Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson Biography

Jack Johnson}}

Jack Johnson (born May 18, 1975) is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer, filmmaker, musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released five more albums, a number of EPs and surfing movies/soundtracks. He is also known for organizing an annual event, the K?kua Festival. Notable songs from Johnson's repertoire include "Upside Down"; "Flake"; "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing"; "If I Had Eyes"; "You and Your Heart"; "Taylor"; and "Better Together".

Early life

Jack Johnson was born and raised on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The son of well-known surfer Jeff Johnson, he took an interest in his father's profession. Jack began to learn how to surf at the age of 5. At 17, he became the youngest invitee to make the surfing finals at the Pipeline Masters on Oahu's North Shore. One week later, however, his stint as a professional surfer ended when he suffered a surfing accident at the Pipeline that put more than 150 stitches in his forehead and removed a few of his teeth; this later became the inspiration for the song "Drink the Water".

Jack Johnson graduated from Kahuku High School on the North Shore of Oahu. He would later attend the University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduated with a degree in film and music production. While Johnson learned the guitar at the age of 8 and started songwriting at the age of 12, his passion for music grew when he played rhythm guitar for the band Soil (not to be confused with the heavy metal band of the same name) in college.

Johnson credits his songwriting influences as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Radiohead, Otis Redding, G. Love and Special Sauce, Ben Harper, Sublime, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Neil Young, and A Tribe Called Quest. Johnson names Jimi Hendrix as his all-time favorite guitarist.

Career

2000"03: Brushfire Fairytales and On and On

Jack Johnson's big break was writing and contributing vocals for the song "Rodeo Clowns" which was featured on G. Love's 1999 album 'Philadelphonic'. The song would later become the most famous single off the album.

In addition to his later success as a musician, Johnson is also an accomplished filmmaker. Johnson directed the surf films Thicker Than Water (2000) and The September Sessions (2002), in which he also starred. Both movie soundtracks were also products of Johnson. Johnson also starred in the 2004 surf film A Brokedown Melody.

Johnson released a four track demo that caught the attention of Ben Harper's producer, J. P. Plunier, who worked with Johnson on his debut album Brushfire Fairytales in early 2001 with Harper and his Weissenborn lap steel guitar making a guest appearance. Brushfire Fairytales was released on February 1, 2001.

Johnson went back into the studio with Adam Topol (drums, percussion) and Merlo Podlewski (bass), who played on Brushfire Fairytales, and Mario Caldato Jr on production duties, to record his second full-length album On and On. It was the first album to be recorded at Johnson's Mango Tree Studio in Johnson's home town of North Shore, Oahu, and the first to be released through The Moonshine Conspiracy Records. On and On was released on May 6, 2003.

2004"09: In Between Dreams, Curious George, and Sleep Through the Static

In October 2004, Johnson returned to the Mango Tree Studio with Topol and Podlewski along with Zach Gill (of Animal Liberation Orchestra) playing accordion, melodica and piano, to record his follow-up to 2003's On and On. In Between Dreams was released on March 1, 2005.

Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George is a soundtrack album by Johnson, released on February 7, 2006. The album also features Adam Topol, Ben Harper, G. Love, Kawika Kahiapo, Matt Costa, Merlo Podlewski and Zach Gill. It was the first soundtrack to make it to number 1 since the Bad Boys II soundtrack in August 2003, and was the first soundtrack for an animated film to top the Billboard 200 since the Pocahontas soundtrack in July 1995.

Johnson enlisted J.P. Plunier to produce his fourth full-length studio album, Sleep Through the Static. It was recorded using 100% solar energy at the Solar-Powered Plastic Plant studio in Los Angeles. The album featured Gill (keys), Podlewski (bass) and Topol (drums, percussion). Sleep Through the Static was released on February 1, 2008, and was followed by a world tour.

A live album and DVD of Johnson's 2008 world tour, entitled En Concert, was released on October 27, 2009. The DVD was directed by Emmett Malloy.

Johnson spearheaded the K?kua Festivals (2004"2008 & 2010). Often occurring around Earth Day, these six years of festivals provided support for the K?kua Hawai'i Foundation, which is a charitable organisation that supports environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawai'i. K?kua Festival 2004/2005 was a DVD released by Jack Johnson Music that showcased the early K?kua Festivals. He also participated, with Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder and others, in the documentary K?kua 2008: 5 Years of Change (2009), produced by Brushfire and Three Foot Giant Productions and shown on Sundance Channel. On April 17, 2012, preceding his 2012 Hawaiian Islands tour, he released the live K?kua Festival compilation Best of K?kua Festival.

Johnson produced Animal Liberation Orchestra's fifth studio album, Man of the World, which was released February 9, 2010. The album also features vocals from Johnson.

2010: To the Sea

On 1 February 2010, Johnson's official website announced that his fifth studio album, To the Sea, was in the recording process at the Mango Tree Studio, with a planned worldwide release during the first week of June 2010. The website also announced an accompanying European, Australian and New Zealand tour to coincide with the album's release on midnight 31 May.

The first single from To the Sea is "You and Your Heart", released on April 6, 2010.

While speaking with New Zealand radio station ZM, Johnson said he is constantly aiming to build relationships with local pro-environment, non-profit groups. "We try to raise money for a lot of these groups who are doing positive things in the community. We try to focus mostly on environmental education, just trying to get kids out into nature, supporting local farms and things like that."

Johnson embarked on a world tour in 2010 with Paula Fuga, a Hawaiian vocalist, playing at a range of venues across the world including Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, USA and Japan.

2012 Hawaiian Islands tour - 2013 Bonnaroo - From Here to Now to You and present

On February 22, 2012, Jack with John Cruz and Paula Fuga announced a 7-show acoustic tour of the Hawai'ian Islands during April.

At the Stan Sheriff Center on April 14, 2012, during the Pillars of Peace Hawai'i: Building Peace on a Foundation of Aloha, Johnson performed introductory music before Nobel Peace Laureate Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, gave the speech "Educating the Heart". Better Together was one of several songs Jack performed.

Johnson has been working on a new album From Here to Now to You with his band set to release on September 17, 2013. His first single, to promote the album, "I Got You" was released on June 9. On Saturday, June 15, Jack and the Band performed as headliners at the 2013 Bonnaroo in Tennessee. Also, in June 2013, Jack played two acoustic concerts, one at London's Tabernacle in Notting Hill and the other at New York City's Allen Room at Lincoln Center overlooking Central Park, featuring songs from his upcoming album.

Personal life

On July 22, 2000, Johnson married his college sweetheart Kim. They have three children, two boys and a girl. Johnson lives on the North Shore of the island of Oahu in Hawaii. In an interview with Johnson, Ann Donahue from Billboard described Johnson's family life by saying "There is often trouble in balancing the life of an artist, environmentalist, and family man, but Johnson seems to have the niche for such a challenge. This time around, he's found a pace that agrees with him?bringing his family along so he can spend mornings with them sightseeing." Both Johnson and his wife refuse to talk about or release any intimate information concerning their children.

Charity

In 2008, Johnson and his wife Kim created the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation, a non-profit public charity supporting environmental, art, and music education worldwide. Jack and Kim Johnson also founded the Kokua Hawai'i Foundation in 2003. Johnson and his family work hard every year at festivals and concerts alike, to raise money for causes they feel are most important. Johnson recorded a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" for the 2007 benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, which was also included on the 2009 benefit album Rhythms del Mundo Classics. In talking about Johnson and his career choices, Rolling Stone wrote: "It is a typically generous move from Johnson, who has used his multi-platinum success to support causes he cares about." Although the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation is a non-profit organization that "focuses on environmental, arts and music education," it has raised more than $750,000 from 2009 to 2010 to give away. Johnson was in Osaka, Japan on his To The Sea 2010 World Tour at the time of the 2011 T?hoku earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan. He was in a hotel with his family when it struck. After having to postpone the rest of his tour, he donated $50,000 to GlobalGiving's Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.

On September 22, 2012 he donated his time to play a few songs at Farm Aid 2012 in Hershey,PA. Later in 2012, Jack donated $50,000 for Hurricane Sandy relief and added links on his website for others to donate:

"After years of touring and surfing along the East Coast, I have made so many great friends. It is heartbreaking to see the images and hear their stories. I just made donations to help recover and relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy. Below is a list of groups you can support. If you can't donate money, you can donate food, supplies or your time. Our East Coast family, friends and neighbors need our help. Aloha- Jack"

Band members

Johnson's band is composed of:

Jack Johnson " Vocals, guitar
Adam Topol " Drums, percussion
Merlo Podlewski " Bass
Zach Gill " Piano, percussion, background vocals

Discography

Main article: Jack Johnson discography

Studio albums

Brushfire Fairytales (2001)
On and On (2003)
In Between Dreams (2005)
Sleep Through the Static (2008)
To the Sea (2010)
From Here to Now to You (2013)

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Nice Guys Sleep Alone	Woody
2001	Out Cold	Jack Johnson and Band	Cameo

List of awards and nominations received

Award	Year	Category	Result
ESPN Film Festival	2000	Adobe Highlight Award	Won
ESPN Action, Sports & Music Awards	2001	Surfing's Music Artist of the Year	Won
ESPN Action, Sports & Music Awards	2002	Surfing's Music Artist of the Year	Won
ESPN Action, Sports & Music Awards	2005	Best Video Woodie " Live Action (Best Live Action Video)	Nominated
ESPN Action, Sports & Music Awards	2005	Road Woodie (Best Tour)	Nominated
Surfer Magazine	2000	2000 Video of the Year Award	Won
Satellite Awards	2006	Best Original Song (from movie "Curious George")	Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards Japan	2006	Best Male Video	Nominated
Meteor Ireland Music Awards	2006	Best International Male	Nominated
Grammy Awards	2006	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
Grammy Awards	2006	Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals	Nominated
ECHO Awards	2006	International Pop/Rock Male Artist of the Year	Nominated
ECHO Awards	2007	International Pop/Rock Male Artist of the Year	Nominated
ECHO Awards	2009	Best International Male Artist (Bester Kunstler International Rock/Pop)	Nominated
Brit Awards	2006	Best International Male Solo Artist	Nominated
Brit Awards	2006	International Breakthrough Artist	Won
Brit Awards	2007	Best International Male Solo Artist	Nominated
Billboard Music Awards	2011	Top Rock Album	Nominated
Billboard Music Awards	2011	Top Alternative Album	Nominated
Billboard Touring Awards	2010	Humanitarian Award	Won
ASCAP Pop Music Awards	2003	ASCAP College Vanguard Award	Won
National Wildlife Foundation (NWF)	2012	National Conservation Achievement Award in Communications	Won