Friday Nite Retro

Okay, tonight's edition isn't really retro, but it features an artist that I've liked for some time and he may have slipped under your radar: Jack Johnson. The Hawaiian-born Johnson, 32, is the son of a famous surfer. In addition to that interest, he had a natural inclination towards music and began playing guitar at an early age. Ben Harper's producer "discovered" him in 2000, and helped him produce his first album, Brushfire Fairytales, in early 2001 with Harper and his lap steel guitar making a guest appearance.

Flake


Bubble Toes


Johnson has stated in several interviews that a big part of his success involved his friends recording "bootlegs" of his tracks and distributing them at surf competitions. Johnson has also stated that he supports the sharing of live recordings and bootlegs of his music.

"It's pretty crazy. There's stuff I would find online that I'd only given to one friend, so I know how it got there," Johnson says. "It's been a spider-web effect. That's the whole reason all this [success] started. I'm sure there's lots of people who hate [downloading], but I really dig it."

The Horizon has been Defeated


Wasting Time


As a professional surfer, Johnson endured an accident at Pipeline in which his front teeth were knocked out and he received more than 150 stitches. The accident allowed time for Jack to start on his new passions, the guitar and making music. He stated about the accident, "I like to joke that I hit my head so hard that that's why I'm so mellow, but I think it did mellow me out."

Taylor


Sitting,Waiting,Wishing


Good People


Breakdown


Better Together


Jack's latest single:

Sleep Through the Static


Drop by Jack's MySpace page and say "hello"!