BLAME is out now!
Image: Dara Munnis.
Leading Australian Country Music artist, James Johnston has dropped his new single, BLAME. We caught up with the musician to unpack the song, his rise within Australia's country music scene and so much more.
For anyone who doesn't really know, can you tell me a bit about your musical background and what led you towards pursuing music?
Absolutely. So music has kind of been a part of my story my entire life. I grew up in a little town called Wingham on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, and it's just a little farming community and my parents sold tractors for a living. That rural life was just a part of my story, and I started singing when I was four years old. My very first show was at my local daycare centre and I was wearing a big old cowboy hat and I had cowboy boots on and I was singing a song called Friends In Low Places by Garth Brooks. And if that didn't set up the rest of my life, I don't know what did. Whenever all the other kids were there were doing nursery rhymes and The Wiggles, I was singing Garth Brooks - a heartbreak, sad country song about going out and drinking too much and all the rest of it. So, you know, I was four years old and I think country music was in my roots. But I from that moment on, it's pretty much as everyone has kind of known me, it was always James the the country singer. If you'd asked me at four years old what I wanted to be, I would've told you I want to be a country singer when I grow up. You know, nothing has ever changed. So that that journey to kind of now making it my living and writing my own music has been pretty winding. I started playing shows, I was starting to jump up in bars and everything when I was about 10 years old. And I did that. And then I did Australian Idol when I was 17 and I came third on that show and that kind of launched me to end up buying a van. I lived on the road for about five years and I toured all around the country just playing music and playing in little bars and playing covers and just sharing my music with the country, just living off of music, kind of gig to gig. For me there was a real decision when I was 28, 29, and I knew that I wanted to start telling my story. I'd spent such a long time playing other people's music and I'd been making my living through music, and that had been my life my whole life. But there was a point where I realised that if I never tell my story, it's gonna be too late. That's when I wrote my first single, Raised Like That. I spent the whole year just writing so many songs. And then I remember I wrote this song called Raised Like That, which is a song about just where I came from. It's kind of my introductory into the world. If you listen to that song, you'd know who I am. It tells you my story about my roots. That song took off and the last three years has just been this crazy ride up to up to now.
You've been in and around the industry, if my math is correct, about fifteen years. In the past three years, your career has reached new heights. Six # 1 airplay hits, number one spot on the ARIA country albums chart for twenty one weeks, millions of global streams. How have you found that experience of spending so long hustling, working on your craft, getting the music out there, to then almost this obviously not overnight success, but quite a lot of success in like a short period of time.
I think it's interesting 'cause for me, as you said, there was a sense of overnight, you know? It wasn't and to most people, they've just come on the journey in the last three years, so it looks like it's overnight. It is a lot of those, I know it sounds cliche, but a lot of dreams come true in that moment. I've been thinking about this my entire life. I've said, you ask me at four years old what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a country singer. And that vision, when you think about that as a kid, 'what does the future look like?' you think about being on big stages and your name in lights and people singing your music back to you. And that was never my reality up until the last three years. Even though I'd been doing music, it was often playing in bars, the football was playing with more people into the football than they were when I was playing my songs. So to now be able to be on big stages and have all these people connecting with my story is really special. But there's also a sense of going through all of that and playing thousands of pub shows to nobody that makes me really appreciate this moment. How good it is at the moment. I know that I'm incredibly fortunate to be able to do this, make my living and truly do the version of this that I've always dreamt of.
The new single BLAME is such a banger, it's such a good song. Can you tell me a bit about what inspired it and how it came to be?
This song was actually written in Nashville, a couple years ago. Through my music, sometimes I'm writing about what I'm living right in that moment, sometimes it's reflective, and I went back to the first night that I met my wife. I'm now married, we've been married for three years, but we met about five years ago. I was playing in the house band on a cruise ship and they had this bar in this cruise ship. This girl walked into the room, she walked up and she said, "do you know any Keith Urban songs?" Instantly that just sparked my attention because who is this gorgeous girl who's asking for country music? I'm like, that's my country girl. My wife Talia, she's just this real free spirit. So she's out there by herself on the dance floor, spinning around having the best time. I think I fell in love with her in that moment. For me, that's what the song's about. It's the joy of just meeting somebody, and you don't know what it is, there's something in the air that night. It's the bar, it's the atmosphere, but you know, it's just got you falling in love. That's really where the song stemmed from and that's what inspired this song. It's nice, still to this day, she still gives me that spark, you know? When I see her out there dancing. And the song is not this bodied love song, it's more about just the night that somebody captures your attention.
That's so beautiful. You mentioned that you wrote it in Nashville. How did you find writing and creating in Nashville vs Australia influences your creativity, especially with Nashville being such a country music hub?
I think the thing that's really special about Nashville is that everyone is just living and breathing it 24/7. The way I describe that is that you go to the shop, to like the Apple store or whatever, and everyone that's working there is a musician and everyone's interested and they're like, 'have you heard this new record? Have you been listening to that?' So everyone shares this common interest, that probably doesn't happen in Australia just because there is nowhere quite like Nashville. Where everyone just comes together and everyone loves country music, right? So I find just by being surrounded by it, it just sparks creativity. Does it mean that you can write a better song in Australia or Nashville? I don't really think so. I think you can, wherever that creativity comes from, I think there's amazing musicians here in Australia. I think there's amazing musicians in Nashville, but I do think just by being surrounded by it, it sparks something in you that only happens when you're there.
Looking back at BLAME, is there a particular line, lyric or musical motif from the song that you find will get stuck in your head more often or maybe the one you're most proud of?
Well actually if you go back to the creation of the song, what you hear as the released record is pretty much the demo. The guy that's produced it was the guy that demoed it. And that very rarely happens. Often we'll demo it then I'll take it to my producer. But there was just something that we captured in that room, and when I walked into that room, I forgot my guitar that day. So normally as country musicians, we bring an acoustic guitar, we sit there and we write with our acoustic guitar, but I didn't have one and I only had my harmonica. So there ended up being an old steel string guitar that was this rusty old steel string guitar sitting on the wall. We got that out and we recorded that with the harmonica. I think that essence of the song has got a lot of pop elements. It's big, heavy production, but then it's still that old steel string that was sitting on the wall, and that harmonica that I walked into that room with, is what you hear on the record today. I love the idea that I can combine those old classic country instruments with modern production. I think for me, in terms of the essence and the feel of the song, I think that's what I am really excited about with this one.
Building on that, when it comes to writing and creating, do you find that you have a distinct creative process? Or do you think each song and project takes on its own form?
I would say each song takes on its own form. There are certain ways that I love to write. I love to write with a beat. One of my favourite things is that I just say to a producer, "make something that feels good, and then just loop it, and then I'm just gonna start singing it." It's interesting because I'll often just start singing to the hills, and I'll just ramble until something kind of sticks. So I do write like that a fair bit, but at the same time I've got a buddy coming around here in the next twenty minutes and we'll sit out here on the deck and grab a couple acoustic guitars, and just start pouring our heart out. So I do love there's different ways for the songs to come to life.
You have also recently signed with Warner Music Australia, with support from Warner Nashville. What do you think makes Warner the best home for you and your music?
I think the most important thing for me, I've taken a long time to build up my team, be it from my manager to my band. These people have become my family. Even from my band, these are the people that I want to hang out with on the weekend. They're not just the people I'm going to go and play a show with. They're like, I call up and we're just buddies. I feel that extends throughout my entire team. So I wanted to find the right label. I've been independent now for nearly three years, and we took a long time. We've been chatting to Warner for 18 months or something, and it was the same with my manager. I'd been speaking to him for five years before he ended up as my manager. It's just because I wanted to find people that aligned with my values. I think country music at its core is all about the values of country music, it's about mateship, it's about working hard. It's about staying grounded, being humble. There's a lot of things that are core to the identity of what country music is. To me personally, a lot of those things are incredibly important. So when I wanted to find the right team, I wanted to find a team that not only I knew could take my music to another level, but also align with my values. I got to have a lot of sit downs and a lot of beers with everyone at Warner, and even the day that I signed with Warner, I said, 'forget about the fancy corporate dinner. I'm coming up. We're gonna have a barbecue on the rooftop and have a beer. I want the whole team to be there, not just the head of Warner. I want the whole team to be there.' We just had a big barbie and cracked a couple of cases of beer. I think at the essence of what I wanna be and what I am with my family and my community, I felt like Warner connected with that as well.
Super excitingly you are heading on tour with Kip Moore, later this month and next month, which is super fun. I've seen his live show a few times and it's super great. What are you bringing to these shows? What can audiences expect as they walk into the venue?
Lots of energy. I always often say something when I start my show, I say, 'for me to put on the best show that I can tonight, it's not just about me. I need everyone. I need your help for the next hour, the next 45 minutes, I need crowd participation. I need you to be with me,' and that's what my show is all about. I want people to lose themselves for 45 minutes, whatever they're worrying about, stressing about at work, I want them to forget about it and just be full of joy and connection. There's different artists in the world. Some people are there to sit and you just listen to them, pour this beautiful lyric out for me. I wanna bring joy. I want to have people just singing their heart out, dancing around, just losing themselves. That's what you'd come to expect at one of my shows.
You mentioned earlier about playing in different sized venues throughout your career. How important do you think live music is not only for you in terms of showcasing your art, but also making an in-person connection with audiences?
I think music has this amazing ability to just change your day, change your mood or whatever. It was interesting, I'm just thinking about that question, and myself this morning, I woke up feeling dusty this morning, right? I just woke up, it was one of those mornings. I was just dragging my feet and on the way home I put on a playlist of some of my favourite songs and instantly I felt better. I think live music is the ultimate version of that. Music has this amazing power to change your mood and then live music, when you put the lights, the sound, but also the connection of being in a room full of other people that are feeling that same feeling. I think it's the most powerful thing in the world.
Obviously country music does have quite a prevalent space within the Australian music industry, but who are some emerging country artists that you think everyone should be listening to?
That's a good question. There's some great artists. I think country's in this really cool space at the moment. Somebody just got me onto an artist called Zach Top the other day. He's just got this amazing sound to him. Muscadine Bloodline are great. I've got some buddies Zac & George are two Australian artists that are absolutely crushing it at the moment, they've got some great stuff. Country music's in a really healthy space at the moment. There is a lot of just great talent that's coming through.
GET TO KNOW JAMES JOHNSTON
Biggest musical influences?
Garth Brooks. Jordan Davis. Lee Kernaghan.
Dream collaboration?
Garth Brooks. Jordan Davis and I just collaborated with Lee Kernaghan so I can tick that one off. [Laughs].
An album that has had the most impact on you?
Where the Light is John Mayer, because it was stuck in my DVD player for about three years. My first three albums, that I owned, was the Greatest Hits of Elvis Presley. Harry Connick Jr. don't ask me what album, one of the albums and The Thunder Rolls by Garth Brooks.
What are you thinking whilst you're performing?
Hopefully I'm not thinking. That's the truth. When I'm overthinking or when I'm thinking about what I'm doing or anything, that's when I'm out of flow. If I'm not thinking and I'm just being present, that's my happy place.
What was the first song that you loved to sing?
Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks.
Hannah Montana or Miley Cyrus?
Has to be Hannah Montana, right? [Laughs].
The first concert you went to?
Adam Brand's at Warhope RSL.
The best concert you've been to?
Oh, good one. Cody Johnson in Nashville.
Would you rather be a Spice Girl or a Backstreet Boy?
[Laughs] Definitely never been asked that question before. I think Backstreet Boy. [Laughs].
Dream location to play?
I would say, Nissan Stadium as part of CMA Fest in Nashville. If I've made it onto the main stage there, I've made it.
A show you've performed that stands out as the most memorable?
Two. CMC rocks 2022, first real big stage and that was a dream. I'd been watching that concert my whole life. And my first ticketed show at the Great Western Hotel in Rockhampton. Purely because I'd played in that bar so many times to nobody. And we sold the place out in the main arena and that was a pinch myself moment.
An artist that you would love to see cover one of your songs?
Oh, I like that, I'd say Cody Johnson. He performs lots of other people's music, so I'd say him.
An artist that you think has had the most influence on the music industry?
Elvis Presley. Country music still trickled down from rock music, so yeah.
What advice would your current self give to your future self for a year from now?
Don't forget why your 4-year-old self was doing it.
There's about six minutes left until the world ends. What is the last song you're gonna listen to?
If Tomorrow Never Comes by Garth Brooks
A book that you would recommend to someone to read?
A book that changed my life perspective was The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
The moment you knew you wanted to be a musician?
Four years old, the moment I first walked on stage.
BLAME is out now!
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