Jack Johnson News

In an age of self-aggrandizing pop stars who put their music on par with spouses, religion and the greatest works of art, Jack Johnson is refreshingly honest about where his mellow songs fit in the general scheme of things.

"I've kind of always tried to make it secondary to life, you know? The kind of music I make I think is best at barbecues and road trips. It's kind of good soundtrack music," Johnson said in a recent phone interview, as he sat in an airport getting ready to travel to his next gig.

Johnson's laid-back approach to his music — and life — belie his success as a platinum-selling star. Since his debut with the album "Brushfire Fairytales" in 2001, his albums have sold a total of about three million copies; his latest, "In Between Dreams," is nearing platinum status.

"The first one was really the big surprise. I mean, the first one, we literally were expecting to sell 20,000 to 30,000 records if things went right," said Johnson of his stellar sales.

But then again, although Johnson has created music since his teens, he never intended for his music to be a career — the Hawaii native had always considered his guitar-strumming odes as something to bide the time while pursuing his real love, surfing.

"Music, don't get me wrong, 'cause I love it, it's something I hope I always do, but surfing is something that kind of what brings my friends and I together," Johnson said.

Johnson, 29, grew up adoring the sun and the waves. His father was a surfer, and Johnson spent most of his free time catching waves. However, he downplays descriptions of himself as a championship-caliber surfer: "I was always on that side of somebody who was good enough to be in the contests, but I was really happy that I decided to go to college instead of trying to pursue it, because I don't know if I would have had a huge career surfing."

Johnson attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he studied film. Those studies would lead him to chronicle surfers in his first foray into entertainment, with the 2000 cult documentary "Thicker than Water." Another film, "The September Sessions," followed.

But besides showing off his film skills, the movies also showcased his acoustic guitar-based songs. His smooth voice, which rarely strains above a steady croon, and his folksy, almost bluesy melodies, created their own following. (He jokes about the slow groove of his songs: "It's so mellow over there they actually consider my music to be cutting edge.")

Besides getting exposure from his films, Johnson's music got a boost when artists like G.Love & Special Sauce and Ben Harper took a liking to it — G.Love included Johnson on a 1999 album and Harper would later take him out on the road.

"He's a great player. He's playing more direct roots music," says Dave Matthews, who has had Johnson as his opening act. "I think his music's great, you can relax to him."

Soon music would push his film forays into the background, but Johnson considered it only a temporary move.

"I definitely thought it was going to be a little break from the surf films," he recalls. "And then it grew into something we started doing for the next couple of years, and it's been off and on now for the last five years."

But despite growing attention from Hollywood, Johnson didn't even have a manager when he started negotiating with labels to distribute his album.

"I told my friend Emmett (Malloy) to come with me and act like he was manager. He would come to these meeting with me and we didn't know anything about the record industry. We started learning about it," he says.

Today, Malloy remains his manager, along with Johnson's wife, Kim. Johnson that helps insulate him from the celebrity demands of the music industry and its constant pressure to sell millions more.

"All the choices are made just purely on what seems like it would be fun. We don't always want to grow things," says Johnson. "I think we're at a point we're we feel pretty comfortable if we can keep things about the same."

And surfing still remains his most passionate hobby of all. He tries to get out on the waves as often as possible, even on tour, sometimes bringing his surfboard on the road. And it's a family affair: his wife will sometimes join him in the water, and he's even put his year-old son on a surfboard.

"Even though we spend more time touring and stuff now, we try to do enough trips that are not about music. I go out on a couple of surf trips twice a year still," he said.

As for his music, he's still having fun with it, but he still calls it his hobby.

"I tried to realize what it is and not get sucked into overthinking music and treating it too important," he said. "It's kind of just feel-good music that's fun to make."

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On the Net:

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