SONGWRITERs
MICHAEL ALLISON , JD JOHNSTON & Norm toy
Michael Allison, born in Texas but living and working as a lawyer in New Mexico since 1981, has been devoted to the art of the singer-songwriter since attending college in Austin, Texas during the seventies. A middling guitarist for most of his life, he began writing his own songs in 2020, and formed “Jack County Line” with JD Johnston in 2023.
JD Johnston, aka “John Dennis Johnston”, originally from small town Nebraska, has had a long and successful career as an actor, having appeared in numerous national movies and television shows, and has also been active in theater. JD has been a writer and, over the years, has penned plays, screenplays and poetry. After being declared legally blind in 2005, JD became fascinated with the lives and the art of singer-songwriters and began a theater project about a musician battling to recover his music and his life, “The Rehearsal”, which was performed in 2022. He wrote or co-wrote ten songs for the play, and in the process fell in love with songwriting. He continued to develop his songwriting, vocal and guitar skills, and in 2023 teamed up with fellow songwriter Michael Allison to form “Jack County Line”.
Norm Toy is a multi-instrumentalist and brings a deep, technical understanding of music to Jack County Line. An experienced producer and recordist at his Red Barn Studios, he is a creative force in interpreting and adding gravitas to the band’s original lyrics and melodies. In addition to electric and acoustic guitar, Norm plays beautiful bass, mandolin, keyboards, percussion and lap steel, and often helps with vocal harmonies. In his long career, he has been a member of, and recorded with, a number of bands in a variety of genres. Norm has also been active in sound design and musical composition for the University of New Mexico Modern Dance and Theater departments, has produced soundtracks for the New Mexico Festival Ballet, and has also provided post- production audio, Foley and ADR for numerous film projects.
AS JACK COUNTY LINE, Michael and JD continue to write, perform and record their original songs AND depictions of life, love and loss in the American southwest