A Conversation with Johnsmith (continued)

JS: And another way that I've been diversifying a little bit is: a lot of my songs, they often have sort of a spiritual or awareness kind of content to them, and it has drawn attention from some groups like the Unity Churches and new thought kind of stuff, Religious Science. And I was recently was on National Public Radio New Dimensions program, which is a talk show with people like Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra, and they picked me of all people.

PM: It's unbelievable.

JS: But the songs I write about that, I don't like them to be preachy, I'm like way against telling anybody anything. But I am into saying my story about my process of doing my bit of work and my journey to become a more whole person.

PM: Evolution.

JS: Yeah, my whole, full at-peace person most of the time, and helpful person, somebody who is purposeful, and grateful for what I have. And some of that comes across in my tunes. So all of a sudden I get invited to play at some of these places and sing at churches on Sunday morning, just a couple songs.

PM: And didn't you say you taught at Esalen as well.

JS: I did. And I'm doing it again this year. That will be another thing on my website, there will be a page about. I got invited to Esalen, which is an incredible institute, unbelievably gorgeous, right near Big Sur, and a major bodywork and yoga kind of place. People like Deepak Chopra go there, doing workshops and stuff. And I got to teach songwriting there.

PM: Oh, so that's what you taught was songwriting there.

JS: Yeah.

PM: Wow! And was there a certain slant to the thing, or just songwriting?

JS: It really freaked me out, Frank, actually.

PM: Songwriting and consciousness, or what was the angle?

JS: The title was something about songwriting--I forget the actual title. It was something about songwriting from the heart, breaking your heart open and telling your story.

PM: And who showed up to take this?

JS: Oh, really diverse people, about a dozen folks from all over the country. It's not a cheap place to go. But it's not bad. It really wasn't that bad. I mean, people could get in for the week for as low as 450 bucks if they were willing to do these little sleep rooms, which are very cozy.

PM: Oh, that is cheap, then.

JS: And food! They grow all their own food! It was unbelievable! And the scenery, you go to this place, and it's beautiful, mineral hot tubs right down on the ocean with otters playing around, and you're sitting in, the Milky Way overhead at night. I mean, very conducive to making the rest of the crazy world go away for a week while you can sink back in, man. It was powerful.

I was really nervous. Because I taught at a lot of places, Swannanoa, Kerrville, and Rocky Mountain Folks, and I was thinking: I'm the only teacher. I'm going to be these people's teacher for five days--two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon--that's a lot of hours. Like what am I going to do?

PM: That's very daunting.

JS: It was way daunting. And yet I had a strong, strong sense that I had to do it, and I could do it.

PM: Who asked you to come teach Esalen? What was that connection?

JS: Very good question. I taught at Swannanoa a couple years ago, which is a great week-long camp in North Carolina near Asheville at Warren Wilson College. I taught there a couple years back-to-back. And one year, one of my students, a great lady, I really liked her songs, she was a therapist. Songwriting was a hobby of hers, and she also worked on an old-time radio show out of Lexington, Kentucky. And she kept in touch, dropped little notes or whatever.

And at one point she said she got a job at Esalen, because she used to go there and take classes with Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Joan Baez and some people that taught some music stuff. She said, "I'd really like you to think about teaching out here." And I said, "Sounds cool." But I didn't really get it. Then one day she goes on my website, sees that I'm playing in Santa Cruz on Sunday night, and I'm playing somewhere else like Wednesday. And I got Monday night off, and it's Valentine's Day. And she brainstorms--

PM: Unbelievable.

JS: --and she says, "Hey, what if I give you a few hundred bucks, you come down on Monday night, we'll put you up, show you the place. If you like it, I'll apply you to teach a class." Talk about an inside track. And it was a great story, Frank. So the morning on the 14th, I had a great show in Santa Cruz. It's Valentine morning about 6:00, 7:00, so I'm having a really nice brunch, great loving bunch of friends I have there. And it's time to almost go. And one of the ladies says, "Hey, I got some of these cool sort of like Tarot cards, except they're nature, like Native American type"--what do they call them?

PM: Animal cards or something?

JS: Yeah, something like that. Anyway, and I've always had this infinity totem thing, I mean, it's uncanny. I can tell you about a connection I have with otters. A powerful thing.

PM: Wow.

JS: So we do the cards, an otter comes up for me, and I'm like, "It always does." I just take it. So then we read all the stuff about the otters. And I'm like, "Yeah. That makes sense. That's me."

[laughter]

JS: So then, "I got to go, guys, got to go." I jump in the car. The drive from Santa Cruz to--

PM: Breathtaking.

JS: Breathtaking. And I get there. I'm supposed to meet Julie at 4:00 o'clock. 3:45, I go in and get a cup of tea in the beautiful cafeteria there, nobody is around yet. And this little point of this little cliff with this big old Douglas Fir, hanging over the ocean, is calling me. So I bring my cup of tea, and I'm standing over there, and I'm just like breathing that salt air, and just the freshness of it. And I'm like, "Oh, my God, this place"--I could just feel it, it's like I got chills. And I just sit there just breathing it and feeling it. And I hear this little [makes tapping sound] clicky sound. And I'm like, "What the hell is that?" And I look straight down over the cliff, and there's a little otter playing on his back with this urchin, clicking it with a stone.

[laughter]

JS: And I'm like, yeah I'm supposed to be here. I'm exactly where I need to be night now. Anyway, that's sort of my philosophy, be in the moment. We've talked about Eckhart Tolle, stuff like that resonates with me. I know that some people poo-poo it. But the truth part of it, with a capital "T" that's there, that resonates with me.

PM: Yeah. What's true is true.

JS: There's a title for a song. Me and Willy Porter are going to write that song.     continue

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