Jack Johnson - Live iTunes Festival 9-16-2013 London

Jack Johnson introduced many of his new songs to the world via the Internet and the iTunes Festival App.  Playing on, Monday, September 16th to a packed crowd at The Roundhouse in the Camden area of London.

He came out and played a few solo acoustic songs telling the story of how he locked his bike to his now wives bike so that he could meet her.  This song Do You Remember started it off then going into a story about there being a hail storm in London and went into I Got You from the new album.  He then jumped into a story about how he was asked by a reality tv show to use one of his songs and didn't find that to be a good idea and jumped into Good People.

Shortly after he brought the band out to sing a mix of songs from new to old.  Zach parked himself on the right side with his piano, keys and glockenspiel dancing around during the songs having a good old time.

People were yelling requests but Jack said he couldn't hear them or that he would get to it.  Switching between acoustic and electric through out, we got a mix of fun songs like Bubbletoes, Flake & Bannana Pancakes.  Merlo rapped out as JRadio during Staple It Together.

Mixing up verses and various lyrics throughout, Jack adapted as he went along and made it seem like it was just a part of the show.  He also brought out the opening band Bahamas to play a few tunes.

Overall a really fun night of music that you can rewatch on demand through the iTunes Festival App.

Jack has a new album out this week, you can pick it on iTunes, Amazon or at http://jackjohnsonmusic.com/ 

Setlist:

Do You Remember

I Got You

Good People

Washing Dishes

Taylor

Sitting Waiting Wishing

Flake

Shot Reverse Shot

Fortunate Fool

Radiate

Bubble Toes

Wasting Time

Don’t Believe A Thing I Say

Banana Pancakes

Tape Deck

Staple It Together

At or With Me

Encore:

Gone

Ones And Zeros

Angel/ Better Together

Home

Jack Johnson - From Here Now To You - Album Review

Jack Johnson puts out his first studio album in 3 years following up To The Sea.  In similar fashion Jack mixes both acoustic and electric guitars into this album.

The album brings back the usual suspects Adam Topol, Merlo Podlewski and Zach Gill to create another amazing album with a great mix of catchy lyrics tied to a compliment of great music.

Jack really likes to tell fun stories through his songs, some a little darker and some about love for his wife and others about silly things his kids do, that spark songs out of him.

At first listen there are a lot of similar tunes to the style of To The Sea, but nothing wrong with that at all.  I Got You was the first single release, a good fun tune.  Shot Reverse Shot is a catchy tune with a nice beat.   Those who listen to a lot of Jack will recognize the song Home as he's played it on the En Concert album and DVD.

Another fine piece of work by Jack and crew.  They will be heading out on a tour, hopefully we will get the opportunity to see him here in Kansas City again like on the last two tours.

Track List:

1.  I Got You 2:59

2.  Washing Dishes 3:23

3.  Shot Reverse Shot 3:10

4.  Never Fade 4:02

5.  Tape Deck 3:21

6.  Don't Believe A Thing I Say 3:14

7.  As I Was Saying 3:45

8.  You Remind Me Of You 2:24

9.  Radiate 4:15

10.  Ones and Zeros 4:27

11.  Change 3:14

12.  Home 3:02

Jack Johnson - To The Sea Review

It's nice to hear Jack back with a new Cd and one filled with a little more flavor and a few songs about something he knows so well, the sea. I know Jack originally said he wasn't going to write about the ocean, but why not use the thing you know well to write about. It's been a crazy year for Jack, losing his father and having a new daughter born. This is always a recipe for putting together the music Jack writes. Some upbeat and happy and others down and sad, but they always mix well together for him. Recorded once again between Mango Tree in Hawaii and Solar Powered Plastic Plant in LA, this CD was made with 100% solar energy.

The first single to be release, "You and Your Heart" has a little more upbeat backing music and once again brings out the electric guitar we started hearing on the last "Sleep Through The Static". "To The Sea" is a nice funky tune that has a classic sound and really rips through some nice beats at the end being filled in with some strong guitar, drums bass and piano complimenting each other. Right now one of my two favorite songs on the CD. "No Good With Faces" brings us into a more mellow acoustic sound we are used to hearing.

"At Or With Me" starts with Zach on piano and kicks into a good rockin' song that is really jazzed up with electric guitar, strong drum beats and some good keys going on. Overall sounds like a cross between a Beach Boys, Beatles type with some classic rock style. I love the solo section/jam on this one. I heard him play this live the other day and loved it. This one sounds like G. Love maybe playing with him from the style. I love this tune, a lot of fun.

"When I Look Up" starts with some rain and acoustic guitar and then brings some background singing with Paula Fuga that adds a really nice taste. It's a quick one but a good one. "From The Clouds" brings it back up and sounds so much like a classic beach rock song you would imagine being played by a band in front of a big fire at the beach with all the women dancing around the beach. This is a really fun song and has a wonderful beat to it. I dig it for sure.

"My Little Girl" is a short and sweet song with Jack and his guitar. I imagine this is probably all about his daughter and his quite a nice little one. If it's not, it sure seems like it would be when they say "You stole my heart and made it your own" very sweet. "Turn Your Love" has a nice beat with some back singing by Paula Fuga again. One it starts off it starts to sound a little like a Sublime beat, but Jack takes it further and adds to the guitar with the backing vocals and the piano.
"The Upsetter" starts out with a nice little funk, Shaft beat and then the guitar kicks in and as it starts it really rolls along with a nice vibe with a sound very similar to what we have heard from Jack before. It has a nice little mellow jam to it with some hand drumming, cool guitar work and overall just a nice tune to hear. "Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology" kicks off with some harmonica and piano ready to jazz it up. Nice acoustic guitar with Jack jumping in and then as the harmonica plays, Zach joins in the harmonies and sings along. Good jamming and quite fun to hear.

"Pictures Of People Taking Pictures" seems like a title of a song Jack would write as he comes up with some interesting titles at times. This is a nice song tune with good beats, sounding pretty much acoustic outside of Merlo's bass. Song flows along really nicely and is just another good one to compliment this CD. "Anything But The Truth" would be one of those songs you would see Jack just sitting in a chair on the beach with his guitar, plucking away with a little message of the sea as well as other nature descriptions. Soft, mellow type tune that rolls along nicely and is is classic Jack.

"Only The Ocean" finished off the thirteen song cd with some nice classic guitar work and has that beach vibe again to it. Something you would slow dance at the end of the night or hear at the end of some romantic type film. Reminds me of a 50's rock style ballad song.

Jack hit one out of the park again with this CD. I have listened to "To The Sea" five times so far as I write this and I really like the whole thing from end to end. there isn't a single song that doesn't fit on it at all. I saw jack perform 05-24-2010 at Santa Monica Pier and really hoped to hear a couple more songs live, but was really happy with the selection of music he did chose to play. I look forward to seeing him August 16th at Sandstone in Bonner Springs, KS. It will be a fun night with my wife and two little ones to sit out under the stars and enjoy.

Track Listing:

01. You and Your Heart

02. To The Sea

03. No Good With Faces

04. At or With Me

05. When I Look Up

06. From The Clouds

07. My Little Girl

08. Turn Your Love

09. The Upsetter

10. Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology

11. Pictures of People Taking Pictures

12. Anything But The Truth

13. Only The Ocean

Dave's Top 10 Cds of 2008

So here is my list of my top 10 cds that were released in 2008. This will include deluxe reissues and live music releases as well as studio recordings. You can think what you want, that's your deal. This is what I like, so let's beging:

1. The Heavy Circles - Self Titled This is Edie Brickell and Harper Simon collaberating efforts along with a pretty strong cast of characters like Money Mark, Sean Lennon, Martha Wainwright and Yuka Honda. This CD came out early in 2008 and really didn't have a lot of press around it and no tour at all, but to me it's one of my favorite of the year. I might be a little biased being an Edie fan, but still I think that they did an amazing job of putting this one together. There is a really nice mix of music styles throughout the CD and with Edie on vocals it all comes together nicely. It shows that between Edie's ability to write songs and Harpers ability to add and mix the music they sure came up with a winner. Although you won't see this on many of the big media top 10's it really deserves to be there.

2. Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static In a little different fasion Jack Johnson added some electric guitar to the music and recorded this whole cd all on solar power. On his tour he even created a Green Village to promote the 3R's - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. There were also other things there like Vote the Environment and Just getting folks to register to vote in general. This CD again was an early 2008 release and has some great songs on it. Jack tells some funny stories on how some of the material was written, but the songs are fantastic. Jack has an amazing voice and can put together some cool lyrics togehter making up one of my favorite cds.

3. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinalology Ryan has been really adding a lot to his creativity this year. He spent a good amopunt of time out on the road playing and released this CD along with a new book called Infinity Blues. I wasn't sure after hearing Fix It that I would like the direction Ryan was going with this new CD, but after hearing the rest, he has an amazing new CD on his hands and I would certainly recommend going out and getting this one. You can't go wrong, there's a bit of the softer side of Ryan as well as some more Alt Country songs on this. Some of the highlights on this one are Born Into The Light, Cobwebs and Natural Ghost.

4. Zach Gill - StuffZach Gill released his first solo CD after working on the last couple Jack Johnson CDs as well as the two with his original band ALO. This to me was one of the best CDS of the year because it really has a good mix of styles that all compliment Zach's soulful voice. He hits some reggae as well as some blues and many more. Call it pop or call it what you like, but Zach is really talented and this was certainly a gem of 2008. Zach recently was out on a solo tour and will be finishing off the year on tour with ALO doing a bunch of West Coast shows together. In the summer he plays with Jack Johnson, so he is pretty much busy all year long.


5. Neil Young - Sugar MountainClassic old Neil Young playing solo acoustic to me is him at his best. this was recently released and has a bit of a hiss in the recording, but for a 40 year old show that took place right before his first solo album was released, it's a pretty cool show to hear. He does a lot of talking between songs telling funny stories. Great tunes, this one is a must for the Neil Young fans out there.


6. Kings of Leon - Only By The NightI wasn't a fan of Kings of Leon when I first saw them live opening for U2, but I think this new CD really grew on my. It really, to me, isn't a hard rock CD, but it certainly has a nice selections of different songs. For their 3rd release I think they have made it passed the sophomore slump and continue to produce some rally good music. I reall y have enjoyed listening to this one.


7. Coldplay - Viva La VidaColdplay has been a band that I have really liked over the years. You can certainly tell that this CD took a lot of thought, time and effort to produce. It wasn't a throw out 10 songs and let's make a few million. there's some heart put into these recordings. Now they are being sued over one song and so maybe it was stolen or maybe an idea came to Chris Martin based off another song. Either way it will get worked out. They are fantastic in live performance as well as in studio recordings. This is a great one to have from 2008.


8. Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old SunI wasn't really sure at all about Brian Wilson coming out with a new CD after the remake or finishing of Smile. But I have to say he really did a fantastic job of capturing that same old sound from 40 years ago and he still sounds pretty good as he mixes it all together. As a single voice, I don't think he's the best performer, but with the musically talent of puttiong the whole thing together, this was a real winner for me this year.

9. The Verve - FourthAfter a long hiatus from the music scene or at least the American music scene, The Verve exploded back with their fourth cd titled Fourth. Can't go wrong with that title. The songs are great and Richard Ashcroft really put it together with the band on this one. I don't know how well it has done, but it's one that is certainly worth a listen. They promoted it by releasing a few sessions and other things and then went out and played a bunch of festivals in Europe. I'm glad to hear them back making music.

10. The Racontuers - Consolers of the LonelyNot much in the way of advertising or promoting initially for this CD. It sort of just showed up and that was that. They did tour the US and Europe in support and eventually started to get some play time for this CD. I like the beat and I like all the stuff Jack White has done with these guys. This second release is as good as the first and I have to say that they show a wide range of talent as a band. I have yet to see them live, but have heard them live on NPR as well as other live downloads. Can't wait to see them live as they really have a great sound.

Honorable Mention: Vampire Weekend - Self titledThe debut cd for this college band really hit the charts and fits right into that Panic at The Disco style of music, not sure exactly what it's called. I have to say that on the downside, I have not heard many good things about their live performances. I have heard they play about a 45 minute show of just their CD tunes and really don't stray. So for me the question is how did they produce such a great first time CD? Will we see them for a second and will it be good or did they just happen to strike the right chord in 2008. Let's see what 2009 brings us.


Honorable Mention: David Byrne & Bryan Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen TodayI had to add this one because as hard as it was to choose a top 10 of 2008 because there were some really good things that came out, but David Byrne and Brian Eno put together this fantastic collection of songs. I haven't seen this one stick around on any charts, but it really is a classic and will be one people will be pulling out and having a listen to for many years to come. Both Byrne and Eno are so talented and together they are amazing.

There are many more I could have added including Lucinda Williams, The Roots, Ra Ra Riot, Nine Ince Nails, Conor Oberst, Old Crow Medicine Show, Old 97's, but I really picked the best as well as I could from my opinion. There's a lot of people that would say I missed the mark or whatever, but to me this was a good year of music and so many to choose from and only 10 plus spots to fill. I may change my mind over the next couple of weeks, but my top ones won't be going anywhere. Edie Brickell was fantastic in her new adventure, Ryan Adams is amazing as always and Jack Johnson is a just superb.

Please feel free to comment and add what you like, I'm always open to suggestions of new or different styles of music.

Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The Static Remixed

Just released on iTunes, Jack Johnson has put out a collection of 7 songs that have been remixed by other artists. He has also added 3 videos as part of the collection for $7.99. An if you're a fan you will need to click on the link and download Enemy remixed by Worst Friends Free Download to finish off the collection or go to Jack's website and get it yourself at http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/home.

The first remix is Hope and it's remixed by Nightmares on Wax. Pretty interesting mix, that sort of slows the song up and gives it a little bit of a dub feel or something like that. It's about 5 minutes and keeps a good beat through it. I like the style they did it in. as I said it slows it down so it's not as upbeat, but adding it's a pretty neat mix.

Losing Keys is remixed by Katalyst. Katalyst takes a very mellow song and starts it up more upbeat with some horn work, kind of a funky little beat. Certainly a completely different style than Jack mixed it himself. I really like this version almost more than I like Jack's way of doing it.

Money Mark takes Monsoon and adds some keys and a little maybe Hammond to it. He slows it down but is adding more of a funky beat as well. Maybe this is Money Marks way of trying to get in to replace Zach on keys, just kidding. Actually, this is a nice little change to the song. I’ve got to say I still like the original on this one better, but this is a cool version.

Angel is remixed by Kid Koala. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting on this one. I for some reason was thinking that Kid Koala was going to but in some more hip hop type beats. Not sure why, just thought maybe his usual stuff was in that line as he’s worked with a lot of those types of artists. Starts off very church like with organs and continues that way in a rather dull monotone beat all the way through. Not bad but could put you to sleep.

They Do, They Don’t is remixed by DJ Tropikal. Good beat, sort of reggaeish is some ways, but adds some horns and other stuff. Jack almost sounds like he’s ready to rock but the tone isn’t going to follow then it all falls back into place. Nice version of the song.

Another Hope remix this time by Mario C. is a little more upbeat and has some good tones in it. It stays pretty close to the original adding some different beats instead of Jack’s guitar, mainly from the keyboard. Heard a little fancy drum beat in there as well. Good mix and keeps you grooving.

Culver City Dub Collective takes If I Had Eyes and turns it into almost a Cure remix. At least the first part made me feel like The Cure remixed it until they come up to the refrain. Then it kicks in with horns and some other stuff. More drums in the second part and that’s because the drummer for CCDC is Jack’s drummer Adam Topol. Pretty cool version of the song, I dig it.

Enemy is remixed by Worst Friends and cannot be found at iTunes but can be found directly from Jack’s official sit listed above. This is a pretty rad version of the tune. They really give it almost a disco tropical type beat. I loaded it up to my iPod and made sure it fell in place by changing the others to be from 8 not 7 in the info section. Never heard of Worst Friends, but this is an awesome version of the song to listen to. It’s not the simple song he started with and it doesn’t use all the lyrics but it’s pretty nice. Felt a little like some of the New Order remixes I’ve heard. The beat keeps it going and you need to pick this one up and add it to the collection without a doubt.

There are 3 videos that come as part of the package as well. Adrift. Enemy & Sleep Through The Static/I Love You and Buddha Too which all look to be sessions from the studio when Jack made the CD. If you go out to iTunes undr the podvast section there are 5 videios called Sleep Through the Static sessions that maybe partially duplicates or may be new. I'd have to go back and look at what songs he performed on those. Check it out by doing a search on iTunes those session videos are free.

The one thing I would really have liked to see is remixes of Sleep Through the Static and All At Once. I think there are some great parts in those songs that would allow for some cool translations by people. So maybe down the road we will see those done, but what we did get was pretty cool.

Pick it up for sure and show your support for all the great stuff Jack has done.

Audio Track List:

1. Hope (Mightmares on Wax Remix)
2. Losing Keys (Katalyst Remix)
3. Monsoon (Money Mark Casio Remix)
4. Angel (Kid Koala Remix)
5. They Do, They Don’t (DJ Topickal Remix)
6. Hope (Mario C. Remix)
7. If I Has Eyes (Culver City Dub Collective Remix)
8. Enemy (Worst Friends Remix)

Video:

1. Adrift (Live Studio Session)
2. Enemy (Live Studio Session)
3. Sleep Through the Static/I Love You and Buddha Too (Live Studio Sessions)

Jack Johnson - 08-15-2008 Sandstone Amp, Bonner Springs, KS Show Review

This is going to be a review of both the show and my time helping Volunteer with The Surfrider Foundations "Rise Above Plastics" campaign at the show on 8-15-2008 at Sandstone Amp in Bonner Springs, Kansas.
So the day started out early getting to the venue 1 1/2 hours before the gates open to help out volunteering for the Surfrider Foundation to talk about Rise Above Plastics to ask people to take the Plastics Pledge and to educate them on how to reduce the number of plastics they use by getting reusable bags instead of plastic ones and to get a reusable bottle for water instead of buying bottled water. There are many options out there from bags at the store to other options like Chico Bags to use. There are many websites that give out great information on this topic, so just do a search or link through the ones in my text.

THE PLEDGE

I commit to do my part to rise above plastics and protect the world's oceans, waves and beaches from plastic pollution. I will do this by:

- Using reusable bottles for my water and other drinks. By using just one reusable bottle, I will keep 167 single-use plastic bottles from entering the environment.

- Using cloth bags for groceries and other purchases. For each reusable bag I use, I will save approximately 400 plastics from being used.

- Recycling the plastic bags and bottles I already have. For every thirteen plastic bags I don't use, I will save enough petroleum to drive a car one mile.

So now getting back to my time volunteering. I met up with Elizabeth Willes, from the San Diego Chapter of The Surfrider Foundation. She is the one coordinating the effort on the whole Jack Johnson tour for the summer. I stopped by to see them at Alpine Valley and ended up helping out in Kansas as a result. There were to others that volunteered with us that were really awesome people as well. I didn't to put there names in here as I haven't asked them if it was ok, but I did post the picture of all of us meeting up with Jack before the show.

One of the cool things is that if Jack has time, he likes to come out before the show and meet and take pictures(I'm the one on the left) with the volunteers. So we all had the opportunity to meet Jack and get a picture as a group, it was pretty cool. Jack was a very mellow dude, wearing his typical green Sprout T with jeans and flip-flops. That was really cool of him to do. The whole Village Green thing is pretty awesome and he really does a great job getting the word out to people through this. I hope he will continue to do this on future tours.

For the first 15 minutes or so when the gates opened, people were more concerned with getting into the front GA section as there was going to be a 5,000 person limit. So after that people started coming up and asking a lot of questions and taking the pledge to reduce plastics.

At first I kept thinking that I'm going to fumble over my words, but it all just started to flow. There were a lot of questions about things like "What can I do to help" answer is simple - stop buying single use plastics and use reusable bags at the store. Stop buying beer, soda and water in single use bottles. It's better to buy them in cans if you are going to buy them ast all. Personally I buy beer in bottles and take my empties to a recycling facility. People asked about the Great Pacific Ocean Trash Vortex which I've linked an article on it. All sorts of stuff came up, but the overall feeling was of support and many already started doing their part.

At the end of the Village Green area, Zach Gill put on a little show for the fans around 6pm as a warm-up. He sang a couple of songs from his new cd Stuff that just came out on Brushfire Records a couple weeks back. I highly recommend it. After the third song, Jack Johnson joined him to play three more songs, which included Family & Girl I Wanna Lay You Down, which is a song he sings with his other band Animal Liberation Orchestra that he plays with when he's not playing with Jack. It was pretty cool to hear. I only saw part of it since I was volunteering.

Afterwards, Zach came out and signed posters and cds for people and I had a chance at the end of his signing to ask him to take a picture and chatted a minute about his new cd. It was pretty cool. It was kind of funny not seeing him with his signature hat on. Very nice guy and a great entertainer, he really does add that little bit to Jack's performance that makes it just that much better.

So we finished up out time volunteering and we really did meet a lot of interesting people and it was a great experience volunteering and helping out. I would certainly do it again at any show in Kansas City regardless of what band it was. Just getting the word out about Rise Above Plastics is helping every little bit it can.

So my wife, who happens to be 8 1/2 months pregnant and my daughter, who is almost 2 1/2 came out to the show to see Jack play. My daughter will not take a nap unless we are playing the Curious George Soundtrack that Jack did with a bunch of his friends including Zach Gill, G. Love, Ben Harper & Matt Costa. I would pick it up if you don't have it. Kid or Adult, it really is a great CD.

So we went up and sat in the grass and Jack came on ans started it off with Hope and into Taylor. My daughter was excited about hearing Jack sing. She clapped her hands and spent most of the time sitting up on my shoulders looking out to see Jack and hear the songs. She was really happy to get to hear Upside Down, that got her fired up. She recognized it right away and bounce up and down to it. She really had a blast.

I tried to keep track of the setlist, but was having so much fun playing and dancing with my little one that I lost track sometime about 10-12 songs into the show. Still I did my best to keep track of the songs at least. So my setlist listed below will be out of order and it ends at the first song of the encore. I will make updates as I see a full setlist pop up.

The crowd was pretty cool. Some people tried to keep from blowing smoke at my daughter and we did move around a bit to avoid it. A lot of other folks we just having fun saying Hi to my daughter and playing around with her. She was fired up and then just before the encore she crashed big. So it was time to go. Fortunately I had already seen Jack on this tour at Alpine Valley, so it was alright to depart.

Jack and the band really played some good stuff and had some fun out there and the crowd was really into it. It was a sold out show with some 18,000 fans there. Great place to see and hear a show if you get there early enough to put yourself in a good spot.

Jack keeps doing amazing things on the stage and off. I really respect him as an artist because he's a good guy and really does do his part and uses the music and concerts as a way to educate people on the issues of the environment. I think it's great, he's not preaching politics but just asking people to do their part and get involved however you feel like.

Great show again. If you can make a JJ show this tour, please do. Many are sold out, but if you can get out there and see it and stop by The Village Green do it. Don't forget to stop at Surfrider and take the Pleadge.

Setlist - Subject to Updates and Correction:

8-15-2008 Sandstone Amp Bonner Springs, KS

Hope
Taylor
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Sleep Through the Static
Go On
Mother and Child Reunion
Do You Remember?
Flake
Upside Down
Bubble Toes
Wasting Time
Where Do the Children Play/Fall Line(w/Zach Rogue & Neil Halstead)
Constellations
Breakdown
Banana Pancakes
Same Girl
Family (Zach Gill Song)
Staple It Together - with some rap from bass player
If I Had Eyes/ Time Is On My Side
Good People

Encore:
All At Once
Times Like These
Gone
Home
Angel
Better Together

The full setlist is now in order thanks to Ryan Hoyt who recorded the show and it can now be found at 08-15-2008 Bonner Springs, KS Live On Archive.org . Download it and have a listen, you will enjoy it and I'm happy to be able to play it over again.

Cheers!
Dave P.

Jack Johnson RAP Surfrider Membership Pack

So for those of you who are fans of Jack Johnson and support environmental causes, here's a great opportunity for you. You can join the Surfrider Foundation and along with that get Jack Johnson's new CD "Sleep Through The Static" and two other really cool items, a 1 Liter SIGG bottle and a black tote bag with the Rise Above Plastics/Jack Johnson 2008 Tour logo on it. All this for $45 which includes the one year membership to The Surfrider Foundation and you don't even need to live near the ocean to join. You just need to support what they are about and help out in any way you can or just be informed.

I lived lived in San Diego County for most of the last 12 years with a brief stint out on the New Hampshire coast as well. So even though I recently moved to the middle of the United States and as far away from every ounce of saltwater possible, I still have my membership and will continue to follow what goes on with the organization.

Over the years, The Surfrider Foundation has done a lot to get involved in the local communities and the government to make sure that things are happening for the good of the ocean. They are currently heavily involved in a couple of big campaigns including one to save Trestles, which is an amazing surf break in the far north end of San Diego County. Just up past the Nuclear Power Plant at San Onofre, Trestle could be in danger of it's surf break and much more because Orange county and the Toll Roads system want to extend the Toll Road all the way down through the area. Honestly there is no reason to continue the road and hopefully they will fight the good fight and win.

The other big campaign is for "Rise Above Plastics". This is to get everyone to realize the cost of every plastic bag or bottle they use and throw out and how to educate people on other options to use. There are more than just plastic bags and bottles, but these two along make up for a large portion of death and destruction of our environment. Over 1 million sea birds and over 100,000 sea mamals die because of plastics each year from suffocation and ingestion. Plastics never really go away, but just shrink and becore little pellets of pollution.

Jack Johnson has teamed up with The Surfrider Foundation and this summer they will be talking about Rise Above Plastics at each of Jack's concerts. They are part of the Village Green that Jack going on from the opening of the gates until he comes on stage. There are many other organizations involved as well, you can check them out at Jack's website www.jackjohnsonmusic.com.

There's a great blog that is run by Elizabeth of the Surfrider Foundation's San Diego Chaper you should check out as well at http://riseaboveplastics.blogspot.com/.

So please sign up for this great deal, it's only $45 and you get some cool stuff, here's the website link and more info:

http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/store#9960

Package Includes:
1) Jack Johnson's "Sleep Through The Static" CD
2) RAP (Rise Above Plastic) SIGG Water Bottle (1 liter)
3) RAP (Rise Above Plastic) Black Tote Bag
4) Surfrider Membership

Surfrider Membership Includes:
- 1 year’s worth (6 issues) of Surfrider’s award-winning publication, Making Waves
- Discounts at a growing number of retailers and restaurants
- Surfrider Membership sticker
- Surfrider Chapter contact and volunteer information

The Surfrider Foundation (www.surfrider.org) is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide.

If you have any questions in regards to your membership please contact us at membership@surfrider.org.

Zach Gill – Stuff – CD Review

Zach Gill is currently out on the road with old friend Jack Johnson. Zach joined up with Jack to add a little flavor to the band. It’s certainly a good add between the backing vocals, the keys and dancing, he is an entertaining person. I was quite happy to hear that Zach would be releasing his own cd called Stuff on the Brushfire Records Label.

The first stuff I heard of Zach and still remains some awesome stuff is his work with ALO, Animal Liberation Orchestra. They have put out a couple of cds and continue to perform as a band in between his time he works with Jack. There’s a whole group of great artists on Brushfire these days and Jack Johnson certainly does his part to promote them well.

Zach certainly is one of those guys who is really diversified in the styles of music he plays and plays well. The first song off Stuff is Family. This song is a collaboration with Jack and has a great beat and sound to it. This was also pre-released early so it’s been out there for a bit. It has a good soulful sound and is a great start to the new cd. Don’t Touch My Stuff has a nice reggae beat to it. He really has a mix of songs on this one. Obviously a lot of mix between keys and piano throughout, but Zach’s voice give it some soul. Even the instrumental track Lizard’s Bridge has a nice mix of instruments with some drums, bongos, piano etc.

Probably my favorite tracks on this cd are Back In the Day & Family, but the rest sound great. It’s hard to compare him to anyone as he really mixes it up. Bettina is an upbeat tune followed by a mellow tune Small. He mixes it up from some ragtime, to sound of The Band, Bruce Hornsby and much more. Handyman gets your feet really tapping. Overall this one is really a delight.

I picked this one up at iTunes for $9.99 and Amazon has it for $9.49 as a download as well. Certainly pick this one up and go see him with ALO or Jack Johnson if you get a chance. He’s very entertaining.

Track Listing:

Family
Don’t Touch My Stuff
Watch Them Grow
Back In the Day
Battina
Small
Handy Man
Poseidon’s Navel
Beautiful Reason
Fine Wine
Lizard’s Bridge
Long

Support Rise Above Plastics!

There's a great blog that I learned about from http://www.surfrider.org/ when I was at the Jack Johnson show last month at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI. It's called Rise Above Plastics and deals with the issues pertaining to all sorts of plastics including bags and bottles. Check it out at http://riseaboveplastics.blogspot.com/.

You can take action and pledge to reduce the amount of plastics you use each year. The pledge is part of the Surfrider Foundation and can be found at Rise Against Plastics Pledge Link. There's some good information out there on both the blog and the pledge. There are over 1 million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals that die each year due to either ingestion or entaglement with plastics.

Plastics that you toss out will sit in landfills and blow around and do more damage than you could ever imagine. What can you do to help besides taking the pledge? There's a lot you can do. Even the smallest things like making sure to recycle your plastic bottles and take your plastic bags to the grocery store to be recycled. To go beyond that you can do more extreme things like buy reusable cloth bags that you take with you to the store instead of taking a plastic bag. The other option is to stop drinking bottled water or soda and buy a SIGG or Klean Kanteen type bottle or even a new Nalagene bottle. You can use them over and over and you won't be wasting plastics and having them end up in landfills and other places.

Jack Johnson is even selling shopping bags and SIGG water bottles on his tour to help the cause. Check out the picture of the SIGG 1 liter bottle. Plus he has the Green Village where you can learn all about everything from composting to info from Surfrider Foundation. There's a lot of good educational things that you can learn and there is a big variety of people who attend Jack Johnson shows. He's entertaining and is doing a good thing in trying to educate people about the environment. Check out Jack's tour dates on his webpage www.jackjohnsonmusic.com.

You just need to step up and do your part to help save our environment and help make things better for our kids and so on. But also remember to educate others and pass the word along.

There's some great links to articles and some good information on what you can do to help on the website. So I encourage you to please check it out! http://riseaboveplastics.blogspot.com/

Jack Johnson - 06/21/2008 Concert Review

Jack Johnson at Alpine Valley on 06/21/2008 was a fantastic show. The place was pretty full. I was expecting there to be maybe 15,000 - 20,000 for the show, but there was way more than that attending this one. When we arrived just before 7pm there was hardly a place to sit on the grass and people had to just start packing it in.

I took a little tour of the All At Once Community area to see a little more on how Jack was using the tour to help promote the awareness of things to do to be better to the environment and a little more Green, if you know what I mean. There were some interesting topics including one group who had all the information on which candidates voted which way on all the different environmental bills. They didn't try to sway your vote, just inform you of the issues and how people voted. They were trying to register voters as well which is always good when you have a big mixed crowd at a show.

Some of the other groups talked about growing food and reusing materials as compost. How to compost in general and how to basically be able to sustain without relying on outside resources. That was interesting to hear. Surfrider was there to talk about ocean polution, especially plastic shopping bags and plastic bottles. From all my years of surfing the beaches in San Diego and fishing off the coast in boats, I can tell you there is a lot of junk and runoff waste that goes into the ocean. I'm surprised that we haven't killed everything off. There were more things to see as well. Check out surfrider and become a member even if you don't live near the coast http://www.surfrider.org/

The one thing that dissappointed me about the venue, was that Live Nation was using #6 plastic cups that were clear and could have easily used #1 plastic cuos to recycle. Outside of the All At Once Community there really wasn't much awareness for the environment. People were throwing #6 Plasitic cups in the recycle bins which can't even be recycled. People outside were also throwing their cans and bottles in the trash bins, not the recycle bins. That kind of stuff annoyed me.

We did carpool ourselves, 6 all came out and I felt good that we did our part, but we still parked in the regular spot because the area they had for carpoolers of 4 or more in a car was filled up.

Mason Jennings came out about 7:30 - 7:45pm not really sure. He put on a good performance, but didn't find him to be an outstanding singer. I thought he was just an average folk type guy. That's my "Idol" judging.

I was thinking Money Mark was supposed to come out and play, but around 9pm or so, Jack came out and started playing. So not sure if Money Mark played earlier or outside, but all I saw him do was a song with Jack during the show. - Update 07/01/2008 - Money Mark did come out and jam prior to my arrival at the show. With Traffic and walking, I guess I missed it.

Jack started off with Hope, Taylor, Flake and really sounded good. We were up in the grass and even there he sounds clear as can be. We certainly couldn't see him. but the screens were up and you could catch a bit from those. I would have thought Alpine would have had bigger screens, but they did the trick.

Jack seemed really in tune with the crowd, playing is usually mellow surfer way and really was awesome. Some of my favorites of the night were Upside Down into Bubble Toes. Also I was digging Banna Pancakes and Good People. He did Times Like These, but I need to figure out where in the set it went.

Overall it was a great time and Jack once again put on an amazing show and really was impressive. I would really love to see him and Ben Harper get back together for a couple of shows, switching off and jamming, playing some together. That would be sweet.

If you get a chance, Jack will be back out touring in August. For those in the UK he's heading over in July. Check out http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/ for all the info on tours, news and the All At Once Community. Also check out his myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/jackjohnsonmusic to catch a little audio if haven't heard his music before.

Setlist(to the best of my knowledge):

Jack Johnson Alpine Valley, East Trow, WI 6-21-08
9:05pm
Hope

Taylor

Flake

Monsoon >

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Sleep Through the Static

Go On

Upside Down

Bubble Toes > Mellow Mood-(Bob Marley)

Wasting Time

Staple it Together > Whole Lotta Love-(Led Zeppelin)

What You Thought You Need

No Other Way > I Would For You-(Jane’s Addiction)

Constellations

Breakdown

Banana Pancakes

Same Girl

Horizon Has Been Defeated > Mother and Child Reunion-(Paul Simon)

Inaudible Melodies

Good People

If I Had Eyes

ENCORE:

All At Once *

Times Like These *

Living in the Moment *(w/Mason Jennings)

Angel * >

Better Together *

* Jack Solo

Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The Static - Review

For those of you who are big fans of Jack Johnson you certainly will be happy with the new cd. Jack adds a little of a different feature on this one and adds some electric guitar, but still it hass the same mellow tone as many of his songs from the past.

Having lived in Southern California and being exposed to the waves, sandy beaches and Jack Johnson surf movies this one fits right in. Even though I have recently moved away from my beach shack to a place in the middle of the country, Kansas City, I still miss the sun, waves and warm weather. Listening to a little Jack Johnson, closing my eyes, puts me right back there to my place of comfort.

The new cd was recorded with 100% solar power. I bought a digital copy, so I tried to help do my part a little in the process of helping the environment. It's always good to see artists take a stand and do what they can to influence others.

This cd is filled with some great tunes. They are more on the mellow side, but that's my thing. Starting off with All At Once, you feel that typical JJ beat. It's a wonderful song that sets you in the mood for the rest to come. Sleep Through The Static, the title song is add a little more beat and is a lot like Times Like These from his previous release. Hope keeps the beat up following into a nice little ballad called Angel. Enemy is kind of a day dream song that's how I feel.

If I Had Eyes was the single that was released before the rest of the cd. It's a little more electric, but a wonderful beat and mix of drums, piano and guitar in this one. Much of it it sounds like several other of Jacks songs. I guess I could say that about the whole cd. Really it has a bunch of wonderful songs. Same Girl is a nice acoustic ballad type song, short and sweet.

What You Thought You Need, Adrift, Go On are all great acoutics songs. They Do, They Don't as well as While We Wait, Monsoon and Losing Keys finish off the cd. If you bought the cd on iTunes you get a one minute funny song Goodbye.

I really love it, every song from end to end. I would highly recommend picking this one and if you haven't heard much of Jack's work, you could pick up any one of his cds and be in good shape. Gone are the days of Jack showing up at Lou's and jamming for an hour or playing the small venues. Still, it's well worth your time to get to see him perform live if you get a chance.

Enjoy!

Note from Jack:

My friends and I have just finished recording a new album called Sleep Through the Static. At this point in my life I weigh about 190 lbs and my ear hairs are getting longer. I also have a couple of kids. My wife popped them out, but I helped. Some of the songs on this album are about making babies. Some of the songs are about raising them. Some of the songs are about the world that these children will grow up in; a world of war and love, and hate, and time and space. Some of the songs are about saying goodbye to people I love and will miss.

We recorded the songs onto analog tape machines powered by the sun in Hawaii and Los Angeles. One day, JP Plunier walked into the studio and told us, "It has been 4 to 6 feet and glassy for long enough," and so we gave him a variety of wind and rain as well as sun and so on. And Robert Carranza helped to put it all in the right places.

After inviting Zach Gill to join Adam Topol, Merlo Podlewski, and myself on our last world tour, we decided to make him an official member of our gang. So our gang now has a piano player, which probably makes us much less intimidating, but Merlo, our bass player, is 6'3" so we are still confident.

All of these songs have been on my mind for a while and it is nice to share them. I am continually grateful to my wife who is typing this letter as I dictate it to her. I hope you enjoy this album.

Mahalo for listening,
Jack Johnson