Jack Johnson (person)

Perhaps not as famous as the legendary boxer, although that depends who you ask, is the Hawaiian surfer/video producer/singer Jack Johnson. His folksy debut album Brushfire Fairytales is still making waves (and catching airwaves) since its release in December of 2000.

The son of surfing great Jeff Johnson was born on May 18 1975 in Oahu, Hawaii. Jack started surfing at young age, and at age 14 he became the youngest competitor in the Pipeline Masters Tournament. At 16, Jack earned a pro-surfing contract, and even though he had not yet made up his mind about a career, he became one of the most promising surfing talents on Hawaii. However, a serious surf incident marked a turning point in Jack's pro-surfing career: a wipeout on a dry reef resulted in a cracked skull, lost front teeth, and 100 stitches to fix the damage. During his recovery Jack devoted much of his time to the guitar. Some of his early musical influences from are Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, Paul Simon, and De La Soul

But music wasn't Jack's first ambition; he left Hawaii to study math at UCSB, but changed his major to film. His talents for filmmaking can be seen in two surf-films: Thicker than water and The September Sessions. For these films, Jack Johnson also played many songs on the guitar. Both films won awards in the surf film world, both for their direction and music.

Fellow surfer, and singer Garett Dutton, better known as G. Love met Jack Johnson while riding the waves in San Diego. After the surf, Jack played the song Rodeo Clowns for Dutton. He liked it so much that they went into the studio the next day to record it for G. Love's album Philadelphonic. At this point, several major recording labels became interested in Johnson.

But Johnson did not feel much for the severe promotional obligations, and the musical control the record labels were trying to put into the contract. He felt the need to be free to travel, work on other projects, or catch some waves. Instead of signing with a major label, he hooked up with fellow surfer and producer J.P. Plunier under the Enjoy label; Incidentally, J.P. is also the producer for Ben Harper, a big influence and example for Jack Johnson.

The debut album, Brushfire Fairytales was recorded in only one week, featuring a simple lineup (Jack Johnson on guitar, Adam Topol on drums, and Merlo Podlewski on bass). Ben Harper plays slide guitar on Flake. The album comes over as a day of surfing at the beach; dynamic, playful, and sometimes mellow. His songs are like catching a wave, and riding it out with smooth twists and turns. Jack Johnson's style seems carefree and relaxed, but only because of his skilllful guitar play and his soothing voice.

Jack Johnson opened several concerts on Ben Harper's tour, gaining him significant attention for his music. Currently, he headlines in front of crowds of 1000-5000 people. However, Johnson has no extensive ambitions in music. Instead, he'll go with whatever interesting appears at his horizon. Just like the waves he enjoys riding on Hawaii.