Almost 40 years and counting, highly prolific kiwi singer-songwriter Greg Johnson is still going.
Those decades were packed with awards and albums, the thirteenth of which, ‘Thunder in Fall’, is releasing tomorrow.
The album's first single was released back in December, 'Rooster Tail’ inspired by the sight of a rocket launched at sunset and the trail of smoke coming down.
Johnson told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking that it wasn’t so much the rocket itself but the reaction on the ground.
“There’s always a certain level of paranoia here. It’s like, ‘Oh Christ, the Russians, have the Russians launched a pre-emptive nuclear strike or something? But no, it was just the sun striking the smoke.”
“Everyone sort of stops from it.”
Living in cities is a study in contrasts, Johnson saying that there’s a craving for nature and moments of silence.
“Those kinds of things are triggers for me, you know, as an artist.”
Speaking of artistic triggers, one of the ones for ‘Thunder in Fall’ was the upright piano Johnson acquired.
“I just want to abandon the electric guitar a little bit,” he told Hosking.
Much like the rest of his discography, his latest album wouldn’t be described as a “party record,” Johnson describing it as quite a dark album with a real atmosphere.
“I wanted something that’s really nice to sort of sink your teeth into.”
With the release of this album comes a tour, Johnson bringing his ‘1000 Miles Tour’ to New Zealand next month.
Coming back, he told Hosking, is a highlight for him, especially playing smaller venues.
While he will be performing his new album, he isn’t forgetting about his older hits.
“The core of my show is always my, my top ten. You know, my audience top ten, and then the other ten I choose from, you know, my pretty extensive book.”
“I’ve got, so far, 87 of the songs I like to play in a little book, just small enough that I can’t read the lyrics, so I have to try and remember them.
Greg Johnson will be back in New Zealand, performing from March 15th through til the 30th.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com