"Surfing is my first love!"
The world’s most famous surfer-songwriter is Jack Johnson and we all know this. Oh sure there are many songwriters who surf and many surfers who write songs but only one has risen to the very heights in both and that is Jack Johnson. He grew up on the North Shore, was basically part of the Momentum Generation, and I think could have competed and/or did compete. His dreams of pro surfing fame to maybe the level of Ross Williams were brought down, though, by his skills with an acoustic guitar but…
Yes? I see your hand waving there in the back. Do you have something you’d like to say?
DJ Paul Fisher is the current most famous surfer-songerwriter around?
Well, that’s a bold claim and I think maybe a touch enthusiastic. Let’s give him a couple decades before re-visiting. Ok?
And back to Jack Johnson. He was recently interviewed by the once great Rolling Stone and let slip that he loves surfing more than his chosen career. Here, I’ll show you:
Willie released two albums in 2018, in his eighties. Do you hope to be doing the same 40 years down the road?
Yes and no. It is inspiring, but whether or not I’ll still be doing it, I kind of look at my dad who was the same thing as Willie, but with surfing. Surfing is my first love and I hope to still be surfing at that point and maybe not touring. But I love that Willie does it. And maybe still be making records. That would be nice.
So there we are and I have a few further questions for you.
When you see an extremely old man or woman in the lineup is your immediate reaction, “Good for you!” or “Get the hell lost. You’ve had yours. Now it’s time for mine.”
Is there a particular age you have in mind when plan on hanging it up?
Do you sometimes think, “I should have become a pro surfer instead of becoming a _________ (fill in the blank with your profession).”
