Jack Johnson picked up the phone with an enthusiastic "hello." Our connection was a bit muffled partly due to my end of the line originating at an airport telephone booth and partly because his end was switching cell phone towers as he was crossing the country with his wife and band members.
When I asked him about the length of his tour that spans a month and a half, covers 18 states, and includes 25 shows across the country he replied with a resigned laugh. "Yeah, it's a couple of long drives here and there." One of these drives takes him to Starr Hill Music Hall on Nov. 6 in what is prime to be a great night to listen to some terrific music in the company of friends.
Jack Johnson steadily is growing in popularity and fame. A native of Oahu, Hawaii, Johnson moved to the main land in order to go to school at UC-Santa Barbara, where he met his wife.
Johnson's music is good blend of jazzy blues that is becoming more mainstream with the coming of bands like Ben Harper. Although most people know him well for his music, he explained that making surfing films is what he does for a living. It was in making those films that he got his start into music. The style easily can be related to days on the beach and relaxing with your thoughts.
Through the muffled connection he explained, "I've been playing music since I was 14, and started doing the music for the surf movies as well ... we got a good response for the music on the surf films so I figured I would go with it."
His auspicious beginnings came when he had the opportunity to meet with one of his major influences, G. Love & Special Sauce, a rising set of musicians who play similar types of music. Johnson used some of their music in a couple of his films and through those films they were given a chance to meet.
As far as other contemporary influences are concerned, he quickly claimed Ben Harper, with whom he toured last year, as one of his favorites.
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There were two topics throughout our conversation that I truly felt flowed from Johnson and were the core of his life and undoubtedly the source of some of his musical inspiration. The first would be when I questioned him about his love for surfing. I investigated the sport and found out some terms that a novice should learn in order to sound somewhat informed on the matter. For example: "dropping in on a big face" and "getting tubed." Now, I had no idea what these meant, but Johnson sure did.
I asked him which was more exhilarating, surfing or getting up on stage and performing for a crowd that is involved deeply in his music. "It's kind of different," he started to explain before our lines became muffled once again by his static on the road and the noise from the baggage claim 10 feet from where I was standing.
He became almost prophetic for a moment and continued by saying, "doing those things [while surfing] makes you feel as if you are almost not human for a minute. It's a great way to escape everyday life and do something that's almost unexplainable."
The second aspect I felt summed up Johnson was his wife, Kim. Although we never discussed it fully, most of our discussion would somehow resort to a reference about her in some shape or form. The most distinguished would be when I asked about the inspiration for his song "Bubbletoes."
A great song, mind you, and one that almost is impossible not to dance to. "Bubbletoes," which also is the name Johnson gave his publishing company, is the nickname that he has for her; how that came to be, I did not ask - some things should probably remain private. Along with its title, the song goes into details about their relationship, such as how they met at the "DLG," the dining hall at UC-Santa Barbara.
After over a month on the road with his wife and band, Johnson will find his way to Charlottesville next Tuesday. He not only will bring with him his well appreciated music style, but a chance for all his fans to take part in his musical stories on life, work and family.
He will perform songs from his previously released album, "Brushfire Fairytales," and introduce some new material that he hopes will be ready to be released next summer. For a night he will share what he finds when he "gets tubed," and show his fans how to escape the troubles of everyday life, if even just for a moment.
With that, maybe we can all find something for us that Johnson said music is for him - when he shares his songs with people it makes him "feel complete." But hey, that's just my two cents. Spend them however you'd like.
Jack Johnson will be at Starr Hill Music Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.
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