Courtesy
K Records founder and musician Calvin Johnson will be appearing at the CoreStar Center
located at 439 W. 2nd Ave. this Saturday.
Indie label owner
takes to the road
to promote album
Calvin Johnson founded K
Records in the ‘80s to sign
artists denied by big labels
By Ryan Nyburg
Senior Pulse Reporter
A stalwart of the independent mu
sic scene since the early 1980s, Calvin
Johnson has done as much as any
body to show that a self-started inde
pendent record company can work.
Johnson — who founded K
Records in Olympia, Wash. — pro
moted music often considered un
touchable by larger record companies
while at the same time paving new
ground with his own band, Beat Hap
pening.
Now on the road performing solo,
Johnson talked to the Emerald about
his music, running a record company
and performing in front of an audience
Emerald: How long have you been
doing solo performances?
Calvin Johnson: About seven years
now.
Emerald: Do you have a back up
band?
Johnson: No, just me and a guitar.
Emerald: You founded K Records
back in the 1980s. Is it still going
strong?
Johnson: We're still plugging away.
We're fortunate enough to be working
with a number of very creative people
who are busy performing, touring and
making records. Mostly based in the
Northwest, of course.
Emerald: Is it any more difficult to
be an independent record company
now than when you first started?
Johnson: It's never easy. You just
keep going, getting the word out and
letting people know what we're up to.
We're just trying to share the music
with as many people as might be in
terested. That's pretty much a full
time job.
Emerald: So what do you think of
the modem music industry and issues
like downloading and music piracy?
How does it affect how you do busi
ness?
Johnson: I don't really know. I
haven't been paying attention. We've
been so busy making music and get
ting it out there and playing shows
that I don't really have time to keep
up with all that.
Emerald: You've been an active
songwriter for a number of years now.
Do you find that your subject matter
has changed over the years?
Johnson: Yes. I'll have quite a few
newer songs at the show, including
some from my solo album "What
Was Me," and some older songs that
have been recorded by bands I've
been in. The new songs are songs that
I made up in the last year or so.
Emerald: Do you find that people
know you from bands like the Halo
Benders or Beat Happening?
Johnson: Some people do, but
those bands are not terribly well
known to begin with. There are plenty
of people who are unfamiliar with
what I do and hopefully they are
pleasantly surprised.
Emerald: Are you touring with a
band right now?
Johnson: No, I'm out here on my
own.
Emerald: Where are you right now?
Johnson: I'm getting lunch at the
local food co-op in Madison, Wis.
Emerald: Do you listen to a lot of
modern music, or just stuff that
comes through the record company?
Johnson: Well, I do hear a bit. I like
the Black Lips. Weird War's new al
bum is pretty great.
Emerald: Do you see a lot of inde
pendent labels still surviving?
Turn to SOLO, page 14
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