Jack Johnson is the first person to develop surf music that is not like The Beach Boys or hard-punk. The mellow, simplistic, acoustic singer/songwriter was born on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. When he was younger, Johnson never thought he would have a career as a musician. In fact, he believed he would be a professional surfer. By the time he was fourteen, Johnson was being sponsored by Quiksilver and was viewed as one of the top surfers in the world. He competed at the dangerous Masters Tour where he suffered a near deadly wipe-out. His face is permanently scarred from the accident. While recovering, Johnson re-directed his attention to film making. He then went on to attend the University of California at Santa Barbara where he earned a degree in Filmmaking. Johnson also began to write more music. In 1999, he had a career break when his good friend, Garrett Dutton III of the band G Love And Special Sauce recorded Johnson’s song, “Rodeo Clowns.” The song became the first single off G. Love’s 1999 album entitled Philadelphonic. Although he was doing other things, surfing was never far from his mind. Johnson created the surf film, “Thicker Than Water.” In 2000, he released the film “September Sessions.” The film was extremely popular. Johnson won the Surfer Magazine poll for best film of the year. He also won the Adobe Highlight Award at the ESPN Film Festival. In the summer of 2000, Johnson signed to the newly created label, Enjoy Records. He began recording in Los Angeles. His debut album entitled Brushfire Fairytales, was produced by JD Plunier and featured the hit single “Flake.” After the album’s release, Johnson toured with Ben Harper. His sophomore album, On and On, was produced by Mario Caldato Jr and was recorded in Oahu. Johnson’s influences are Nick Drake, Ben Harper, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Neil young, Bob Dylan, and A Tribe Called Quest.
Bio written by: bandhunt |
|
Add to Profile
