Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Steph circus

Steph Johnson took her time and got it right — Music is Art

Steph Johnson spent months on her new record, Music Is Art. She made the last one in two days. - Image by Carey Braswell
Steph Johnson spent months on her new record, Music Is Art. She made the last one in two days.

“It’s a record I would listen to,” says musician Steph Johnson, speaking of her new album, Music is Art, adding, “Sometimes you make an album and you’re, like, ‘Okay, cool,’ but you don’t want to listen to it. There are so many nice grooves on this one, whenever it comes on the radio I’m down with it.”

Video:

"Happy People"

...finishing touches in the studio for new album <em>Music Is Art</em>.

...finishing touches in the studio for new album Music Is Art.

The record represents a new direction for the singer/guitarist, who enlisted the Grammy-winning producer Kamau Kenyatta to helm the sessions. “This is different. I mean, Nature Girl [Johnson’s previous, self-produced effort] was recorded in two days. The new one was done in multiple sessions, with maybe two months just devoted to the vocals. I’d never done that, and I’m glad I had that opportunity.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Seeking a collaboration with Kenyatta was intimidating for Johnson. “It took me about a year to even work up the courage to ask him; and a year after that before I had the nerve to go to his house and play my songs and see what he had to say.

“But the experience of working with him was so much better than I even expected. Any kind of worry that I might have had about working with someone so talented and creative just kind of melted away after the first few sessions. Having him believe in me and having his support every step of the way meant so much.”

Kenyatta’s touch involved a lot of preparation. “There were a couple of months of pre-production where we would get together at his house and work on arrangements and rehearsing those arrangements,” says Johnson of the sessions that combined her working trio with bassist Rob Thorsen, drummer Fernando Gomez, and guest appearances from Kenyatta, trumpeter Curtis Taylor, organist Ondre Pivec, and Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist G. Moe.

After a short California tour, Johnson’s plans for the future involve making some professional videos to support the record. “We decided to focus the rest of the year on shooting quality videos, which I’ve never done beyond simple iPhone stuff.”

Place

Bread & Salt

1955 Julian Avenue, San Diego

The singer also has a multimedia concept for her CD-release event. “On October 21, we rented Bread & Salt [1955 Julian Avenue] and we’re going to have the whole band and party delights.” What might those be? “Well, I want to keep the ticket price really low, but if people want to have that VIP experience, they can come an hour early and there will be food and drinks and a friend who does acroyoga; you can get a massage, you can get your face painted, I might have someone dancing with fire, a hula-hoop girl — kind of like a ‘Steph circus!’”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
Steph Johnson spent months on her new record, Music Is Art. She made the last one in two days. - Image by Carey Braswell
Steph Johnson spent months on her new record, Music Is Art. She made the last one in two days.

“It’s a record I would listen to,” says musician Steph Johnson, speaking of her new album, Music is Art, adding, “Sometimes you make an album and you’re, like, ‘Okay, cool,’ but you don’t want to listen to it. There are so many nice grooves on this one, whenever it comes on the radio I’m down with it.”

Video:

"Happy People"

...finishing touches in the studio for new album <em>Music Is Art</em>.

...finishing touches in the studio for new album Music Is Art.

The record represents a new direction for the singer/guitarist, who enlisted the Grammy-winning producer Kamau Kenyatta to helm the sessions. “This is different. I mean, Nature Girl [Johnson’s previous, self-produced effort] was recorded in two days. The new one was done in multiple sessions, with maybe two months just devoted to the vocals. I’d never done that, and I’m glad I had that opportunity.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Seeking a collaboration with Kenyatta was intimidating for Johnson. “It took me about a year to even work up the courage to ask him; and a year after that before I had the nerve to go to his house and play my songs and see what he had to say.

“But the experience of working with him was so much better than I even expected. Any kind of worry that I might have had about working with someone so talented and creative just kind of melted away after the first few sessions. Having him believe in me and having his support every step of the way meant so much.”

Kenyatta’s touch involved a lot of preparation. “There were a couple of months of pre-production where we would get together at his house and work on arrangements and rehearsing those arrangements,” says Johnson of the sessions that combined her working trio with bassist Rob Thorsen, drummer Fernando Gomez, and guest appearances from Kenyatta, trumpeter Curtis Taylor, organist Ondre Pivec, and Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist G. Moe.

After a short California tour, Johnson’s plans for the future involve making some professional videos to support the record. “We decided to focus the rest of the year on shooting quality videos, which I’ve never done beyond simple iPhone stuff.”

Place

Bread & Salt

1955 Julian Avenue, San Diego

The singer also has a multimedia concept for her CD-release event. “On October 21, we rented Bread & Salt [1955 Julian Avenue] and we’re going to have the whole band and party delights.” What might those be? “Well, I want to keep the ticket price really low, but if people want to have that VIP experience, they can come an hour early and there will be food and drinks and a friend who does acroyoga; you can get a massage, you can get your face painted, I might have someone dancing with fire, a hula-hoop girl — kind of like a ‘Steph circus!’”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Dating Sites For Little People: Best Platforms & Tips

Next Article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.