Interview: Eric D. Johnson (Bonny Light Horseman; Fruit Bats)
It’s rare for us here at Asheville Stages to interview an artist after s/he plays in town, But as our intrepid staff can attest, Bonny Light Horseman’s opening act performances in front of Bon Iver’s headlining sets, June 25-26 at Rabbit Rabbit, were so good, and ensemble member Eric D. Johnson’s history with Asheville so strong, that bending our rule to speak with the Fruit Bats frontman felt warranted.
Edwin Arnaudin: We’re grateful that you’ve kept Asheville as a regular stop on your tours. What are some of your favorite memories from shows here?
Eric D. Johnson: With Fruit Bats, Asheville was the first city in the Southeast to catch on to us. We'd play a fairly empty show in Atlanta or Nashville or Chapel Hill, and then come to Asheville and play to a nice packed Mothlight. Now, other places have caught on and that's great, but Asheville has a place in my heart for being supportive from way back.
EA: When you’re working on a song, how do you decide whether it’s a better fit for Fruit Bats or Bonny Light Horseman?
EDJ: There have been a few moments where a Fruit Bats sketch became a Bonny Light Horseman song. There's not really a rule book for which goes with which, though Bonny songs tend to have more simpler and open-sounding feelings, whereas Fruit Bats songs skew a bit more complex in a "deceptively simple" Beatles/Elliott Smith kind of way. But the songs tend to find their own band as they pop into my head, and I try not to think too hard about it.
EA: What’s the general songwriting process with Anaïs [Mitchell] and Josh [Kaufman]? Is the lead vocalist typically also the songwriter or not necessarily?
EDJ: We definitely don't have a mandate with who sings what. And all of our songs are totally collaborative. It often starts with someone's sketch but often it goes through a huge process where it can end up completely different on the other side. The new record really showcases that — so many of the songs are truly collaborative, 33%-each kind of affairs. We like to use the improv comedy theory of "yes, and?" to move things along. We all add something. Often the lead singer is determined by who sounds best singing it in the moment.
EA: What’s been involved in translating songs from Rolling Golden Holy [out Oct. 7] to the stage? Has it been a fairly smooth process or are you and your bandmates having to make a fair amount of changes and compromises?
EDJ: Right now, we're playing about four songs from the album, so we're still figuring out how to turn them into live songs. Luckily, our recordings are often started with a full band "on the floor" type recording, so translating them live is a fairly smooth process. It's been fun since Rolling Golden Holy is a bit more of a "rock" record — comparatively [laughs] — so these are pretty fun to jam on stage.
EA: What happens to the dulcimer that was purchased for Rolling Golden Holy when Bonny Light Horseman isn’t on tour?
EDJ: [laughs] We have joint custody of our dulcimer child, but it lives with Josh.
EA: Has working with Anaïs made you tempted to try your hand at writing a musical?
EDJ: I think we can only have one genius musical writer in this band. I don't think I'd even know where to begin with working on something like that. Watching Hadestown absolutely blew my mind. It's such a deep and dense art form, and probably the most foreign-to-me creative process I can imagine. Anaïs is certainly inspiring in many ways, though, and makes me want to try my hand at things beyond the sphere of a band.
EA: Who are some of your favorite “supergroups”?
EDJ: We try not to use the word "supergroup" for Bonny Light Horseman — we even specifically requested our first bio-writer never to use that word, but it caught on anyway. We feel like "supergroup" implies something tossed-off and fleeting, and we consider this band to be a central project in our lives even though we do other things.
My favorite supergroup? Maybe Traveling Wilburys? Do bands with incredible lineups who started off as "non super groups" count? [laughs] Like, aren't The Beatles and Grateful Dead and Bob Marley and the Wailers "supergroups?"
EA: I adore your take on Siamese Dream and was convinced to get it on vinyl after hearing “Today.” Now that it’s been out for almost two years, what’s some of the standout feedback you’ve received from listeners and/or fellow musicians about the album?
EDJ: I was honestly so surprised by the strong reaction to Siamese Dream. I really put a lot of work into it and took it super seriously — I do that with everything — but since it was a full-album cover, I wasn't expecting many people to pay much attention. Needless to say, I was super pleased with how people loved that thing. One of my most common questions is, "Has Billy Corgan heard it?" and the answer is "I'm not sure!"
EA: Are there any other albums you’re strongly considering giving a similar treatment, or did it feel like a one-time project?
EDJ: I'm not sure I have it in me to do another full album cover, at least right now. I'm too busy trying to write my own music. Maybe in five years?
(Photo by D. James Goodwin)
