The first time I said the name, I was careful to take time to figure it out.

Then after I researched, listened to the band, surfed the Internet gleaning tidbits of information about this new married musical duo, I said the name with authority – like I had been saying it all my life.  Then all of the sudden I said again, “What? Why all the capital letters, and just what in the world does JOHNNYSWIM mean?”

I’m not going to get a straight answer from the handsome couple, Abner Ramirez and his wife (Donna Summer’s daughter) Amanda, performing under that name.  One version of the origin says Abner was swimming to Florida from Cuba as a child and as he lagged behind the group, they called with desperate encouragement saying, “Swim, Johnny, swim!” Another account of the name says it’s a line they liked from the movie Jaws, as one character encouraged another to escape a deadly shark attack calling, “Swim, Johnny, swim!”

No matter what the reason for the unique name, they command my attention and after my first viewing of one of their music videos, I was won over by their engaging and harmonious sound as well as their powerful chemistry.

JOHNNYSWIM, sponsored by Pine Crest Inn, will perform at Tryon Fine Arts Center on Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are available by calling the box office or online at www.tryonarts.org.

– article submitted by Marianne Carruth