Photograph by Matt Pence
Will Johnson pulls his car over in the rain along a highway to talk to St. Louis Magazine. He parks, and then asks if I can hear the rain pounding down. I fib and say I can, but it’s the nervous static in my own mind I hear. Johnson is not only a prolific and one of the most brilliant singer/songwriters, but a walking system of stories, myths, and songs. From Centro-Matic to his projects with Jason Molina, Justin Kinkel-Shuster, and so many other projects—let’s call them gifts—the opportunity to listen to his music and talk with him gives me shivers and throws off my sense of sound. This is what rain actually sounds like. It doesn’t matter if you actually hear it or not. You want to, more than anything.
Johnson is touring right now, playing house shows. His most recent release, Swan City Vampires, doesn’t need to be praised by me. To my mind, he is incapable of writing a dead line, song, word, or at the very least, he doesn’t let anyone hear those missteps if they do indeed exist. Listen to “Nameless, But A Lover,” and then listen to his catalogue, and then see if you aren’t left with a mystery, a bit of pain, a great deal of gratefulness that souls like Johnson are out in the world.
There are certain groups and songwriters that are so melded to their instruments and craft that they are absolute expressions of the ineffable, the elusive, the beautiful. They are deeply connected to something otherworldly, a place that few have access to. Johnson’s songs are pure and inextricably linked to another place that transcends the everyday, though the things and objects and faces in “real life” are all the more real in his voice and abilities. Sorry. A bit of pseudo-Platonism over a glass of Johnny Walker.
On “You Vs. On the Cuff”: Could you talk about why that song in particular made you feel uncomfortable?
It’s a little bit of an address between two characters. So often in life we’re met with situations…it seems a bit cliché…I got so tired about hearing, “It’s not you, it’s me.” I got tired of hearing that even joked about, and thought there was a way to be constructive and critical about both sides. To take the path of less resistance. I wanted to say [in that song] that despite all the fallout, it’s good to see you. I won’t say it was uncomfortable to sing, but it definitely gave me some new emotional terrain and sentimental terrain to work with.
Do you think it’s important to feel uncomfortable when making a new record?
Sometimes, yes, I do. Sometimes I strive to feel a little uncomfortable when I’m writing and singing, because that means I’m venturing into new territory. If not sonically, maybe lyrically. I think that’s a positive thing. Even if I only develop a fragment of a song, I’ve learned something from it.
That certainly happens on “Nameless, But A Lover…”
… there’s an ill-at-ease sort of thing from a writing standpoint [on that track].
How did you come to work with Justin Kinkel-Shuster and Water Liars?
I had been a fan of their band for a couple years running, since 2014. We invited them to play with one of the final Centro-Matic shows. They played astonishingly well that night. Last year, Justin and I started batting around the idea of playing shows together. We actually had dinner last night, and plan on recording together.
You’ve worked with so many great musicians, to say the least. What comes to mind when you reflect on working with Jason Molina?
I will say that one thing about each musical experience. Each musical venture teaches something new. I get a glimpse into my partners and co-collaborators as far as writing, rehearsing, as far as embodying a piece of music, tracking it, making it come to life on recording and everyone has their different ways of approaching it, ramping up to it. As far as writing, we kind of pull into our own—it’s very isolated—then we step into the light. It’s nothing but a privilege and a pleasure and richness. Each collaboration has its own identity and way, and I feel lucky for that.
Will Johnson plays a Living Room show in St. Louis on Tuesday, May 24 at 8 p.m. For more info and tickets, go to Undertow Records’ website.
