemeanor arrests appeared to be a thing of the past. Johnny got a job drilling holes in sheet metal, and.......well that’s another story.

The Boondoggles began recording their third CD, entitled "Spark", in late 1999, and released it on November 3, 2000, hosting a free CD release party at the Howlin’ Wolf. The new disc showcases the dividends of The Boondoggles long tenure together as musicians. Over the years they have increased the number of "instruments we know how to play one song on" to include lap steel, mandolin organ and harmonica. The 11 new songs range from uptempo rockers like the title track to the sparse acoustic beauty of "Gulf Of Mexico", which features Peter Holsapple on organ and accordion. The band has grown and matured, as evidenced by the depth and consistency of this latest project, and has stubbornly insisted again on making the best music they can, on their own terms.