Freedy’s Writing Flies

Coming to the venerable Ventura Theatre next Wednesday night: a bunch of singers sittin’ around talkin’.

Hmm, well, it could be a whole lot worse. How about a bunch of writers sittin’ around singin’? Truman Capote, William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway and Charles Bukowski do the Temptations, right? Wrong.

This gig won’t be like that. Never fear. When these singers get done gabbing, they’ll do what they do best: sing. Some of them probably have some songs you’ve heard of before. Johnny Clegg will be there without Savuka, but with plenty of stories about life in South Africa.

David Baerwald, once half of David + David but now the archbishop of angst, will tell us what we already know, namely, the many reasons why we don’t want to live in L. A.

Singer/songwriters Freedy Johnson and Lisa Germano complete the quartet.

Johnny Clegg & Savuka have released a series of albums of their Zulu and contemporary, socially conscious rock. Baerwald has just released his second solo album. Germano’s debut is due in June, while Johnson has released a couple of critically acclaimed albums on New Jersey’s Bar None label. His big-label debut with Elektra is forthcoming.

Johnson came from Kinsley, Kan., a small town in Middle America, and ended up in New York. After holding a number of blue-collar jobs, Johnson parlayed years of practice at home into a record deal. He writes alternately goofy and serious pop rock songs with a little Midwest twang.

From a hotel room in Toronto during the first period of the Kings/Maple Leafs game, Johnson discussed the tour.

That famous short guy Harlan Ellison once wrote, “Love ain’t nothin’ but sex misspelled.” Is Freedy nothin’ but Freddy misspelled?

Yes, it was Freddy mispronounced in childhood. My mom gave the name to me, and it stuck.

“Can You Fly” was a critical success. Are you a rich rock star now as well?

No, no, no, I’m not rich at all, but I was very encouraged by the success of “Can You Fly.” It’s hard to make money in this business, but maybe someday soon. I’ve got a new release coming out now called “Unlucky,” which is sort of a single with a few hastily done other songs. It’s sort of an interim thing. Bar None doesn’t have a lot of money to promote, but they have a lot of faith. I’m carrying around a four-track with me right now. I’m working on about 20 songs for my next one, which will be on Elektra. I’ll probably record it this fall, and it’ll be out in April ’94. It’s sort of like a workmanlike procedure. You make a record, then promote it, then make another record. Along the way you see what you can and can’t do.

Tell me about the sign in Kinsley, Kan.

I worked in a diner, and I’d go outside for a smoke under the sign during my breaks. It was a giant billboard with two arrows pointing in opposite directions and the mileage. Kinsley is equidistant from New York and San Francisco, 1,763 miles. It was just another pathetic attempt by a small town to put itself on the map. I still go back to Kinsley as often as I can to see my mom.

But now you’re a New Yorker without the accent. How did you end up there?

First, I moved to Lawrence, Kan., for a while, met a lot of people and sort of got my legs. I was going to move to New Orleans--I wasn’t sure where--but I ended up in New York because of some friends from Kansas who were there. New York is certainly a different vibe than, say, the West Coast. I try and go out to see bands, but usually, I end up not going and just stay home and work on my stuff. New York can be as ugly as any city, but the funny thing about New York is that I miss it when I’m away. When I’m there, I know where to go and how to act. I was in L. A. when the World Trade Center was bombed, and I actually got homesick.

How did you get started in all this?

I’ve only been in the business since 1988. Before that, I was a closet musician who just worked at home. After I moved to New York, I got a deal with Bar None, which led to the release of “The Trouble Tree” in 1990. But I practiced at home for years and years.

How would you describe Freedy music?

I guess if someone just picked up my record and had never heard of it, they’d hear a country tinge to it, also a folk element. Everyone seems to make a Neil Young comparison, but I don’t think I’m completely like him, but I do love Neil. I do acoustic and electric stuff on the same album.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love playing live and getting on stage and putting my songs across to people who want to hear them. I know that I really connect with a band when I see them live.

Tell me about this songwriters’ gig.

I got into it because the promoter asked me to do it. It’s four people who didn’t even know each other or each other’s stuff beforehand. Now, we’re really starting to get into each other’s music. Everyone is starting to get looser and looser. We kind of just go with it, tell a lot of bad jokes and talk about our lives and our music. Johnny Clegg has a lot to say about South Africa, and David Baerwald has a lot to say about L. A. We attract a lot of Johnny’s fans, and smaller numbers of fans for the rest of us. We get a lot of musicians and music fans at the shows. The other night in Boston, we did a three-hour show. Sometimes, it just goes on and on. It’s not boring for us, and not for the fans, either, I guess.

I was watching the . . . comedy “Parker Lewis” the other night, and the teacher said, “Writers hate to write but they love having written.” Is that right?

Yeah, it’s the same with me. That’s the way I feel about writing. After I’ve finished a song, it’s the best feeling in the world. Writing a song is not easy. It’s work.

What advice would you give to aspiring songwriters?

I don’t think I’m qualified to give advice. I have very little reason to have faith in my ultimate viability. Yet, I think the best thing would be to find a collaborator--kind of like a band, then try and keep it together.