Jack Johnson plays LIVE and talks to Chris Evans about his new record

Virgin Radio

22 Jun 2023, 13:16

Music legend Jack Johnson joined The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch to play a few tunes, and to chat about his new remix album.

The singer-songwriter is playing a second sold-out night at London’s Hammersmith Apollo this evening. Speaking about last night’s performance, he said: “That was one of the funnest gigs we've had in a long time.”

The artist added: “It was just fun to be inside a theatre. We've been doing a lot of festivals outdoors and it feels like the afternoon because the sun sets so late, and I'm so happy to be inside of a theatre again.”

While at Virgin Radio, Jack played Better Together from his third album.

Jack’s new remix record, In Between Dub, was released earlier this month and is a collection of some of his favourite songs from his career, remixed by some of Reggae’s most influential names, including Lee Scratch Perry.

On sending songs to the Jamaican record producer to remix, Jack told Chris: “We just sent him three songs and said, ‘Pick whichever one you like the best’ and he sent all three back. It was sweet and I got to talk to him, and it was great. He was all the way in Jamaica and I was in Hawaii so we only got to talk on FaceTime, but it was really surreal. He's definitely an inspiration.” 

He added: “He sent these songs back and then he passed away, and it was so sad. We had the songs and, based around those ones, we did a whole record.” 

On Friday (23rd June) Jack is playing a sold-out gig at the Eden Sessions in Cornwall and on Sunday he will be at On the Mount at Wasing in Berkshire. He then continues his Meet the Moonlight tour throughout the summer across Europe. He told Chris: “We just opened for Bruce Springsteen a couple of nights ago. It was really fun, at a festival.” 

He clarified: “We were on the bill. I'm exaggerating again! We played first and then Simply Red and then Bruce Springsteen.” 

Talking about playing his first shows, back in the day, when he was travelling the world making surf films, he explained: “There'd always be some kids in the line-up. I mean, I was just a kid at the time, too, but people in their 20s were like, ‘Hey, would you come over to my house and I'll get my friends to come over and you can do a little show?’ So, I used to play these little living room shows, like anywhere I had a little surf culture. I could fill a living room.

“I'd play a bunch and then I’d pass the guitar around the room. Everybody would play their songs. 

Jack grew up in Hawaii and was formerly a professional surfer. Speaking more about making the move from being a filmmaker to a musician, he explained: “I’d been to Australia so many times, we made a lot of surf movies down there. And every time we'd enter, I'd write down ‘student’, because we didn't have any permits to shoot or anything and I was trying to get all this film in, I had a whole bag full of it. So when we go through, they’d always say ‘What's all this for?’ and we'd always say we're students making a student film. 

“And then there's one time I was going in, and I think I might have even written the ‘s’ down and I was like, ‘Wait a second, we're going in for a festival. I’ve got no camera with me or anything’. And so I wrote down ‘musician’, and I stalled halfway through just thinking, ‘Am I really gonna write this?’ And it was like the moment I always think about, where I committed and I’m like, ‘I guess I'm a musician now’.”

Jack lives on the North Shore of the island of Oahu in Hawaii with his wife Kim and their three children. Speaking to Chris about his parenting philosophy, he said: “I just encourage them to try to produce more than they consume. You know, with all the social media stuff, I'm always just telling them ‘Just try to make stuff’, like, draw pictures and make little animations and write songs. It's okay to consume. It's all the source, like you’re taking things from the source, and then you've got to put back out.” 

In Between Dub is out now. For tickets to Jack’s Meet The Moonlight tour visit jackjohnsonmusic.com.

For more great interviews listen to  The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or catch up on-demand here.