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Jack is back in Oz
Article from: The Sunday Telegraph
By Nui Te Koha
January 27, 2008 12:00am
www.news.com.au/dailyteleg...160,00.html
JACK Johnson travels with two sets of tour demands. The first is an eco-friendly
backstage rider comprising fresh organic fruits and vegetable platters.
Time to hit the road Jack, but don't forget the familyJack Johnson is an
eco-friendly family man who refuses to travel solo for more than a week.
Johnson's other requests are for his family - wife, Kim, and their two young sons.
"Family is first and foremost,'' Johnson, 32, says. "I build my career around them.
"When I tour, I design it in such a way that, in any given place, we have time to
see parks and zoos and museums.
"It's a family road trip,'' Johnson says. "And at night, I disappear to go and play
shows.''
Johnson's new album, Sleep Through the Static, was partly recorded in the garage at
his family home in Oahu, Hawaii.
"I had to de-clutter, first,'' he says. "In between records, my studio had somehow
become the boys' playroom.''
When Johnson needed to finish the new album in Los Angeles, his wife and kids went
with him.
"I can handle a few days away from home, solo,'' he says. "Anything more than a
week,'' he says, "then the Jack Johnson family road trip takes over.''
Family, love, death and circle of life themes play heavily in Johnson's new songs.
Recently, Johnson has helped raise his two sons, but he has also watched close
friends end their marriage and cancer claim the life of a 19-year-old friend.
"Life deals us whatever it deals us,'' Johnson says.
"I had to say goodbye to a close friend. It was a reality that everyone who knew
and loved him were dealing with.
"I spent a lot of time thinking about him, spending time with him and, in the end,
writing songs that weren't necessarily about that situation.
"But it was on my mind. I'd talk to my own kids and, seeing them grow up, it was
always in the back of my mind. All things must pass. It made me reflect and it made
me appreciate every day I've got.''
Johnson's conversations with his sons about life and loss inspired several new
songs, including Monsoon.
"It is about the inter-connectedness of all things,'' Johnson says. "I was trying
to explain to my son how souls function, and all the examples out there in
nature.''
Johnson's oldest son, Moe, 3, helped write key lines in a song about a relationship
breakdown.
It is titled If I Had Eyes.
"He was drinking a lot of soya milk at the time,'' Johnson says.
"I told him if he kept drinking too much, he would grow a tail with an eyeball at
the end. He looked at me trying to make sure I was kidding.
"When he figured that out, he attached his elbow to his butt and pointing his
finger around the room.
"He had made this tail with an eyeball. He pointed at me and said, `Dad, you look
good'.
"I thought that was a sweet thing to say.
Johnson went immediately into songwriting mode.
"I made a song that said, 'If I had an eyeball on the end of my tail, I'd tell you
that you look good as I walked away.'
"I meant it literally, but once I thought about metaphors (Johnson's friends were
divorcing), it was a beautiful way to put it.
"I switched it around, made it less silly, but kept my son's ideas. I need to give
him a songwriting credit.''
Early reports about Sleep Through The Static said Johnson had left his sea-swept,
soft-rock sound for something electric.
That is partly true.
Sleeping Through The Static starts with the melodic, folk traditions of Johnson's
hit albums, In Between Dreams, On And On and Brushfire Fairytales.
Further into the record, Johnson stretches out with different instrumentation and
freer song structures.
It was his producer and regular collaborator, J.PPlunier, who inspired the change.
"It's been four to six feet and glassy long enough,'' Plunier told Johnson.
Explains Johnson: "It's a term to describe the perfect day of surf. But it was
Plunier's way of saying something to me without being offensive.
"It was time to bring in a few new moods and feelings - make things more dynamic.''
Initially, Johnson meant the album title, Sleep Through the Static, to be cynical.
"We are at war, but it's a war that television viewers can turn on and off whenever
they feel like it,'' he says.
"It doesn't really affect us or our day to day lives.
"We can ignore it. We can sleep through the static.''
Lately, he prefers a more positive take. He cites lyrics from a song titled Home,
which, oddly, is not on the new album.
"We have birds that live in the attic,'' he says. "They whistle and make static.''
Johnson's home studio is solar powered. He built a similar facility, called the
Solar Powered Plastic Plant, in Los Angeles.
It has skylights, the walls are insulated with recycled jeans and panelling made of
recycled timber.
"It's real beautiful, aesthetically pretty,'' he says.
Johnson's green lean is not new. He is following eco-friendly examples set by Neil
Young, Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne and Pearl Jam.
"Willie had a biodiesel bus, so we got one, too,'' he says. "I'm jumping on these
traditions to become part of a group trying to make a change.''
Johnson has a greater affinity with those classic rockers than the pop charts he
dominates. He has sold 15 million albums worldwide.
"There is a whole music industry that feels foreign to me,'' he says.
"Big record companies pumping out formulaic bands. I've never been a part of that
and never known what that would be like.''
But Johnson, whose independent record company, Brushfire, is overseen by a major
label, is prepared for another album-tour cycle. His world tour begins in Australia
in March.
"I need to clarify something,'' he laughs. "I do not own a house in Australia.''
But Johnson is a regular visitor Down Under. In a former life, he made surfing
documentaries and has countless friends across the Pacific.
"I felt at home in New Zealand and Australia right off the bat,'' he says.
"In most other places, people saw me and my music as escapism. Here's a guy in
flip-flops singing about sunnier days. I was the summer vacation guy.''
Sleep Through The Static is released on Saturday.
Jack Johnson plays Centennial Park on Saturday March 15. Ticketmaster 136100 or
visit www.ticketmaster.com.au
Article from: The Sunday Telegraph
By Nui Te Koha
January 27, 2008 12:00am
www.news.com.au/dailyteleg...160,00.html
JACK Johnson travels with two sets of tour demands. The first is an eco-friendly
backstage rider comprising fresh organic fruits and vegetable platters.
Time to hit the road Jack, but don't forget the familyJack Johnson is an
eco-friendly family man who refuses to travel solo for more than a week.
Johnson's other requests are for his family - wife, Kim, and their two young sons.
"Family is first and foremost,'' Johnson, 32, says. "I build my career around them.
"When I tour, I design it in such a way that, in any given place, we have time to
see parks and zoos and museums.
"It's a family road trip,'' Johnson says. "And at night, I disappear to go and play
shows.''
Johnson's new album, Sleep Through the Static, was partly recorded in the garage at
his family home in Oahu, Hawaii.
"I had to de-clutter, first,'' he says. "In between records, my studio had somehow
become the boys' playroom.''
When Johnson needed to finish the new album in Los Angeles, his wife and kids went
with him.
"I can handle a few days away from home, solo,'' he says. "Anything more than a
week,'' he says, "then the Jack Johnson family road trip takes over.''
Family, love, death and circle of life themes play heavily in Johnson's new songs.
Recently, Johnson has helped raise his two sons, but he has also watched close
friends end their marriage and cancer claim the life of a 19-year-old friend.
"Life deals us whatever it deals us,'' Johnson says.
"I had to say goodbye to a close friend. It was a reality that everyone who knew
and loved him were dealing with.
"I spent a lot of time thinking about him, spending time with him and, in the end,
writing songs that weren't necessarily about that situation.
"But it was on my mind. I'd talk to my own kids and, seeing them grow up, it was
always in the back of my mind. All things must pass. It made me reflect and it made
me appreciate every day I've got.''
Johnson's conversations with his sons about life and loss inspired several new
songs, including Monsoon.
"It is about the inter-connectedness of all things,'' Johnson says. "I was trying
to explain to my son how souls function, and all the examples out there in
nature.''
Johnson's oldest son, Moe, 3, helped write key lines in a song about a relationship
breakdown.
It is titled If I Had Eyes.
"He was drinking a lot of soya milk at the time,'' Johnson says.
"I told him if he kept drinking too much, he would grow a tail with an eyeball at
the end. He looked at me trying to make sure I was kidding.
"When he figured that out, he attached his elbow to his butt and pointing his
finger around the room.
"He had made this tail with an eyeball. He pointed at me and said, `Dad, you look
good'.
"I thought that was a sweet thing to say.
Johnson went immediately into songwriting mode.
"I made a song that said, 'If I had an eyeball on the end of my tail, I'd tell you
that you look good as I walked away.'
"I meant it literally, but once I thought about metaphors (Johnson's friends were
divorcing), it was a beautiful way to put it.
"I switched it around, made it less silly, but kept my son's ideas. I need to give
him a songwriting credit.''
Early reports about Sleep Through The Static said Johnson had left his sea-swept,
soft-rock sound for something electric.
That is partly true.
Sleeping Through The Static starts with the melodic, folk traditions of Johnson's
hit albums, In Between Dreams, On And On and Brushfire Fairytales.
Further into the record, Johnson stretches out with different instrumentation and
freer song structures.
It was his producer and regular collaborator, J.PPlunier, who inspired the change.
"It's been four to six feet and glassy long enough,'' Plunier told Johnson.
Explains Johnson: "It's a term to describe the perfect day of surf. But it was
Plunier's way of saying something to me without being offensive.
"It was time to bring in a few new moods and feelings - make things more dynamic.''
Initially, Johnson meant the album title, Sleep Through the Static, to be cynical.
"We are at war, but it's a war that television viewers can turn on and off whenever
they feel like it,'' he says.
"It doesn't really affect us or our day to day lives.
"We can ignore it. We can sleep through the static.''
Lately, he prefers a more positive take. He cites lyrics from a song titled Home,
which, oddly, is not on the new album.
"We have birds that live in the attic,'' he says. "They whistle and make static.''
Johnson's home studio is solar powered. He built a similar facility, called the
Solar Powered Plastic Plant, in Los Angeles.
It has skylights, the walls are insulated with recycled jeans and panelling made of
recycled timber.
"It's real beautiful, aesthetically pretty,'' he says.
Johnson's green lean is not new. He is following eco-friendly examples set by Neil
Young, Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne and Pearl Jam.
"Willie had a biodiesel bus, so we got one, too,'' he says. "I'm jumping on these
traditions to become part of a group trying to make a change.''
Johnson has a greater affinity with those classic rockers than the pop charts he
dominates. He has sold 15 million albums worldwide.
"There is a whole music industry that feels foreign to me,'' he says.
"Big record companies pumping out formulaic bands. I've never been a part of that
and never known what that would be like.''
But Johnson, whose independent record company, Brushfire, is overseen by a major
label, is prepared for another album-tour cycle. His world tour begins in Australia
in March.
"I need to clarify something,'' he laughs. "I do not own a house in Australia.''
But Johnson is a regular visitor Down Under. In a former life, he made surfing
documentaries and has countless friends across the Pacific.
"I felt at home in New Zealand and Australia right off the bat,'' he says.
"In most other places, people saw me and my music as escapism. Here's a guy in
flip-flops singing about sunnier days. I was the summer vacation guy.''
Sleep Through The Static is released on Saturday.
Jack Johnson plays Centennial Park on Saturday March 15. Ticketmaster 136100 or
visit www.ticketmaster.com.au
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Incudes Zach: 'Sleep Through the Static' (Making of) - Video Exclusive
Sat, January 26, 2008 - 11:23 AM
Zach's included in the vid. Sorry if this is on another thread-- posting here b/c it goes with the Sleep Through the Static interview.
Cute & Classic Zach and Jack clip link below this.
-----------
Jack Johnson, 'Sleep Through the Static' (Making of) - Video Exclusive
www.spinner.com/2007/12/21...-video-exc/
Posted Dec 21st 2007 9:00AM by Mike Spinella
Hawaiian singer-songwriter Jack Johnson opens the door to his Brushfire label headquarters for a sneak peak of several tracks off his forthcoming album, 'Sleep Through the Static.' "It has a nice cinematic ride through the whole thing," Johnson says of the album. The avid surfer and environmentalist also brings us into his eco-friendly, solar-powered studio. He also lets us know that his fifth album was recorded directly to tape, forgoing the modern-day comforts of computer edits to achieve analog purity. Hear choice cuts and hang with Jack Johnson exclusively on Spinner.
-----------
And I quote: "Jack Johnson and a crazy pianoist who looks like spike from noghtting hill, from ALO. live at hammersmith appollo march 2006....someone just told me the pianoist name is..Zach Gill."
www.youtube.com/watch
