Renaissance Man

Jack Johnson has accomplished a lot is his short time on the planet. The 27-year-old is an accomplished surfer as well as a filmmaker. Currently, Johnson is enjoying success in the music industry, headlining his own tour with songs that frequently appear on the radio. Johnson took a moment last week to talk to the Daily about discuss his personal and professional experiences.



TD: Can you talk about life before surfing and singing?



JJ: Before was from the ages of one to three, and I started surfing at four and have been surfing my whole life. At 14 I picked up a guitar and started playing it. I didn't have my own guitar, but my friend would let me play his. Anytime I had a broken arm or something I would play. And I would take the guitar on surf tips and just play around with it. When I'm at home I now surf more than I play music.



>TD: What was your first performance like?

JJ: My first performance was at a friend's house in high school. I was in a punk cover band called Limber Chicken. We played Minor Threat, Fugazi, and Suicidal Tendencies. We were pretty bad. We were just a bunch of kids who'd only been playing guitar for like a year. Our drummer was guitar player too. He just played guitar the worst so we made him the drummer. It was cool though, just hanging out and playing for our friends.



TD: What was high school like for you?

JJ: People hardly listen to punk in Hawaii; mostly people listen to reggae and stuff. I did too sometimes. High school_ it wasn't bad, it was pretty mellow. It wasn't uncommon to see people barefoot in high school, or people going around shirtless because it was so hot.



TD: What has been your favorite performing experience?

>JJ: A couple of weeks ago we did the Bridge School Benefit. It's a really good cause in San Francisco for a school for kids who have cerebral palsy. It was also really good because of the people I got to play with: Neil Young, James Taylor, Tom Yorke, Brian Adams, and Tenacious D. There were a lot of artists I really admire there.



TD: Do you have a favorite venue?

JJ: I like playing outdoors a lot. I just played the Greek Theater in Berkley. The Santa Barbara Bull, the Fox Theater in Boulder, Colorado. [He then asked where Tufts was located]. I played the Paradise in Boston and the Orpheus was my first big show. It was my first show opening for Ben Harper. I was so nervous I can barely remember the night. I'm looking forward to coming back to Boston though.



TD: Who would you cite as your musical influences?

>JJ: Bob Marely, Otis Redding, Neil Young, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Jimi Hendrix. New stuff I like: Ben Harper, G. Love and Special Sauce, Jurassic 5, Black- Eyed Peas and Radiohead.



TD: What's in your CD player right now?

JJ: I listen to a lot of stuff that people give me on the road, you know like up and coming bands. I also got these CDs from a show I played in Philadelphia, Sonic Session. Bob Marley. I've got Beck's new record. I like a lot of groups that are out now: The Strokes, the White Stripes. I rarely listen to any other singer songwriters. I really like Radiohead's Kid A. I also like Brazilian music from Joao Gilberto he's got a really good whispery voice. And Norah Jones.



TD: What was your favorite cartoon growing up?

JJ: The Road Runner. I always loved the Road Runner. I liked the end when they would show the coyote. I also liked Transformers.



TD: What would you say is the driving force behind your success?

>JJ: That's a good question, but I'm probably the last person who'd have the answer. I'm always surprised. I guess, well, pop music now has a negative connotation to it. Now it's with stuff that's created by the record companies. I'm still surprised though. I just stand there on stage _ I don't use fireworks or do splits



TD: How was filmmaking for you?

>JJ: Pretty simple. They are just basically surf films. It's kind of like a surfer would make a better surf film than a filmmaker would, because a surfer would know what shots look good and when to shoot. Basically, we would go on surf trips and I would hand them [other surfers] a camera. I would do the technical stuff like setting the f-stop and let them go. Surfers know what surfers want to see. I went to school and majored in film. When I got home from shooting the films I would listen to music to see what the music feels like. I wanted to show what it feels like to go on a surf trip.