SK: When did you start making music? You’ve only been releasing albums since 2002 but when did you actually start?
BA: I guess probably around 2000 was when I first started playing shows and stuff like that.
SK: Well did you write music before that?
BA: No, well I knew a lot of people that played in bands. In high school most of my friends played music but I didn’t, and then I went to university, in my first year…I guess not even my first year, maybe I was playing in the 90’s. Yeah, maybe since like ’98 or ’97, I can’t remember.
SK: Like open mics and whatnot?
BA: Yeah, I did open mics for a long time. I lived in North Bay for a little while so I played a lot of shows. There was no local bands in North Bay, so I was one of the 3 bands, and I just played guitar. I don’t even think I even really had songs, I think it was kinda like weird improv. The audience would be like, ‘sing a song about Power Rangers’ or something and I would do that.
SK: So that’s where you got influenced to do songs like you do now?
BA: Yeah, songwriting…my subject matter’s always been pretty similar for the most part.
SK: Just stuff you like and random things?
BA: Yeah, random things, and a lot of cultural reference stuff
SK: What part of your life do you write about, the relationships and stuff, because it seems like you’re writing about the past.
BA: I try to keep a lot of the BA Johnston records treading similar ground, I try to tackle all the same subjects and I try not to evolve it purposely. As far as subject matter goes, I’m really worried I’ll alienate people if I change too much, which is kind of lame but I guess that’s the way it is.
SK: So you keep half the songs on each album about relationships and half the songs about random stuff?
BA: Yeah, I’ll do relationship stuff definitely because that stuff seems to be popular, and then a lot of songs about food, and that kind of stuff. Food songs, Hamilton songs, video game songs, Peterborough songs.
SK: What differences are there with the new album (Thank You For Being A Friend)?
BA: I would think the biggest change in most of the records is that who produces them has varied over the years, so they tend to sound a little different. Subjectwise, this new record probably just has less party songs than Stairway To Hamilton did. It had more songs with the beat in the background, this record’s not as much of that.
SK: I think the new album is a lot more professional sounding than your other albums.
BA: Yeah, the guy did a really good job. I have no complaints on that end, that’s for sure.
SK: How did you get signed by Just Friends Records?
BA: Well I lived in Halifax for a while. They put on a show for me before I met them. I played in a couple of people who run the label’s garage. And then when I moved there I was putting out My Heart Is A Blinking Nintendo and I just asked if they would put it out. I mean, it really doesn’t even say all that much. They basically did the album art and put their logo on it.
SK: Why do you think …Blinking Nintendo is your most popular album?
BA: I’ve sold a lot of that record because it’s been around longer. I think Stairway To Hamilton’s probably just as good, …Blinking Nintendo’s just been out for 3 more years. I think the guitar songs are pretty good. I worked on the songs for a long time before the record came out. A lot of my records are really rushed, but on that one I got to take a lot more time, which doesn’t always happen. I was playing instruments more, like I was playing my guitar at home a lot more than I usually do. It was an inspired time.
SK: When did you start touring like you do now, for most of the year?
BA: Maybe like 2005, 2004. I think my first cross-Canada tour was in 2004. Since then it’s slowly gotten busier and busier. This year has been particularly busy, tour-wise. Compared to most bands, I tour more than they do I bet.
SK: How much time have you had off this year?
BA: I’ve had one weekend off since Labour Day. But this has been really busy because the record came out right after Labour Day so I wanted to play as many places as possible right when the record became available. This next week I have a couple more shows and then I have a month off. I think I have a week tour in January, and then in February I won’t do much. Usually September-October and March-April are my super busy periods.
SK: What are your musical influences, since everybody knows what your lyrical influences are.
BA: Probably my biggest hero in high school was a guy named Daniel Johnston who was a songwriter who I think was from Texas. I guess he’s a bit crazy but he writes these really beautiful songs, but I guess he actually is a crazy person which I didn’t realize. It’s weird to say that I’m a better musician than someone but I probably am a better musician than him, as far as technically playing guitar goes. But he writes better songs, they’re just really sweet, innocent songs, and I was really into his music when I was younger for sure.
SK: How long do you think you can keep on touring like you do?
BA: That’s a very good question. Every year I tend to say ‘this is it, I’m not going to do it anymore’. Usually I really get burned out by May, I want to kill myself in May because I’ll be on tour for most of the year, so then I’ll take May off. The last couple of years I’ve played Sappyfest in the summertime in Sackville, New Brunswick, and that kind of gets you back on track, gets you pretty inspired to do stuff. I think anytime music becomes your job you’re going to have periods where you’re really burnt out and periods where you’re kind of excited. As long as I stay interested in it, I think it’s when you feel like you’re losing momentum that’s when I find you want to stop doing it.
SK: Well, what else would you even do?
BA: Well that’s another reason why I don’t stop.
SK: You could sell hot dogs.
BA: That is probably what I thought, a hot dog restaurant.
SK: Or you could start a used car dealership.
BA: I know a lot about used cars now. I probably could do that.
SK: How many cars have you even had?
BA: Well, I’ve had a lot of cars explode, because I was buying a lot of cars or people would give me cars that would basically last one tour and they would break.
SK: You have the Previa, you have a Grand Marquis…
BA: I had a Grand Marquis, it exploded. My mom gave me a Mazda, it exploded. I bought a Tercel, it exploded.
SK: And an AMC?
BA: I have an AMC but it’s too scary to drive any real distance. It just goes to the grocery store. I mean, I’ve taken it to Peterborough to play a show and it was very scary. Basically fill up the gas and don’t stop the car. It has four wheel drive and everything, but random horrible stuff happens. It just stops working all the time.
SK: Are you comfortable with the level of popularity you have right now?
BA: Yeah, I mean, obviously I’d be happier doing better at shows but I find the most fun shows are the ones that have 100 or less people at them, because it’s easier for me to interact with the crowd and it’s probably more fun for the audience when it’s more quiet. I find the shows that are really busy, it’s sometimes hard to keep the audience’s attention.
SK: Not the ones that have like 2 people.
BA: Well when I play shows for 2 people it’s really easy because you don’t have to play for very long and if there’s only 2 people they’d be forced to watch you out of guilt because there’s no one else there.
SK: What if you suddenly became extremely popular, if one of your songs just took off?
BA: I wouldn’t hate it, just because I would want the sweet money that hopefully that would get, but I’m not holding my breath. I find I tend to do well in towns I don’t play very often, like I played Waterloo last week and there was 50-60 people at that show, so I’m quite happy with that too.
SK: Probably the college crowd.
BA: Yeah, but it’s like, I don’t know that many people in Waterloo. It’s not like I knew a lot of people in the audience. I find it’s weird to go to a town where you don’t know people, it’s mostly strangers, and then there’s a bunch of people there just to see you play. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that, how crazy that is.
SK: And strangers like you?
BA: Yeah, because when you first start playing music mostly you’re playing to your friends, and slowly over time your friends stop caring and don’t come anymore and then it’s strangers and then you realize ‘I actually have fans’ and that’s kind of a strange thought.
SK: I’ve always imagined you hosting a TV show in your basement, that seems like something you’d do, like at the beginning of your DVD.
BA: I’d love to do that, a lot of people have talked to me, saying I should do more video stuff or start trying to market myself in that way which I’d again, love to do, it’s just I have no idea how I would do it.
SK: I don’t know, just make DVDs instead of CDs.
BA: Yeah I guess that would make sense.
SK: What’s the best show you’ve ever played?
BA: I don’t know off-hand, I played a show at Sappyfest two years ago, that was pretty amazing, it was probably the busiest crowd I’ve had, there was 200-300 people, people from all over Canada that had come to the festival and they all knew all the words so that felt really really good. Most shows tend to be a lot of fun, but I couldn’t really pick out just one. I do a lot of nights that are terrible more than nights that are amazing.
SK: Usually ‘Grease Lullaby’ is the only song people know the words to, right?
BA: Oh yeah, well ‘Grease Lullaby’, people know the words to that, even places where I assume they don’t know the words. Usually I don’t sing it and then a few people will start and I’ll feel guiltily obligated to.
SK: Just because it’s the catchiest song. Keyboard or guitar, which do you prefer?
BA: I write more songs on the guitar, keyboard kind of evolved. I found a keyboard in my parent’s house under a staircase and started to write songs with that just the break up the monotony of seeing a songwriter all night with guitar. But I write most songs on guitar, I find these days if I’m going to write a keyboard song I have to go to the basement and sit down at the keyboard and say ‘I’m gonna do it’. On guitar I’ll play while I’m watching TV and I tend to write songs a lot faster with guitar. My keyboard songs are all just based on the auto-beats, and I’ve already gone through the four chord progressions available.
SK: Yeah, like ‘Squirrel Song’ and ‘Call Me Lothar’ are the same.
BA: Yeah, it’s pretty much the exact same, there’s actually many of those songs are the exact same chord progression. Sweet G-C-D, that’s the best stuff.
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