by IN THIS EPISODE ::
I first met Nathan Johnson at a dive in downtown Denver, Colorado. I arrived late to one of his concerts and when I saw him, he towered over the crowd (he’s like nine feet tall) belting melancholy lyrics while garbed in an army jacket, goggles and one of those enormous winter hats with the fur lining and the ear flaps. The huge hat, his lanky silhouette and remarkably-good posture together resembled the mic-and-stand combination into which he was singing.
Nathan’s drummer, Mike, set the head of his snare drum on fire at the end of the set. As Mike beat the snare drum, a pillar of flames would shoot up from his kit… It actually set the ceiling on fire… …but only a little bit… …and only for a few seconds… …nobody was hurt… …except Mike – who burned his own eyebrows off or something…
From day one, Nathan has been a constant encouragement to me and a fellow enthusiast-of-all-things. Like me, he NEVER doesn’t want to talk about the stuff of creativity. My interactions with him are always inspiring… How do I say it… …Ahhh yes, Nathan has often been the drum stick to my flaming art-head.
A few years back, my wife, Angie and I boarded and fed all twelve members of Nathan’s super-group The Cinematic Underground. And that experience alone, seeing their show which defies explanation and spending time with them before and after, changed my life.
It was at that time that I realized that Nathan was destined for even greater things… …and his stilling scores for movies like Brick and The Brothers Bloom (both written and directed by Nathan’s auteur cousin Rian Johnson) confirm.
I have the honor of sharing with you now, one of my most inspiring conversations of the year, my interview with Nathan Johnson.
OH and by the way, The Brothers Bloom is now playing in theatres everywhere. I HIGHLY reccommend you go see it. Its hilarious and contemplative and beautiful and the performances by Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz and Rink Kikuchi are a joy to watch
AWESOME LINKS ::
The Cinematic Underground On YouTube
The Cinematic Underground On MySpace
Download The Screenplay From Brick
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The music heard on Chris Oatley’s ArtCast is provided by Storybook Steve and Kangaralien.
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