Brandon Faust | Ritz Section Manager

4/05/02

On my vacation to O'ahu this past spring break, a good friend of mine there told me that I should listen to this guy named Jack Johnson. "He's really good," he said.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear a name like this is some beer-bellied redneck that plays the banjo and harmonica, at the same time, while singing about taking out the garbage and buying double-wides. But the truth is this Jack Johnson is a smooth cat island boy that can play the guitar like a mothertrucking riot. His debut album, Brushfire Fairytales, is one of the greatest I've heard in a while. The man has definitely got some flavor.

Born in Haleiwa, home of the infamous North Shore, Jack loves to surf and get down on the acoustic guitar. Most of his songs are influenced by his travels and experiences on the shore. You can tell, too. Listening to his tracks make you want to go out and cruise into the sunset, or go out and have a good ol' picnic with the gang. His music is so smooth, kicked back, and low-key, it simply gets under your skin in an instance.

Songs like, "Inaudible Melodies" and "Sexy Plexi" are acoustic groove masterpieces. Jack can sing y'all. His obvious influences seem to go back to something like Taj Mahal, Ben Harper (definitely), and maybe even Sublime. I'd say there is even a touch of Everlast in his music as well. You'll totally feel reborn after listening to "F-stop Blues." I can't place a definite description on that song. "The News" has a great bedtime story feel to it, and "Mudfootball" reminds you of the days when you were completely careless, not a worry in the world.

Every single track on Brushfire Fairytales is wonderful. There is no way you can resist singing at the top of your lungs after pressing the play button on this one. I'm glad I found this Jack's music and I'm looking forward to any future material, of course. The sad thing is that this album has been out for a whole year, and I'm just now discovering it. So do as I did, and don't wait any longer to hear this guy. You won't regret it.