Eric Johnson has quietly had an amazing career. Most people
think that Eric came out of the box strong with his debut album,
the platinum selling Ah Via Musicom, which spawned the
classic hit “Cliffs of Dover.” Most people are wrong. Ah Via
Musicom was actually Johnson’s third solo album, which
followed a career of playing sessions for artists including
Carole King, Christopher Cross, Cat Stevens and Richard Marx. It
took many years for Johnson to find his audience but once he
did, they never left.
Eric Johnson is a true musician who plays, composes and
performs music for all of the right reasons. He is preparing to
hit the road on a new leg of his tour to support his latest solo
effort Up Close. The album features guest appearances by
fellow Texans Steve Miller and Jimmie Vaughan on the classic
Electric Flag tune “Texas.” The album is a mixture of
instrumentals and songs with vocals, including the tune “Austin”
sung by Jonny Lang.
In the interview that follows we discuss Up Close, as
well as what Eric learned about Carole King and what to expect
from the new leg of the tour -- that and his secret desire to be
George Clinton.
Jeb: You’re on tour to promote Up Close. Are you doing
anything special on this tour?
Eric: We’re going to be doing all the special songs from all
of my other records and we are doing a couple of songs from
other people that we redo and do our arrangement. We are doing
several new songs that have not been recorded yet.
Jeb: You are known for taking a long time between albums. Do
you already have another one in the works?
Eric: I am really quick about writing songs and getting a lot
of new material but I’m really slow about getting it out on
record. If I could even it out a little bit faster then that
would be good.
Jeb: Who is in your band?
Eric: We have a brand new drummer named Wayne Salzmenn, who is
wonderful. I am playing with Chris Marsh again on bass. We have
played together, off and on, for years. We haven’t played
together recently, so it is great to be back together.
Jeb: Are you playing any of the new tunes in the set?
Eric: We do three or four and then we play stuff off of all
the old records. I like doing a cross section of all different
kinds of stuff. We are going to pick a few of the new ones this
time but we might work some of the others up to do later on.
That way we have plenty of time to do some of the older stuff. I
am also going to do a few acoustic pieces on this tour. We have
really decided to get to everything.
Jeb: How planned is the set?
Eric: We play the same songs every night but we play them
differently every night. Some nights it is even good.
Jeb: Some nights it doesn’t suck, eh? [laughter] On a side
note, I saw you on the Hendrix Tour.
Eric: [laughter] That was fun. I have actually done that tour
several times and I have enjoyed it. It is really fun to play
with all of those guys.
Jeb: I loved “Spanish Castle Magic” with you and Susan
Tedeschi.
Eric: Yeah, that was great. Susan is really good. I am a real
fan of her singing.
Jeb: You really flew your Texas flag on Up Close.
Perhaps no more so than on the classic song, “Texas.”
Eric: Steve Miller sang the song. “Texas” has that bluesy
rock thing that Texas is known for. “Texas” was written by Mike
Bloomfield when he was in the Electric Flag. I used to love the
Electric Flag. I wore that record out.
Jeb: “Killing Floor’ was an awesome song. And there were
about 500 people in that band.
Eric: You would turn the cover over and see all of those
people on it and it looked like a class reunion there were so
many people.
Jeb: Mike Bloomfield doesn’t get remembered as much as some
of his contemporaries. Mike was a very good player.
Eric: He really was. I am kind of guilty of that because when
people ask me to name my influences I never say Bloomfield. It’s
weird because I listened to him a lot when I was a kid and I
learned a lot from his blues style.
I think part of the problem is that he played with Bob Dylan,
Al Kooper, Paul Butterfield and the Electric Flag. He was known
for supporting a band. He wasn’t out there like Jeff Beck and
Jimi Hendrix. Bloomfield, even though he shown through, was
really a support player.
Jeb: You spent a few years doing sessions and being support.
Did you know then that you wanted to be a solo artist?
Eric: I have been writing music since I was a kid. A lot of
the session work I did, essentially, to make a living. I was
in-between bands and I didn’t have a lot of direction. It was
really a matter of making a living. I ended up seeing a lot of
merit in it. I still do it all the time. You are given the job
of trying to make the music better but you are restrained to
having to work within certain parameters. You don’t have an open
field in which to work. It takes a special talent to contribute
something that is musical that is not about you so much, but is
instead part of the overall mix.
Jeb: You did sessions with Carole King. She can write songs.
Do you learn a lot from a person like that? She is not as
talented on her instrument as you but she can certainly write a
hit.
Eric: You can pick up something from anybody but you
definitely pick stuff up from Carole. I think she has had
something like 50 number one hits. I don’t think there is
another female artist in history that has more hits than her. I
think the only people with more hits than her may be Elvis
Presley and the Beatles.
Jeb: A lot of people have no idea how many hits she wrote for
other people.
Eric: I remember one time, when I used to play with her, and
we were just hanging out. She started playing piano and telling
us that she wrote this song and that song. I had no idea she
wrote all these songs that these other artists did in the 1960’s
and had huge hits with. Carole was part of a writing team and
she really did write a ton of huge hits. She, personally, never
recorded many of them, so people don’t realize all she has done.
Jeb: I want to talk about the song “Texas” on Up Close
some more. Steve Miller sings on that. Did you know Steve?
Eric: Over the last ten years I have done tours with Steve,
opened shows for him or sat in with his band. We have known each
other for a while. He was in town for a show, so I asked him if
he wanted to cut something for the album, after hours. Jimmie
Vaughan was at the same show as he was sitting in with Steve. We
all just piled into the studio after the show and recorded that
in the middle of the night.
Jeb: “Austin” rocks as well. Jonny Lang guests on that one.
Eric: He was in town for a show and he had a day off the next
day. He came in to sing it and he didn’t know the song; he’d
never heard it. He came in and learned it and sang it. I had
sang the song myself and it was okay but I didn’t feel I did it
as well as someone else could. It was serendipitous that he was
in town. He was able to put more vibe into it.
Jeb: Your guitar style ranges from blues to pop to shredding.
Most guys are great at one style but you are great a lot of
styles.
Eric: I think there are people who are better at one style
than I am. I’m kind of a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to
guitar styles. When I was growing up I never picked one style of
music. The more I listened to different styles of music I found
there was great music in every style. I realized it is not the
song that is great; it is the integrity and quality of the music
that makes it great. If you just listen, and keep your mind a
little bit open, then you can be touched by any style of music.
I have always kind of liked that. It really keeps things from
being boring for me.
Jeb: Talk about how you can go from a song like “Soul
Surprise” to “The Awakening” to “Fat Daddy” and put them all on
the same album. They are so different. Do you approach them
differently when you are in the studio or do you just go from
one to another?
Eric: We just try to go through the process and find out what
works for the song the best. Sometimes you have to play a lot of
guitar and sometimes playing a lot of guitar detracts from the
song. Its like how you can say something to someone in three
words and it ends up meaning more than if you had an entire
dialogue with that person.
Jeb: Up Close has been out for a year or so.
Eric: It has been about six months. So, I only have another
eight or nine more years before I have to make another one
[laughter]. I have some new stuff. I would like to get recording
some of it. I would really like to record an acoustic album.
Jeb: Would you do a singer/songwriter album or would you do
an instrumental acoustic album?
Eric: I would like to do some instrumental pieces but I would
like to do some folk type stuff as well.
Jeb: Up Close has more songs with vocals than
instrumentals. A lot of your fans want you to be quiet and just
play your guitar. How do you balance between doing what you want
and what you know your fans want from you?
Eric: That is understandable because my forte is playing. I
have gotten known for it, I guess. What is ironic is that when I
was a kid I always enjoyed listening to songs and songwriting. I
liked songs with vocals. For whatever reason, people want to
hear me play more guitars and do instrumentals.
Jeb: What are you most proud about in your career?
Eric: I am most proud when I make people feel good. I think
my most inspired moments are when I get emails or messages from
people who tell me that my music helped them when they were
emotionally down or they were sick and my music helped them to
feel better. I love being able to inspire people. The main
reason I play music is to try to inspire myself for my own joy.
If I can do that then I am able to inspire someone else and
possibly give them joy. That is always my main motive. When I do
accomplish that, then that is the best thing that I can get from
music. The whole business side pales in comparison. You can’t
calculate that soulful stuff.
Jeb: But Eric, you’re missing that whole “I’m a rock star”
component.
Eric: Well, right now, as we talk, I’m dressed up like George
Clinton. I borrowed a couple of the porpoises from the Sheraton
Hotel aquarium and they are underneath my feet right now.
Jeb: I am going to end this interview by asking a question
about your most known song, “Cliffs of Dover.” Did the actual
Cliffs of Dover inspire the music?
Eric: Not really. I just had this instrumental song and I was
playing it for a friend of mine named Vince. I had not even
recorded the song yet. I played it for him and he said, “That is
a cool tune. What do you call it?” I said, “I have no idea what
to call it.” He goes, “It is kind of regal sounding. It reminds
me of the Cliffs of Dover or something.” I named it right there
and then.
Jeb: Sometimes the stuff you learn about music is really
simple.
Eric: You know, that kind of takes a lot out of it. Here, let
me tell you the other story… I was in Antarctica with a bunch of
rock star woman and we were skydiving…
