Surfer Jack Johnson, is now enjoying a wave of musical success

  Jack Johnson Music Surfer and musician Jack
Johnson is on the last leg of his West Coast tour with Ben
Harper, promoting his latest CD "Brushfire Fairlytales."

By David Holmberg
Daily Bruin Staff

If the Beach Boys had met former surfer-turned-musician Jack
Johnson, they might have instead sung, “Catch a note and
you’re sitting on top of the world.”

There is no question as to whether Johnson is riding the
“Big One,” with his new album, “Brushfire
Fairytales” growing in popularity, as well as an
international tour with another rising star, Ben Harper.

Now on the final West Coast leg of his tour, Johnson talked
about his two passions, surfing and music, from his hotel in
Vancouver, B.C. As he said, his musical wave did not arrive out of
nowhere; it has been building for years.

“I’ve always been into music,” Johnson said.
“We had lots of family music at barbecues and parties, and I
learned to play by singing along and dancing. When I was 13 or 14 a
friend of the family from Hawaii taught me some cords, stuff like
Cat Stevens and Jimmy Buffett.”

The musical climate was not all that was warm in his childhood.
Born and raised in the sun of Hawaii, Johnson has surfed his whole
life. It was in high school, though, that he started surfing
“professionally” for Quicksilver, participating in such
major surfing events as the Pipe Masters.

“I guess it was “˜professional’ because I was
paid, but I stopped because I didn’t want to make it so it
wasn’t pure or personal,” Johnson said. “At home
I still surf more than I play, and when the waves are good
I’m always out.”

But music was nevertheless always a presence in his life ,
rolling in and out with the consistency of the tides.

“In high school I was in a punk band. Punk’s great
because no one had to be that good, you just needed lots of
energy,” Johnson said. “But I listened to what lots of
people do, you know Hendrix, Dylan and the blues, too.”

After leaving his surfing “career,” but never
straying far from the beach, Johnson made the next logical step
after graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a film degree: he began
making surfing movies.

“It was kind of natural. I knew how to work a camera, and
I already knew all the big names,” he said. “I helped
others with their films, and then made two of my own, with my own
music.”

Each passing wave seemed carry something different for Johnson.
After riding the filmmaking career for three years, another
opportunity arose for him to dive into music. Oddly enough, it was
surfing, too, that propelled him into his current musical
career.

“Two years ago I met Garret (Dutton) of G-Love, and we
went out surfing together. I ended up playing one of my songs,
“˜Rodeo Clowns,’ on his last album, and it ended up
becoming the single,” Johnson said. “Surfing has done
everything for me, and given a way to meet a lot of
people.”

This transition from surfing the ocean to riding the road of
music has proven to be surprisingly easy for Johnson, regardless of
the differences between his two passions.

“They’re pretty separate, but I spend all my time at
the beach listening to island flavor and Hawaiian music,”
Johnson said. “I think about lyrics out on the water while
I’m by myself, with no audience, and no need for
approval.”

Audience approval is something that must be taken into account,
however, in the case of a tour this large. Despite the vast size
differences in venues, his previous 70-seat shows at Roy in Santa
Barbara compared to the nearly 5,000 at Sunday’s Santa
Barbara Bowl, Johnson retains his laid-back surfer attitude.

“We don’t actually practice that much. The first two
nights we sort of work it out. It’s more fun to just leave
it,” Johnson said. “We jam a lot and have fun, but you
can tire of playing the same songs all the time.”

With only two other musicians that play with him on
“Brushfire Fairytales,” Johnson’s trio forms a
simplistic, yet tight band with a range of styles.

“With the band we listen to lots of live Bob Marley tapes
and play a lot of reggae,” Johnson said. “It’s
not because we’re a reggae band, but because it’s fun
to play and it all fits together so nice.”

Having fun seems to be an integral factor in directing Johnson
in his various career paths. With only a few more nights left on
his tour with Harper, Johnson reflected on the fun, if not
occasionally wearing, experience of his first cross-country musical
journey.

“My … dream as a musician was to play with bands I like,
and Ben’s one of my favorite musicians,” Johnson said.
“It was nerve wracking at first, but he attracts the same
kind of crowd, just bigger. Ben’s fans are open-minded and
still excited to see you. They just make you feel really
welcome.”

With a new album tentatively planned for the fall, a possible
tour with reggae giants Toots and The Maytals in July, and a trip
back to Hawaii in August for a recording session, the future is
rushing in with tidal ferocity.

While Johnson may not know where this wave will take him, there
is no doubt it will be one hell of a ride.

MUSIC: Jack Johnson’s album,
“Brushfire Fairytales,” is available on Enjoy
Records.