In 1999, laid-back rapper G. Love gave laid-back surfer-singer Jack Johnson his first break: He included Johnson’s track “Rodeo Clowns” on the G. Love and Special Sauce album “Philadelphonic.”
Five years later, Johnson is returning the favor, releasing Love’s latest disc, “The Hustle,” on his own label, Brushfire Records, and taking Love on the road for a tour, which stopped Tuesday at the Aragon Ballroom.
But Johnson isn’t about keeping score. “Really, it’s as much a favor to me,” he said. “It’s a chance for me to hang out with my friends. It’s fun for everybody.”
Also on the tour is fellow Brushfire artist Donavon Frankenreiter, another pal whose album boasts guest spots from, yes, Johnson and Love.
Indeed, it’s one big, happy, hippie family for Johnson and friends. And it’s that laid-back sense of community that turned Johnson into a surprising, beneath-the-radar success.
The Hawaii native, who took to surfing as a toddler, eventually decided to make films about his beloved sport rather than attempting a career as a pro surfer. On the side, he wrote simple acoustic tunes based in the blues and reggae–songs to sing around the campfire each night–to accompany the surfing films.
Tapes of Johnson’s music began circulating among surfers worldwide. After Love’s “Rodeo Clowns” became a minor hit, Johnson found he had a career as a musical performer.
In 2001, Johnson released his breezy debut, “Brushfire Fairytales,” which went on to top 1 million in sales. By the time of last year’s follow-up “On and On,” Johnson had formed his own label, distributed by Universal, and started signing his buddies.
“I never dreamed of being a record-label guy–it just sort of worked out that way,” Johnson said.
“It’s all just run by a group of friends. We have total control over the whole creative side of things, and Universal just distributes what we give them. And on the promotion side, it’s really easy. It’s just us going out and touring, getting our crew together and goofing off.”
After the current tour wraps up, Johnson plans to start recording his third studio album, due for release in the spring.
Johnson also will continue to work on music for the big-screen version of “Curious George,” due in 2006. In a bid to stay true to the spirit of the books, the film will be animated by hand–as opposed to computer–and stars Will Ferrell as the voice of the Man in the Yellow Hat. Since Curious George doesn’t speak, Johnson’s songs will act as the monkey’s de facto voice.
“It’s a challenge, because I’ve never had success sitting down and trying to write a song,” Johnson said. “It’s always just been more of a natural thing for me. But this is a fun challenge, and since it’s a kids’ film, that makes it easier.”
It helps, too, that Johnson has a 6-month-old son who provides plenty of inspiration.
“Oh, man, I love hanging out with him,” Johnson said. “He loves music. I put drumsticks in his hands and he sits there, pounding on drums. I love to sit around and play goofy little kid songs for him.”
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
