Meet Richard Johnson | Attorney & Singer-Songwriter, Captain Badass

We had the good fortune of connecting with Richard Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Richard, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Somehow along the way, I decided to have a sporting and positive attitude about this world and do whatever I could best to contribute to this great human adventure and our American spiritual and musical heritage, to make the best use of my own talents, gifts, energy, and time, to repay the investment of my parents and teachers and our forebears, by being the best thing I could be, and that has involved a lot of roles through the years, including father of three, idealistic and innovative high school math and science teacher, respected Am Law 100 commercial litigator, Anglican acolyte, philosopher, theologian, mystic, yogi, shaman, and finally, Captain Badass (but, whatever my trade, I’ve been writing songs and thinking about music all along the way–mostly my own little secret).

Luckily, when my old friend from Kentucky, Baron Scott von Clay, came to LA about 11 years ago, with his own artistic drive, creative vision, and legendary musical and production savvy, and started finding, building, managing, and recording interesting bands in Venice, and working with some tremendous artists (including the ones that ultimately played with our band), it gave me the chance to reconnect not only with my friend, Scott, but with that love of music we both shared.

Lucky for me (and for the history of American music), Scott and I started making music together, and it was a lot of fun, and we started building a repertoire of amazing songs–clever, catchy, witty, funny, sexy, spiritual, transcendent, insightful–and somehow our paths up that point enabled us to give voice to some things everyone is thinking. So we decided that we should not keep it to ourselves, but should share it–both live in venues (first in La and then in Nashville) and recorded, in the form of two albums, and some singles and videos. They are amazing and worth checking out! We now have fans all over the world, an eclectic and expanding brotherhood and sisterhood, and it is just a matter of time until the word gets out. Love us or hate us, we have something to say to you, that will catch you straight in the heart (and make you laugh), and you will be glad you heard it. Now we know that this (among other things) is what we are here for, part of our earthly mission.

So, for the rest of my days here, I plan to “practice the arts” as the god told Socrates to do as he awaited his execution, and as Kurt Vonnegut recommended we all do in the time we have remaining. Once you have found your vision and become a creative artist, nothing else will satisfy, and you know that you are living right no matter what comes of it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The things that set “Captain Badass” apart are, first: our lyrics, which are clever, demented, and hilarious; second: the amazing guitar talents involved (with Tyler, Will, Vini, D.G., Matthew, Harlan, and yours truly, we undoubtedly have the most guitar talent in a single band since Clapton, Beck, and Page played together in the Yardbirds ); third, the mixing, recording, and production magic, and subtle and effective drumming and keys (and occasional angelic vocals), of the Baron von Clay; fourth: my own signature strange and evolving, crazy, sexy, and mystical vocal je ne sais quoi (somewhere between Jim Morrison and Doctor John); and, finally: the music and the songs themselves, which are more than the sum of their parts, and which invite the listener into a magical realm in which odd characters from the heights and the depths of the human experience tell their inspiring and heart-rending tales.

The guitar thing is really important, now that popular music seems sadly far along into a post-guitar phase. Many have likened our guitar sound to Punk Floyd’s David Gilmour. Others have noted the echoes of David Lynch, surf punk, spaghetti western, western swing, and punk folk. Our lyrics, too, and the overall sound, as well as the classic themes we deal with, put us squarely within (but maybe on the weirder and more trippy side) of the great tradition of British and American Rock, and their punk, alternative, indie, and alt-country successors. I am really proud of the sound we have achieved and the songs we have written and recorded.

The biggest challenge is playing the music to the people who will appreciate it, particularly during the last two years of pandemic lockdowns, and in this phase of the industry in which new media and platforms and models are still taking shape. It is not easy, but we are not discouraged, and we have taken the opportunity during the lockdowns to hunker down in the studio, write, record, and release our second album, “Flying Blind”–a musical and lyrical masterpiece I am really proud of–and to write several new songs that we are looking forward to releasing soon!

I want the world to know that Captain Badass is a band they want to know and will never forget, that they will love our songs and will be singing along, and that our music is available on Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Soundcloud, Amazon Music, YouTube, and every streaming and download service, or on CD (and soon vinyl) at your favorite local indie record stores.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
LA is such an amazingly diverse city there is something for everyone here,

For me, the perfect LA trip would include a visit to Chinatown, to see its interesting art galleries (including Rigo Jimenez’s Eastern Projects Gallery on Broadway) and enjoy dim sum at Ocean Seafood, and then to Olvera Street to hear the mariachis and over to Union Station to see its magnificent interior, the, to East LA to visit that hidden gem, the Vincent Price Art Museum at East LA College, and to enjoy the world class Mexican cuisine of La Serenata de Garibaldi in Boyle Heights. One should not miss the wonders of Korean BBQ–and Koreatown looks something like the future. The Asian cuisine of the San Gabriel Valley–Alhambra, San Gabriel, Monterrey Park, Temple City, and Arcadia with its night market–is unbeatable. LA has more than enough great art and great food to keep you busy for a lifetime.

I would also check out Manly P. Hall’s Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz, and enjoy the hip and quirky local scenes organically flourishing in Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, Silver Lake, Echo Park (check out the lake with pedal boats and enjoy some excellent street food), Highland Park, Mount Washington (check out the Self-Realization Center there and the Lake Shrine in Pacific Pallisades), Lincoln Heights, and Hollywood–East and West.

I love the world class churches, Anglican/Episcopal: All Saints Beverly Hills, St. James on Wilshire, St. John’s Pro Cathedral, St Thomas, Hollywood, All Saints Pasadena, St. James South Pasadena; Roman Catholic: St. Vibiana’s downtown and St. Therese of Liseaux in Alhambra; Greek Orthodox: St. Sophia’s; Congregational: Pilgrim downtown.

USC and UCLA are great places to walk around, as are the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, the Griffith Observatory, and the Natural History Museum. No one should miss the Farmer’s Market on Fairfax and the Grove, Beverly Hills, or Old Town Pasadena. Long Beach is also charming. Culver City is great for the galleries and theatre district, and the Museum of Jurassic Technology. There is simply no end to the possibilities we could explore in LA.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In addition to my musical partner in Captain Badass, Scott Clay, and the wonderful musicians we have played with (Tyler Wade Anderson, Will Clay, Vinicius Mauger, D.G. Rodgers, Mathew Sternstein, Harlan Goldman-Belsma, Lita Neumann, Ulysses Bela, Bruce Friedman, Michael Intrierre, Rich and Daisy West, and Lexi Baker), I would like to thank all of my teachers, and especially the great musicians and great thinkers, and there are too many to name, but I would point to two that have changed my life, truly inspired me, made me what I am, and helped to lead me where I am going:

Plato and Gram Parsons.

Plato, the greatest philosopher and best prose writer of all time, changed my life and gave me (up to that point an incorrigible and unrepentant wiseacre) real moral and intellectual seriousness when I read his dialogues at St. John’s College, and convinced me that the truth can be known, that it is worth searching for and fighting for, and (as the good Lord later said) that it would set me free.

Gram Parsons, for dropping out of Harvard Divinity School and sharing his Grievous Angelic vision of Cosmic American Music, a beautiful vision of Rock and Soul and Country and Blues and Folk and every traditional form melded into a sincere, authentic, poignant, transcendent, and truly American art from, a vision he lost his life pursuing, one I share, and one I like to think we are still carrying forward with Captain Badass.

Website: http://www.captainbadass.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captainbadassinfo/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-r-johnson-a097539

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Captain-Badass-104909024555275

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7fHm1ZxuLEPfS7CCI_QOGA

Other: https://www.reverbnation.com/captainbadass

Image Credits
Captain Badass