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Freedy Johnston back in the flow - Quincy, MA - The Patriot Ledger

Freedy Johnston back in the flow

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By Jay Miller

Freedy JohnstonAs far as releasing original material, rock songwriter Freedy Johnston kind of laid low during the decade of the 2000s, but now he's back with an album in 2010, another one ready for release this spring, and halfway through writing a third. Better yet for area fans, Johnston will be playing at the Middle East in Cambridge on February 21, and his tour schedule has become as busy as it was during his mid-1990s heyday.

Johnston, who grew up in Kansas and dropped out of the University of Kansas to follow his musical dreams, relocated to New York City, where his classic guitar-rock sound and skilled songwriting won him fans almost immediately. Johnston's lyrics--frequently looking at relationships and the search for meaning--are often cited as being literary, but more precisely they are terrific vignettes. Johnston's lyrical scenarios are detailed and authentic-feeling, yet often also written as superb poetry with great meter and flow.  And he's a master of concise verses that evoke a panoply of emotions--consider the opening quartet to "Central Station," a song about a difficult parting:  "Early morning, Central Station, tears and coffee, things unspoken.."

Johnston's debut album "Trouble Tree" in 1990 got him some notice, but his second album, 1992's "Can You Fly" really raised his profile when Rolling Stone magazine dubbed it "a masterpiece." That led to a major label deal with Elektra Records, and Johnston's '94 album "This Perfect World" included a couple of minor hits, most notably "Bad Reputation."  His 1999 album "Blue Days, Black Nights" was produced by the legendary T-Bone Burnett, but as record companies contracted, that deal with Elektra evaporated.

Johnston was pretty quiet during the early 2000s, releasing the "Live at McCabe's Guitar factory" in 2006, and the all-covers CD "My Favorite Waste of Time," featuring songs from other writers ranging from Marshall Crenshaw to the Eagles to Cole Porter, in 2007. 

"Rain on the City," released in 2010, was a welcome return to Johnston's deft songwriting touch, with songs ranging from the joyful ukelele tune "Lonely Penny"  to the twangy, John Hiatt-like rock of "Livin' Too Close to the Rio Grande," to the Paul McCartney-meets-Dwight Yoakam feel of "It's Gonna Come Back to You." All the previous comparisons to Elvis Costello seem quite accurate with tunes like "Don't Fall in Love With a Lonely Girl," and Johnston's roots in Beatles-type guitar pop shine through on songs like "The Devil Raises His Own."

"I didn't take a break from songwriting in the 2000s," said Johnston from his Madison, Wisconsin home, as he drove from a studio session. "Basically I just couldn't get a record made, and was trying to do it myself for a long time. But it wasn't my favorite decade anyway. I got married , and then I got divorced, and that all took time. I'm not blaming anyone, and I certainly had my share of blame, but it had an effect on my work. But, now I'm back in the world and making a new one, and writing the next one."

Johnston's forthcoming album will be titled "Neon Repairman," and while it is essentially all done, he was touching up some vocals on the day we spoke.

"I think the key to getting this one done was establishing a deadline and sticking to it," said Johnston. "I think this album is more of a loud rocking, country-rocking, kind of style. I recorded it out in Los Angeles with a bunch of guys from my generation, all very accomplished in the country-rock world. But, it's also your basic three-chord rock, and I will stand behind the lyrics."

"Now the next step is sending the record to London, where Peter Henderson is mixing it," said Johnston. "I think it's a good idea to have someone mix it without me looking over their shoulder and making comments, so once I send it to Peter, I'm done. The next one, which I have about half-written now, will be called "Futures." And I believe I'm getting a producer next time, instead of producing myself. I've done that enough, and I love the idea of someone overseeing me in the studio, and helping me meet deadlines and so on."

Like many rockers and songwriters in general these days, economics dictate that Johnston do many of his shows solo, as the Middle East gig will be. But in his travels, he also has several backing bands he can tap at various places.

"A lot of songs sound very different done solo," Johnston pointed out. "That very reason is why I'm lobbying hard to have my next album include acoustic versions as well of band versions of every song. That's something we did with the Hobart Brothers record a while back, a band I was in with Susan Cowsill. We wrote a bunch of songs together, via email, and then included both versions on the album. People who listened to it said they hadn't realized how useful that idea was, how the format affects the moods of the songs, and how being able to hear both informs their understanding of the songs. Sometimes I think when you play with a band all the time, the guitar riffs get all the attention."

"When I do regional shows around New York City, I usually do band shows with my regular guys there," Johnston, who splits his time between the Big Apple and Wisconsin, added. "Then when I'm out here or in the Minneapolis area, I have another band there. I also have groups of musicians I can use as a band in Austin, and another set in LA. So, I have four different backing bands ariound the country, but otherwise I play a lot of solo shows."

"I learned how to play solo, simply by doing it a lot," Johnston noted. "I was forced to become a better guitarist through playing solo shows. And, I think that solo experience has helped make me a better player within the bands now.  I don't think it affects my songwriting, just because I'm so used to doing my songs both ways."

Johnston's charming uke take on the song that opens his last album came about because he, like so many other rockers (and even Bellevue Cadillac's Doug Bell) was simply fascinated by the little instrument.

"When I was out in LA by McCabe's Guitar Shop, they had nights where everyone would come out and just play ukes," Johnston chuckled. "George Harrison was among the players with a uke of his own. Instead of having round card girls, like at a boxing match, they'd have 'Round Chord Girls,' who'd march around announcing what chords we were going to play--it was so funny. I bought my uke when I was living in Nashville, by mail order."

"Why is the uke so ubiquitous? It's just a unique instrument," Johnston said. "It can give you a happy sound, and a sad sound at the same time. The higher strings are on top on the uke, so that's different from guitar. I know I can play harder chords--ones I can't play on guitar--on the uke. It's somewhat strange to me, but when I pick up the uke I'm suddenly playing Beach Boys or Todd Rundgren melodies."

That's fun stuff, but the major impact of Johnston's work comes through his meaningful lyrics, and their startling economy.  It doesn't come easy, much like the old newsroom saw about "I'd have written it shorter if I had more time." We mentioned that 'Central Station' is a model of concise description, yet carries universal resonance.

"That'd good to hear, because I spent so much time on that one," said Johnston. "You can't hide behind your work. But how could anyone know what really went into it? The first idea was from me having to leave town, and how to do it in a few words. It took a long time to present itself to me the way it ended up. Songs have their own damned idea of where they're going. It's like a song is your client and you're just trying to help them get where they want to go."

"It takes me a long time to write, and 'Central Station' is a prime example," Johnston continued. "It's not a very efficient process for me. Some songs come out fully formed in ten minutes, but those are the outliers. 'Central Station' took me six years to finish--but now it's ironclad, and I'll have it from now on."

"I can't balance a checkbook, but I have a great mind for remembering songs," Johnston said with a laugh. "I've been writing since about 1981 or so, and I will suddenly remember something I wrote way back when, and I've got the groove , the tempo, the words, all of it. I have re-disovered some of my own stuff. I'm very fortunate that my mind works that way--as if there's a little tape recorder in my head."

If the previous decade had its pitfalls for Johnston, there were also positive developments. For one thing the rise of the internet and social media makes a major label deal less important, and for another, his quirky rock fits nicely in the broad Americana category.

"I'm the old guy behind the curve with the internet," said Johnston. "My publicist does that for me. But it is a new world, where anyone with the right amount of ambition can produce and promote their own CDs, and you can make a record almost for nothing. I'm amazed by it. A kid with a laptop can turn out a 24-bit, multi-tracked masterpiece. When I think back to what studio costs were fifteen years ago--$1200/day for the studio, and $185/reel for tape--it's incredible."

"I didn't see the Americana thing happening, but I love it," said Johnston. "Suddenly you can go out with a banjo and re-invent your career. I think it's great, and it's growing and I'm proud to be part of it. To see Mumford & Sons win the Grammy last week, playing songs on acoustic instruments, like I do, was terrific. It's a sound that's not going away anytime soon. It's also my vocation, so I love everything about the rise of the Americana genre."


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