Chris Johnson is a long time songwriter and lover of guitars. He came to the studio for a chat with his custom-made acoustic guitar built from exclusively Australian timber that he once wrote a book about!
Chris has been writing songs since he was in primary school in Brisbane and has always been keen to perform his songs for others.
It usually takes an idea to kick off the songwriting process and then he usually develops lyrics and music at the same time. Chris likes to tell a story through his songs but keep the music simple.
We discussed Chris's song "Seven Seas" written at a time when his family was away for an extended period and he was missing his daughter. As he wrote the song it morphed into a broader idea about missing people and he finds that people he performs it to often can relate it to their own circumstances. Chris is constantly amazed by how audiences have a range of different interpretations of the meanings of his songs.
Chris related the story of recording Seven Seas in the studio and how the contributing musicians added their own influences to the final mix. Chris played a wonderful solo acoustic version of Seven Seas in the studio which transported me to many far-away places!
Songwriting has been a great friend to Chris and his advice to new songwriters - believe in yourself and give it a go! Also, when you get a musical or lyrical idea, write it down or it'll be lost!
For more of Chris's music with his collaborator Artem Grigoriev in Canberra "outlaw country" duo Capo Creek: https://capocreek.bandcamp.com/album/running-out