Here’s the studio where we listened to songs from the New Jack Johnson CD, To The Sea. Immediately following the recorded songs, Jack and his band sat down and treated us to 3 live songs: No Good With Faces, My Little Girl (a tender little love song for his baby daughter), and fan fave Better Together.

Now everyone could relax and kick it, as all of our work was done! Jack and bandmate Zack Gill mingled with journos (some MTV and amazon types), friends (like the guy who owns Fuel TV), family (I met Zach’s brother & sister-in-law) and celebs (OK, maybe he’s only a celeb to me… more to come on that)

I used the chill time to examine with bar. Stocked with necessities: champagne and tequila.

And prowl the premises: this is Emmett Malloy’s office. Emmett surfs, runs Brushfire with Jack, and just finished a highly anticipated documentary on The White Stripes. He keeps a tidy office for one of the busiest men the the biz.

So as a I was prowling around, I ran into the one bona fide celebrity in the joint: former UW Coach Rick Neuheisel! Rick’s a guitar player and music fan. He and his son came to hear the new jack and were probably trying to make a discreet mistake when I cornered them both.

His son misses Seattle a lot, Coach not so much. He’s the head coach at his alma matter UCLA now and is loving the Passion Bucket! I asked him his thoughts on Pete Carroll to which he replied he was sorry The Bruins wouldn’t have a chance to beat him (Trojans beat UCLA last year). I asked him how he recruits players these days and he said everyone makes Hollywood movies and sends him dvds.

He asked me where I went to college and my brian kept saying “Just say Harvard, just say Harvard” but my mouth told the truth: Macalester College, St Paul Minnesota. I’ve never been embarrassed by my schoolin’ before, I mean Kofi Annan and Walter Mondale are Mac grads, but Macalester is not known for it’s football program.

He asked if I was a Dawg fan. And I said yes, to the extent that I love sports and I live in Seattle. He’s was like, “Well who do you root for??” and I confided I was, at heart, a Big 10 girl. He didn’t seem offended. In fact, he could not have been nicer. Honestly, I was too embarrassed to ask for a photo (which is kind of weird because I made a whole movie with Jack Johnson) but I did take a photo of the spot where we met, inhabited by 2 beautiful women: Trina Tombrink of Universal Records and Haley Jones, now at KPRI in San Diego.

- Shawn

This past Monday night, I was invited to Los Angeles to hear the new Jack Johnson CD, To The Sea. When I rolled up to the office of Brushfire Records (that doubles as a solar powered recording studio), people were chatting on the lawn, a guy was cooking up tacos in the back yard, and Jack Johnson was warmly greeting guests.

Casual dress, casual grub, a keg, all contributed to the house party vibe. Nobody was asking Jack for photos or tweeting while talking. Our small group of media folk (there were maybe 30 people tops) were invited to sit on folding chairs in a small studio to hear several new Jack songs off the album. Here’s what we heard:

You and Your Heart (the single- a great, uptempo love song)
At Or With Me (fantastic energy with a fuzzed out electric guitar)
From The Clouds
When I Look Up

The evening didn’t stop there. I’ll be back with more details tomorrow, but I wanted to leave you with some art from the hallways of the studio. It really speaks for itself.

And in case that’s not your cup of tea, you know, art-wise… how about this?

I just got back from a bananas-less-than-24-hours trip to L.A.

I stayed at the new W Hotel and they take their W seriously.

I went to L.A. to Jack Johnson HQ where I (honestly) shot this photo of Jack by accident. I have so much more to tell and show you (including a surprise encounter with a certain Coach well known to all Dawgs and the people who love them) but it’s gonna have to wait. Give me a minute to get a few records on, and I’ll spill the beans (discreet beans) on Jack’s new hair and album.

- Shawn

I caught up with John Butler today. He’s a got a new haircut and a new band, oh yes, a new album coming too. But about that haircut…I asked him how it felt to have undergone the haircut heard ‘round the world:

jbtpart1

And about that new band:

jbtpart2

And finally about the new single, One Way Road:

jbtpart3

Want to hear the song? Here you go!

jbt

John Butler Trio – One Way Road

- Shawn

All round to my place for an Oscar Party!

John Fisher, intern Brittany, Promo Dude Eduardo, Sunday Brunch host Dave Benson, Tami Bennett (not pictured…she left early ’cause she has a 2:20 AM wake up call!!), and assorted friends gathered with Vanguard recording artist Greg Laswell to eat candy, drink champagne and win the coveted Oscar Cup pictured here. That’s Greg and his cellist Austin holding the cup like a wishbone.

Here’s the aftermath of the party:

And here’s Austin and I. The person who took this photo was clearly drunk, but yes, that’s a tiara on my head. I won for Best Costume.

Austin won the coveted Oscar Cup for most correct Oscar winners. (It was filled with cash, by the way.) John Fisher won the award for Best Use Of The Remote.

I hope you’ll open this week’s Mountain Mail because it’s got a new song from Greg you can download right to your iPod. Play on repeat!

- Shawn

I’ve never liked this photo of me and Jack Johnson taken after an interview backstage at Bonnaroo (I think I look like a scary Barbie). So you know it takes a lot for me to post it.

This constitutes a lot, right?? Check this out:

I just got invited to L.A. to take a tour of Jack Johnson’s Solar Powered Plastic Plant recording studio! I’ll get to hear Jack’s new album and chat with Jack, too. I’ll be leaving after work on Monday and be back Tuesday morning in time to give you a full accounting on New Music Tuesday.

And if it’s not cool enough to be trekking down to L.A. to hang with Jack, check out the rad details about his new album:

* To The Sea is Jack’s 5th Studio album (Brushfire Fairytales – 2001, On and On – 2003, In Between Dreams – 2005, Sleep Through The Static – 2008)

* To The Sea was produced by Robert Carranza, Jack Johnson, and his bandmates Merlo Podlewski, Zach Gill and Adam Topol.

* The album features guest appearances from G. Love, and Paula Fuga.

* The album was recorded at the Mango Tree Studio in Hawaii, and the Solar Powered Plastic Plant in LA using 100% Solar Power.

* All of the album packaging utilizes FSC certified recycled papers.

While we’re on the topic (hehe) I don’t like this photo much either, as it’s from one of my very first surf sessions 8 years ago. I think I’ll ask Jack for a few pointers and to be in his next surf movie. I mean… how could he say no? Look at the size of that wave. I’m obviously a pro.

- Shawn

They seemed like perfectly normal, hippy, indie rock guys when I met them in the hay bale-covered recording studio at Bonnaroo a couple years back. They had just performed a sublime acoustic set in my backstage studio. With their rustic beards and folksy instrumentation, they reminded me a lot of The Band. We had a nice, polite interview. They left. All very pleasant.

So imagine my surprise when I took a break, threw open the door of my double-wide trailer and saw the lead singer of Dr. Dog conducting an interview in the nude! Apparently, from that point onward, he could not be bothered by clothes and spent the rest of his ‘Roo nude. Just like Woodstock!

Clothes are for squares, man.

Here’s a New Music Tuesday tune from Dr. Dog.
(Not to worry, no video to accompany the song.)

drdog

- Shawn

Have you seen the Bonnaroo lineup yet? (If not, check it out here.) Well, a bunch of ‘Roo headliners have teamed up to put out some new music for a good cause.

Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson and others are motivating fans to speak out on climate change, teaming with the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund (NRDC) in a new compilation that showcases the “Best of Bonnaroo.”

As part of its continuous effort to keep Congress and the White House focused on clean energy and climate change legislation, the NRDC Action Fund is encouraging people to visit a new website where you can e-mail President Obama, their senators, or editors of your local newspapers to push for action on climate change. In return, they’re offering a “Best of Bonnaroo” music download.

The  compilation also includes live tracks from Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, My Morning Jacket, O.A.R., and Ani DiFranco, among others. Head on over to learn how we can sustain ourselves with clean energy – and rock out while doing so!

- Shawn

If you enjoyed seeing Tom Petty last year at the Gorge, or maybe didn’t get a chance to go, fear not! Petty’s coming back to the Gorge, along with his Mojo and a bunch of his buds.

Petty will be trekking the country this summer with the likes of My Morning Jacket, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Joe Cocker, ZZ Top, and Drive-By Truckers – all are confirmed as special guests throughout the tour.

Mark the calendar for June 12. I’ll see you at the Gorge.

Petty’s releasing a new CD, Mojo, this spring – and every online ticket purchased to the tour comes with a download of Mojo, delivered via email on the album’s release date. So if you’re planning to come to the show anyway, now you’ll know all of the new tracks to sing along.

If you’re still aching for that must-have Petty fix, the first track from the album, entitled “Good Enough” is currently streaming exclusively on TomPetty.com. Click here to listen.

And if this all hasn’t quite wet your whistle yet (how could it not…?), if you purchase tickets online and download Mojo you will also receive 8 tracks recorded during the 2010 Tour to be delivered after the tour.

Thoughts on the new track?

- Shawn

Yesterday was a gold medal music day: a lounge with Fanfarlo (vids to come) and a private performance by Los Lonely Boys. Here’s 3 minutes of “Heaven”:

And did you know the Boys have a covers album out called 1969 where they do all classics from that year? It’s great. No dig on The Beatles, but I love the sound of brothers singing together!

- Shawn