TTR This Towne Rocks with Curt Towne - Interview with Damon Johnson of Brother Cane and Lynyrd Skynyrd

Great interview with Damon Johnson of Brother Cane and Lynyrd Skynyrd!

Join Curt Towne, Freddie Oca, and Mike Cella as they sit down with Damon to talk about his incredible career and the long-awaited return of Brother Cane with their first new album in 28 years.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:06

And there she is, and there she goes. Foxy Brown, Pam Greer opening up the This Town Rocks program for another week. Good to have you with us. And this is going to be an exciting day, no question about it. Mike Sella here, Freddie Oka, Kurt Town, Mixmaster Jay. And uh Kurt will uh give uh give you an opportunity real quick to uh because this show is gonna air just before the uh Clay Fair opens up, and of course you're gonna be on stage uh with your band. That's right. Big engine, Duval County line, leading off the charge for another fair in which they're expecting somewhere between 150 and 170,000 people to show up. Not all on one day. But that would be a great day.

SPEAKER_03 0:45

As long as they show up to see the Kurt Town band, Big Engine, and Duval County line, that's fine. That's great.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Well, I was gonna say with 150 and 170,000 people, be a great day for merch.

SPEAKER_03 0:55

Man, how cool would that be?

SPEAKER_02 0:57

I need a C T B shirt.

SPEAKER_03 0:58

All right, we'll make that happen. I need one, man. I got one.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

But that's gonna be the opening day of the fair, April 2nd. And so you guys will be on stage around seven o'clock or so, and I got my tickets. I'm ready to go. So won't you won't be alone. There'll be at least one of us there. But uh yeah, you're looking forward to it. Yes, of course. Absolutely. Absolutely. Can't wait. All right. And uh Freddie, you you're all set now, you're ready to go. I know you just saw John Stamos and the Beach Boys. You're ready to go.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

A lot of uh middle-aged women were focusing their video on just the one person in the beach boys. So it was pretty good. Man, they played uh for an hour and 45 minutes. That's terrific, yeah. Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

Considering how old some of those original Beach Boys are at this point. Yes. That's great. They just love music, just love to be out there.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

I do have a question. Is are there rules about putting females on your shoulders during concerts? I'm gonna refrain from that. I'm gonna put jams on my shoulders for your concert, man. That's awesome, man. That's fair. Bring them back to the 80s, man.

SPEAKER_04 2:03

That's what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

I got so many things to say at this point in time, but I I'm not going to.

SPEAKER_02 2:09

Mike, we gotta talk to your wife. Shoulders. Get her on your shoulders. Just make sure you got uh like paramedics handing standing by. You might uh you might see me uh on the ground after that. But uh anyway, it should be a great uh time. Please uh make it if you can uh to uh give support to uh local music. That's right. We've got the Kurt Town Band, we got uh Duvall County Line, we got uh Big Engine, and uh everybody's gonna be up there on stage uh doing their thing.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

Awesome. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

Now today we've got a uh sort of a special surprise. You want to sort of break it into everybody that's listening, what you expect?

SPEAKER_03 2:40

Absolutely, it's a very special surprise. So uh reached out to my buddy Damon Johnson, and uh he is a member of Leonard Skinner, but he is also uh the founding member of Brother Kane. And so they have a new album coming out, April 17th, called Magnolia Medicine. Now, you know, for me in the early 90s, you know, you had uh, you know, the Black Crows, and of course you had Skinner and everything, but you have the the Black Crows and you had Cry of Love and Brother Kane, and those those newer bands, you know, uh man, Southern music, it was just it was great. And so uh I immediately became a fan. And then we have mutual friends and you know, all those things. But Damon Johnson's awesome. He he is a phenomenal musician. He he played guitar for Alice Cooper, which anybody who knows me knows I love Alice Cooper, right? So he played with Alice Cooper, Then Lizzie, which turned into um uh black I forgot the name, uh Black Star Yes. Yes, Black Star. I have to Black Star Writers. Black Star Writers, forgive me. I just went blank. But anyway, I was so focused on all the other things that he's done. He's you know, in Leonard Skinner, which is phenomenal. My my family, Skinner family, his Skinner family too. And he played with John Waite, then Lizzie, of course, you know. Uh so he he's he's done an amazing, amazing stuff, as well as Brother Kane. I mean, that's you know, they did great. You know, they had great albums, and uh so this is their their fourth album, and it's coming up. It's sounds killer. They have uh the same the same producer, which uh we'll talk to Damon about. But it I'm really super excited. I really appreciate the fact that that he's coming on to this town rocks, and uh it's gonna be awesome. He's a cool dude, you're gonna love him.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

And he's a talented uh music writer as well, written for uh Stevie Nicks, Carlos Santana, among others. I mean, it's fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 4:28

My goodness.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

Yeah. All right, so uh we've got him on the line standing by to uh talk with us here on this edition of uh This Town Rocks. You excited, Freddie? You ready to go? You got your questions? I cannot wait for the plethora of innovative questions that are coming this guy's way. He is a musician, so I don't know if you want to use plethora as a word. Pethera is a great word. Plethera has to be used in every show. That's such a great word.

SPEAKER_04 4:50

Pethera. Look it up, kids.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

All right, we've got a plethora of spots to play coming up as we go to commercial break, but we come back. Uh we've got Damon Johnson uh from uh Leonard Skiddard uh at this time and uh great history of uh bands and musicians that he's worked with. I can't wait uh either. So uh stay right where you are. We'll be back with more here on Clay Radio and uh This Town Rocks right after this. Hey, welcome back. This is Mike Sella, along with Freddie Oka and Kurt Town, This Town Rocks. That's right. And joining us on the line from Nashville is Damon Johnson.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

Damon, thanks so much for joining us here on This Town Rocks. We appreciate your time. And it's uh sort of an exciting time for you as well, I would imagine, with uh new record coming out and all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

There's a lot of stuff happening, fellas. Uh, I really appreciate you having me on. And uh man, I wish I had one of those great sounding studio microphones like you guys have. You sound so professional. You sound great.

SPEAKER_03 5:52

Actually, you sound fantastic. Yeah, you do.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

You sound very good, yeah. Well, thank you, Apple iPhone.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

It's not just a phone anymore. That's right. That's boy.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Didn't that's a you just said a mouthful right there, man. Good grief. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

Well, tell us a little bit about the uh the album because that's uh coming out just a couple of weeks or so, right?

SPEAKER_03 6:13

April 17th, man.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

It is hard for me to contain my excitement, my fulfillment, my love of this Brother Kane album. When this record comes out on April the 17th, it it is the first new Brother Kane album in 28 years. It is just wild. I mean, I I can't even think of a comparable situation. I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of bands that have rebooted or reformed after a long period of time and you know, made new music and put something out, but most of those aren't very good, guys. You know what I'm saying? It's like you uh you go that long without sort of getting inside that creative nucleus, and that's what I'm so so thrilled about. The songs are fantastic. Uh my longtime, you know, he's like a brother to me, Marty Frederickson. He and I co-wrote most of those songs that you heard by Brother Kane on the radio in the 90s. So uh, you know, he is he is essential to the success that we had back then. And it was just uh he and I had a great time working on this new record. And, you know, it's uh fortuitous for me that he also lives here in Nashville. So uh everything was just real simple, fellas. We had the writing, the recording, the guys in the band just crushed it. Uh the finished product is man, I'm as proud of this as anything I've ever done in my whole career, and I can't wait for you to hear.

SPEAKER_03 7:51

Well, that's that's saying a lot, man, because I tell you, I've I've heard you know the songs that have been released so far, and if this means war was the one that you know, I was like, oh yes.

SPEAKER_04 8:04

I was like, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:06

I was like, it's hitting all the marks here, man. And uh, you know, nothing to lose, and then a wolf on the mountain is you know the latest release. And um, and I and I look, I I I have all of the Brother Kane albums, and and I dug it. I was saying earlier, um, you know, in the early 90s, of course, you know, I'm a lifelong Skinner fan, you know that. And um, but you know, the uh in the early 90s, we really had the Black Crows, Cry Love, and Brother Kane. Those were my big three, man. And I was like, dude, this is great. This is right up my alley. I'm digging this. And then I caught you, uh, I believe, you know, because I don't remember a whole lot to be honest with you, but I believe I caught you guys at Shades one time, which is a club, and um, and Slick Lily, I believe, was opening up for you guys. If I struggle with Austin Hanks. And uh yeah, so uh so we you know have mutual friends there, of course, you know, our Skinnered family, and and then Dave Anderson, our our buddy Dave and Lana Anderson, you know, and so anyway, I've followed you all this time, and uh and I'm as as a fan of Brother Kane. And so I love the songwriting, love the singing, you know, I I love I love your guitar playing, I love all that stuff, and I wouldn't tell you this if I didn't honestly mean it. It's just not who I am, but uh it is great, great tunes. You hit all the marks with me, all of them. I can't wait to buy them.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Well Kurt, what a wow man, that is so beautiful of you to say that, man. Thank you so much. And uh, you know, for you to for you to group Brother Kane along with Cry of Love and the Black Crows, that's pretty incredible company. Uh, you know, we were fans of both of those bands. We have friends in those bands. So um, yeah, listen, fellas, um, I I'm just so grateful. I'm gonna use that word a lot in our discussion. So awesome. I I won't apologize for that. But um, you know, man, just so much has happened uh to me uh thanks to music. And you know, when you're a kid growing up and falling in love with bands and songs and guitar and sounds, you just don't think at that time that there's some even a some path to get you out of small town Alabama into just being able to do it and make a living, not to mention get to rub shoulders with, you know, many of your heroes and play big venues and you know, man. But you know, the brother Kane thing I'm just so ultra uh grateful for because, you know, had it not been for that little bit of success that we did have at radio in the 90s, then none of these other things that I've been able to do in the 25 years since then would have ever happened. None of them would have ever happened, guys. I wouldn't have gotten a phone call from John Wade or Alice Cooper or Ben Lizzie, and Johnny and Ricky and Gary wouldn't have called me to, you know, to step in and and play Gary's parts back in 2021. So uh, you know, Brother King clearly has changed my life. So it's an incredible moment in in my life right now that we've kind of put it back together. I I just can't believe it. I can't believe that that it's this this good and and this fulfilling. Um I'm really having fun with it.

SPEAKER_03 11:39

Man, that's that's awesome. I mean, you know, it's it's it's cool. I I have to mention your guitar tone too. You're a Les Paul fan like I am.

SPEAKER_04 11:47

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

And you got some killer les pauls, man. And uh so anyway, you know, you have you have that you know that killer 70s Les Paul tone, which I dig thoroughly, and uh and it's just it it hits all the marks. And and and the new brother cane as well, as as the early brother cane, it's very current, but it's it's very rooted. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Yeah, makes a lot of sense, Kurt. And again, and thank you for that as well, buddy. You know, the word we have used from the beginning, and I've used it throughout my career ever since, is timeless. Yeah, we just we're just attempting to create something and play something that is timeless. That's a tall order, you know. That's I don't I would never want that to sound egotistical, but you guys know what I'm talking about. When you hear a song either in your record collection or you hear something on the radio, or you hear a great band live in concert, there's a difference in something just being good, but then being timeless. You know, uh I saw the Doobie Brothers a couple of years ago, man, and it's just so timeless. Those songs, the sounds, the vocals, the way they, you know, the way they present it. And I guess, you know, that's that's been the sort of underwhelming thing for a lot of us. Uh, you know, whatever they categorize as rock music now, new rock music, it's all about the sound. You know, this this either the kit drum is really loud or the guitars are way detuned down to these low things. And like uh to me, that's just not timeless. That's uh uh it's uh I don't know, it just feels kind of trendy when you compare it to this great music that that you were just talking about, Kurt. I agree. I am shamelessly classic rock. I always have been. I I always will be, I'll never apologize for it. Uh I I love it with all my heart.

SPEAKER_03 13:57

Absolutely. And you know, the the the main thing that I've always had drilled in my head, especially from the neighborhood I grew up in, and and live by is authenticity. And it is very authentic. So so when I when I say that, I say that with all you know respect and love and admiration for the guys in my neighborhood, which you are very familiar with. And so, you know, when they're when they're telling you, man, you it has to be real and it has to be authentic, or it ain't worth nothing. And and you are definitely held to that standard as well. So I you know, I can say that's a that's a beautiful thing. That authenticity comes through, and that's important.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

That's it, that's that's as great of a compliment as I could ever get, Kurt. Thank you for that very much, man. Um you know, when when you say it like that, and I think about where you guys are down there in Jacksonville, you know, we didn't realize it when we were young kids, uh, you know, becoming obsessed with Skinner and some of the other great bands that came out in that that same era. But man, the poster child for authenticity was Ronnie Van Zandt. Absolutely. We couldn't we couldn't call it that. We didn't even maybe know what that word was at the time, but there's never been a more authentic artist, songwriter, singer, band leader than that guy right there. Um and you know, if there's some way out there in the cosmos that he's able to look down here and see what's going on, he's just got to be so proud of everyone. I agree. Everyone, the you know, the the plane crash survivors, you know, their families, you know, Johnny, everything that's happened since then, the songs that Ronnie created, man. Look, you know Kurt better than anybody, dude. He was driving that machine. I know it it wasn't an accident that those guys turned into such great guitar players, man. Ronnie made sure they became they became great.

SPEAKER_03 16:12

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

I I think that guy inspires me more right now in 2026 than he even did, you know, when I was a teenager in the late 70s. And um, you know, he's he really he he informs a lot that I'm doing right now in in ways that I could have never predicted.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

I agree completely. Hey guys, I gotta jump in and interrupt you here because we've got to take a break. Great stuff from Damon Johnson. You stay where you are, Damon, and we're gonna take a quick break, but don't go anywhere. Coming up, we will talk to Damon Moore about the soon-to-be-released album Magnolia Medicine. We'll get him to reveal his favorite cuts on the new album and what fans can expect to hear when that new music drops. Mike Sally here along with Freddie Oka and Kurt Town on This Town Rocks, and you're listening to Clay Radio, your home for the greatest hits of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and of course the stories behind them. Stay with us. We should make a gif of this.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

Come on, come on, Kurt. Come on, Kurt. I thought you were authentic.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

Oh, it's authentic. It's authentically bad, is what it is. David, I I wanted to I wanted to mention, so Kurt and I grew up across the street from each other. So we my mom went to school with uh the Skinner, uh, the Skinner band, and and so you know, you hear these songs every day. Uh I've talked about it with Kurt before. And I've never asked Kurt this, but when you guys were closing uh in Jacksonville, I was there, and I watched Kurt and his his band play, and then I watched you guys close out the show. What I'm sure it's uh like a routine thing for you guys, but like did you feel the energy come back from the Jacksonville people? Because to me, like I told Kurt my the hair on my my hair on my back of my neck stood up and the arm hair stood up. So I was just like, and y'all, y'all close the song out, and it was like four or five minutes with just a guitar, and I was just like, I looked at my wife and said, This is amazing, and uh you you you grow up with that stuff all the time, and I took it, I took it for granted a little bit, and now I appreciate it way more because I was caught in that that moment. So I I I want to get like the the aspect from you guys because it's not my word, I'm usually the DJ or I'm hosting or whatever, and so I don't get to feel what you guys feel when y'all are on stage. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Oh sure, you know, it makes a lot of sense, brother, and without a shadow of a doubt, there is a different component of energy uh in Jacksonville from that hometown crowd, you know, because now you're talking about generations of of fans, of people, you know, citizens of the community that you know, that music, those songs, uh those guitars even have defined the culture there. There's a finite number of of cities in America that can say that about any band, really. I mean, you'd have to look to like San Francisco and Grateful Dead or you know, New York City and some of the the punk and new wave bands, or I don't know. It's not Jacktonville, Leonard Skinner, they're synonymous with each other. And absolutely it was a really s extra special feeling that night. Um you know, man, I get this incredible experience, fellas, when Skinnard performs Freebird. You know, I get to start the song with that gorgeous slide guitar melody that Gary wrote. It it's one of the most timeless melodies in the history of music, any genre you want to name. I don't care. It's the m it's the most timeless piece of music ever created. And then the tempo picks up, and it's just, you know, those two guitars just getting shoved down your throat, you know, and I'm over there playing rhythm, and I get to look at the crowd, I get to look people right between the eyes, and I see that love, I see that excitement, that joy, and it's just magnified in Jacksonville, Florida, anytime Skinnard plays there. No question about it.

SPEAKER_03 20:55

Well, I I can tell you, man, I I've known Gary probably since I was four or five years old. At least that I can remember. And and so I have had the blessing and honor of being with him many, many, many times. And and I'm telling you this, you do an amazing job of you know, just being an amazing musician and and being a true fan like we all are and and being a member. You have really done an amazing job. You really have, and that and I'm you know, because you playing with a passion that you can only do and do it right. And I mean your whole band the whole band is. I mean, don't get me wrong, the entire band is, you know, and and Johnny and Ricky would have it no other way. But I'm saying this, you know, because they're family and I love them. But you are doing an amazing job. And I sincerely mean you are I it is it is awesome watching you play up there, man.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

Oh, Kurt Brother, that means listen, man, that means extra. coming from your uh because I do know that you know those guys are your family as well. You know, you just you're you're you're from there, you're of the Skinnered world. And uh you know, I I man is thank you so much for those kind words. Um it is the it is the greatest honor of my whole career, fellas. Uh it's always humbling whenever someone talks about my resume or you know when I see it in some you know my kids were always like hey dad somebody updated your Wikipedia page you know I see that stuff and I just it just it's it's not even real. It's not it's not real. That's just that's some kind of a dream uh you know but to be asked by Ricky and Johnny and Gary himself to stand in that position on that stage with that band and perform those songs those parts that Gary Rosington wrote and created um man I just sometimes I'm I'm literally at a loss for words and particularly right now Kurt talking to you with your connection to the band and that history uh yeah it's um it's a thrill you know we're uh I've got interviews this week and then uh I I guess it's this coming Monday we get on a big jet and we're flying to South America man we're taking taking this music to those folks in Brazil that you know the we've already I've already played South America once with Skinnard and uh man those people treat this music like it's gospel music yeah they do like like it's there it takes them to church literally grown men just bawling their eyes out when we're playing Tuesday's gone and simple man and uh you know if you'd have told if you'd have told 14 year old Damon Johnson that I was going to be doing this one day it's just it it it wouldn't have been possible to believe that you know so uh but yeah man you know and someone asked me about this the other day fellas and and it was a wonderful question they said hey has you being part of Skinnard's history now playing Gary's parts you know really getting inside his guitar uh creativity and his tone and just has that informed this new brother Kane record in a way question that's a great and the answer is a resounding yes um I mean I've made a bunch of really fun and fulfilling solo records over the last 20 years and you know a lot of times man when it would come time to like put guitar like solos down or things like that you know I would just go oh man I just want to play something crazy and wild and you know maybe a little technical to where some of my you know man I've got some pretty impressive uh friends you know like like Steve Lukather and my buddy Richie Faulkner from Judas Priest I mean you're talking about some of the most insane guitar players in the history of guitar so you know I'm like I'm gonna try to play something to impress those guys and you know I might spend a little time and try to figure it out that's not what happened with this Brother Kane record fellas any anytime like when we started tracking solos I just I just let the song guide the way that I would express myself with a lead guitar part and I really feel like that's what Gary and Alan and Ed and Steve did the entire history of of the Skinner dis discography. I mean I know they practiced and rehearsed a lot and kind of worked out the parts but there was no question man that the songs the lyrics the story the arrangements that was what led those guys down whatever path they took when they started performing those guitar solos so uh you're gonna hear a couple things on this record fellas you you'll you'll I I I believe it's gonna make you smile and you'll go oh yeah I I hear that well they've already I hear what he's doing I hear where he's going absolutely well I I I've I've got it pre-ordered so I'm expecting it man April 17th bless you brother thank you man yeah and I and I would say that anybody to do the same thing because you know it's it's a it's great and you got to support you know music you got to support you know real good authentic music and no better way to do that than go out there and buy the record buy the CD buy something tangible you know if you got to download download but when your phone's gone you're gonna wish you had that record or CD man that that comes out before record store we're gonna put out of it man that's what I'm talking about. Yeah Freddie's got his own shop and uh oh that's awesome yeah that's awesome folks so damn the big list I'm sorry go ahead I'm sorry to interrupt you man I was just gonna say shameless promo send all your send all your listeners to brotherkane.com they can uh man we've got so many wonderful things that the fans can can uh can shop from uh we've got multiple variants of the vinyl you know they can get the C D there's all these bundles I'm man I do have an amazing little team that that's helping me with all of this and uh you know it's just for fun is it's as fun for me as I believe it is for some of the fans you know that's awesome I get to see some of this new content and I just go oh wow that looks incredible Damon you said a uh a key word in my my community you said variance yeah variants Kurt's album is orange that's right and I'm curious to what variants we have here for you sir yeah listen man we've got um I'm a fan of like that big fat thick 180 vinyl oh yeah so the you know the the black vinyl is that 180 gram but the album artwork for our our new record magnolia medicine is one of the most gorgeous pieces of of art uh certainly of any record I've ever been a part of and so there is a gold variant that matches that gorgeous magnolia tree on the album cover and then the other variant I've seen fellas is this splatter that is just mind blowing it's just mind blowing again it it matches the theme of of you know the artwork itself and man I can't believe it's happening it's just it's incredible that that uh you know again the my manager uh Kevin a couple of the guys that he works with in his office they're just vinyl nerds and you're talking to one of them you know well yeah god bless all of you man it's like um you know they were like well what do you think and I'm like guys that's your department you know I I need you to like I I want you to to to carry the ball on that so they sent me an email one day with like these you know kind of like uh like mock-ups like this is what it's gonna look like and I was like what that's incredible yes yes yes yes hey hey Damon uh I bet you didn't think that uh you'd you'd be putting out another vinyl album at some point right I mean it seems like we've gone full circle in the music business that everybody really appreciates the vinyl and is looking for the old ones and looking for more and more artists to do new ones and uh listen fellas I love it extra for for one important reason and that is uh in the 90s so brother cane we were signed to Virgin Records which is a major record record company um you know in the 90s the vinyl resurgence hadn't really happened but they would put out vinyl on some of their bigger bigger acts and on Virgin Records at the same time we were were some bands you may have heard of before like the Rolling Stones you ever heard of them vaguely Janet Jackson Lenny Kravitz the Smashing Pumpkins uh some fella named David Bowie you know all those guys they put out vinyl of of their records and we were you know we were such a a much smaller band we never quite moved the needle enough to to justify that so man it's extra fun for me fellas that's great you know we just uh we did a reissue of our debut record uh that came out a couple of years ago that was super fun and uh there was no way we weren't gonna put out this magnolia medicine awesome uh without without doing a vinyl hey damon hold on for just a moment we've got to take a quick timeout you are listening to this town rocks our special guest today Damon Johnson guitar player for Leonard Skinnard and brother Kane and Damon is live on the phone with us from Nashville and we do have one more segment with him coming up so stay with us it's Hometown Radio Clay Radio coming at you a special edition of This Town Rocks and that's the theme song for This Town Rocks Lord have mercy Lord have mercy did you know Kurt's a big wrestling fan oh yeah I didn't know that's probably better that way he does an impression of uh death the roads the American dream American dream death the roads he takes that out of the closet whenever so those notable you know jacket uh quotes that he had come up with you for uh they were all gone now to the rest of the uh hey thanks for joining us uh here on this town rocks uh very special guest in uh Damon Johnson joining us today of course uh we got Freddie Oka Kurt Town Mike Sella we got mixed master J John Arnst on the board here today and uh uh Damon's been talking about their uh new album coming out uh April 17th Magnolia Medicine uh first uh brother Kane album in 28 years boy folks are uh uh really gonna eat that thing up no question about it uh Damon you were talking all about the the new um the new album you got favorite cuts on that album you know does a musician after you do it do the album do you say yeah that that that's the one I really liked on that earlier I've got to tell you straight man I've I've I've been doing a few interviews and I've been dreading someone asking me that let's pretend I didn't ask who's your favorite child Damon who's your favorite child am I you can see a coach this is the first yeah I um we're the first in something that's good thing fellas every you know look I've made a few records in the course of my 35 years in this business and there always comes a time like once it's mastered you know mixed and mastered then I enjoy listening to it myself I can kind of separate myself from the writing and the work and then just listen as a fan and be like wow this sounds great and listen to that drum feel that Jared played or that's a cool guitar part that Tony added to this song whatever. And then you reach a point where you go all right I've I've listened to this I'm ready to move on to something else and typically that usually happens at the most like after two or three months and I'm I'm off to the next thing guys I've been sitting on this record for a year now and it's still the most played thing in my car. My kids are giving me a hard time like dad dad what's wrong what's wrong with you who who spends all this time writing and recording something and then just listens to it constantly like aren't you sick of it because we're sick of it dad that's great. Yeah man and look it's a testament to the songs never have I written lyrics to songs that I am uh more connected or or just inspired by and I I do think there was some sort of like next level creativity. I I don't even know how to describe it fellas but you know when I when I just read the the printed word on the page now I I've just never been more fulfilled and felt like hey man here's some things that I wanted to say or some things I wanted to cover that I'm going through or have experienced or a conversation I had with someone else and I just feel like yeah I really captured that feeling that event in in the way that I want to um the short answer to your question do I have some favorites I I absolutely do. You know Kurt mentioned if this means war it's just such a wonderful powerful album opener uh I wrote that with a longtime friend of mine from Birmingham Milton Davis he uh he uh showed up with that riff one day and I was like are you telling me I can use this this is so amazing yeah and uh that turned out fantastic the other single uh I think Kurt mentioned as well Nothing to lose it's like a hard rock Tom Petty song fellas it's three three minutes of just hook after hook after hook a wonderful lyric uh really about my girl and me uh I love it so much that newest song that just came out last week that Kurt mentioned The Wolf on the Mountain I have an emotional connection to that song the lyric is addressing my family's history with mental illness uh it's been part of our kind of our family story for generations and um yeah it's a little dark it's a little haunting uh but for me it's kind of cleansing so uh to have this piece of music that I can perform with my friends in my band that kind of is food for my soul uh I mean what's what's the greater purpose of music than that really uh I can't overstate how special that song is to me and then uh you know man once you hear this song fellas it's a song I wrote in tribute to our brother Gary Rosington called Prince Charming oh man I don't even know how to it's hard to it's hard to know where to start uh the edited version is the song came to me in one fully completed piece I never picked up a pen I didn't even record it into my phone it just arrived all of it the title the melody the lyrics the story and um I didn't even really know what I was ever going to do with it I wrote it the day after Gary's funeral in March of 2023. And I figured maybe at some point you know if Johnny or Ricky were working on new music I might play it for them to see if they wanted to work on it or I just didn't know. So when I'm writing these songs for this new brother Kane record I was at Marty's house one night and I just said hey man let me play you something and I just picked up picked up the guitar and uh when I finished I just said hey man is is that a brother Kane song should we put that on the record he goes man there's no way we're not putting that on the record he goes that's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard and that made me feel great Kurt because you know Marty kind of taught me how to write songs. I when we first met back in the early 90s I was still just a guitar player. I had just stepped in behind the microphone and needed to hustle to come up with some good songs or making you know my best attempt to try to be authentic uh and Marty really helped me with that. So for him to react to Prince Charming the way that he did is uh I'll I'll always cherish that memory and and then you know to have brother Johnny Van Zant come in and and duet with me. Yeah uh Ricky Medlock plays some gorgeous slide guitar in the verses and then the cherry on top is Carol Chase and Stacy Michelle saying all the background vocals. Guys it's uh when you hear it you're just gonna shake your head you're just gonna go I can't wait. Yeah man it's like a it's it's almost like a hymn it's like a gospel song it's just that song is going to outlive me it's gonna outlive any of us and Brother Kane for sure it's uh I couldn't be more proud I can't I can't wait to hear it I cannot wait to hear it and I'm I'm super excited I remember Johnny telling me that that he was gonna go and and do a do a track or something and I was like oh man that sounds cool but you know I can't wait to hear it.

SPEAKER_01 39:29

Music is therapy man I mean you you guys that create this music and and and write the music and then play it in live concerts and I don't think you guys realize the therapy music is therapy for everybody. It's a healing process it's an anger process it's a it's just uh all these emotions involved and it means a lot to a lot of people that I don't know if you guys get the aspect like it's like I don't know I'm talking to you right now like I'm feeling I feel it like I'm like man it's just you guys are like therapy for everybody.

SPEAKER_00 39:58

Well well you know the thing about it is it's just that connecting energy the music and and everybody feeds off of each other you know and the energy and and and the love in the room and so uh you know like when we're opening for Skinner our job is to just bring that energy and just you know I mean I'm fighting you know you see me I'm fighting I'm like get up get up I want I'm the big cheerleader and then when Skinner comes out they blow the roof off the place and that's that's my job and uh and you get that energy and you get you know that connecting eye connecting with people and looking them straight in the eye and and seeing you know hey I I'm in that audience a lot I've been in that audience a whole bunch you know so it's it's an amazing it's an amazing feeling I I'll say that's well that's it yeah man listen that's that's beautifully said and it you know I kind of had two thoughts there it's like the live performance component that in itself is therapy certainly for the audience you know it gives them a chance to forget about work and forget about whatever struggles they may be having maybe they've come with family maybe they've come with friends but that live experience is singular you know it there's never going to be a moment like this moment right now in this city in this venue with this group of people it won't ever be repeated so it is yeah thoroughly unique and to the other point you made about you know I do know that music is therapy for the listeners and for the fans like listening to a a great record or a great song because it's it's been that for me my whole life since I was a kid.

SPEAKER_01 41:37

Right.

SPEAKER_00 41:38

So fellas I'm such a huge fan of one of our finest American singer songwriters Jason Isbel and Jason said in an interview once he said listen I I write these songs as therapy for me it helps me make sense of the world and I've never felt more strongly about that specific concept than these songs on this Magnolia Medicine Brother Kane record. You know whatever I'm dealing with or wrestling with or hoping will improve or or if it's something I want to celebrate I've just gotten a lot lot better at putting that into a song coming up with a melody to sing vocally a guitar whiff or a chord progression to play around it it's never been more fun I guess is the right word to to write those songs man just sit there cup of coffee pan and paper acoustic guitar all right man let me see if I can work this out let me see if I can get this this weighing heavy on my heart let me see if I can work this out with this guitar in my hand yeah man so so awesome so so incredible I you know again I I can't wait I you know I had so many questions I wanted to ask you but uh you know maybe maybe if you'll come back sometime and we can we can do another interview I I can't wait to extend it. Oh guys listen I would be thrilled to I I I love what you're what you're doing and uh just the energy between the group of you man I can tell you guys are it's it's a lot of fun for you to do this and uh you know again man it's a it's a thrill for me and I'm I'm honored to be to be on the show.

SPEAKER_02 43:35

All right that's gonna wrap it up for us tonight and a very big thank you once again to our special guest Damon Johnson. Really appreciate you taking the time to join us Damon and we're holding you to it you said you'd come back anytime we'll definitely be calling best of luck with the new album Magnolia Medicine. We know it's gonna be a big one for you. Also want to thank our crew Mixmaster J, Freddy Oka, Kurt Town, for another great show and speaking of Freddy, don't Forget, he's got a brand new show right here on Clay Radio. It's called Throwback Tracks, airing Saturday and Sunday nights at 8, produced by our very own John Ernst. If you love the 80s, you're gonna love this show, so make sure you tune in. And hey, the Clay County Fair is almost here. You've got just one week left to grab those tickets for opening night. Come out and see the Kurt Town Band, Big Engine, Duval County line, kicking things off inside the big Cattleman's arena. Hey, I'm Mike Sella. Thanks so much for tuning in. We appreciate it. We appreciate the support. Remember, you're listening to Clay Radio, and this town rocks.