3 QUESTIONS WITH JOHNNY IRION The folk singer-songwriter talks about his creative process

3 Questions with Johnny Irion

The folk singer-songwriter answers our questions about his creative process

BY JENNIFER HUBERDEAU

It was late 2019 when folk-artist Johnny Irion returned home to the Berkshires, putting the past two years of touring in Europe for his album “Driving Friend” behind him. He was intent on building up his Washington studio and shifting to work that allowed him to stay in one place a little longer, writing music for commercials and films.

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. A few months after making the decision to “take the jump” off the touring circuit, pandemic precautions put most of the world in lockdown. Irion kept busy in his studio, making music.

“I’ve definitely been busy,” Irion said during a recent interview. “I’ve done music for a few commercials. One was the Ancestry.com commercial featuring Rob Lowe. I’ve also shot some videos and worked on an indie film.”

And then in 2021, as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, the itch to play music in public hit him. He found himself at the Apple Tree Inn, guitar in hand. 

“What I love about having the studio is that if I’m really into the song, I can just release a song,” Irion says of having his own studio in Washington, where he lives with his wife Sarah Lee Guthrie.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JOHNNY IRION

He was soon playing in The Ostrich Room, acoustically at first and then, as the crowds became larger, a small band was formed.

Seeing the potential in the inn’s historic past, a place where dining and music always went hand-in-hand, Irion began curating other musical guests — some who stay for a month-long residency — for the inn.

“In the ’60s, you had the troubadour and you had these iconic venues where people would play for two weeks. Neil Young would play at a venue for two weeks. The Eagles would play for a week or whatever it was,” he said. “As a hotel guest, if you know that someone (a particular artist) is coming, you can get a room and enjoy a night. If they are coming for two nights, that’s even better — that’s the concept of the music residency.”

Irion also has been busy producing music in his studio, releasing singles (the most recent being “Norman Rockwell Blues”) and working on several musical projects, including the forthcoming album, “Working My Way Down,” with longtime friend and collaborator Mike Stinson, a singer-songwriter who has written songs that have appeared on albums released by Dwight Yoakum, Billy Bob Thorton and Folk Uke (featuring Willie Nelson).

The songs on “Working My Way Down” are from a lifetime ago, 25 years to be exact, a time when Irion and Stinson were in a band together, writing songs in an old rehearsal studio called “The Alley House.” They teamed up with Stinson’s close friend, Andy Jones, a singer and songwriter, who composed several songs for them to sing. Soon after, Jones became ill and slipped into a coma, eventually passing away. The songs went unrecorded, until recently, when the pair reunited in Irion’s studio last May. The album is set to be released this fall.

Irion recently answered a few questions about his creative process and his latest music projects. His answers have been lightly edited for length.

QWhat inspires you when you’re writing songs?

ALife. Day-to-day things. I write all different kinds of songs: rock songs, folk songs, pop songs, kids’ songs. It’s really everyday life or a book or a piece of art, a film, a crazy neighbor, self reflection, relationships.

QHow do you compose your songs? Do you always compose the music first?

AIt definitely comes in different ways. There are three or four different scenarios where it will happen, because I’m a song searcher. And I know that that’s the baseline of what makes my world tick. So if I haven’t brought a new song out in a while, I’ll start to get a little twitchy.

I’m really big on melodies, sometimes they just pop into my head. I’m really inspired by some classical composers. I’m a huge fan of [Antonín] Dvorák. Some of those melodies for me get me going, they really charge the battery. The more I read, or take a walk or take time to listen to what’s around me, the birds or a river, those melodies really start the process and lead me to the guitar or piano to try to figure out what that melody is. And normally, as part of that process, whatever is happening in my life will tumble out as poetry or words, as a snapshot of it, and then I have to build. Sometimes I get a whole line, sometimes I get a whole chorus, but most of the time I have to let it simmer and then start dressing it with imagery, what the song is about.

Some melodies have a certain tone. With “Norman Rockwell Blues,” those words, that vibe and the chords, they match up. That took a minute. Sometimes it happens fast. When the structure happens fast, I call it a germ. A germ happens fast and then the work comes. I’m pretty good at arranging chords, but when it comes to lyrics, I have to sit down. Lyrics take time, because I’m particular about lyrics because I’m going to be up there singing them.

And sometimes, the inspiration is just something that somebody says when you’re having a beer and having a laugh. Sometimes a song just comes out of the silliest moment. Those are great. I call them backporch songs.

Sometimes I just strap on my electric guitar and walk up to the microphone. Keith Richards calls those “vowel movements.” When I read his book, I was like, I’m so glad he does that too. That’s 30 percent of writing, just stepping up and seeing what comes out.

That’s how it starts, one of those ways. It all ends up being craft at the end of the day, before it goes on the record, I’ve definitely changed the keys and I’ve moved stuff around.

QWhat have you been working on lately? Are you working on a new album?

AI’m working on several projects. But the main focus is getting “Norman Rockwell Blues” started. What I love about having the studio is that if I’m really into the song, I can just release a song. A full album is definitely a different entree. It’s a big climb.

Yes, I’ve got my sights on making an album. But I’ve also just been, I call it nesting — recording the songs and then one may eventually end up on the record or not. The next single I’m releasing is the single “Antonio” (inspired by The Ostrich Room’s resident mixologist Antonio Bonilla), and then there’ll be a couple of other singles to follow that through the summer.

There will be a full-length album with some European touring and a tour that stops at my favorite places to play in America. I’ve played everywhere, so I’m trying to just nail it down to a few markets that I like to perform in. ■

When he’s not performing at the Apple Tree Inn or curating its musical residency program, singer-songwriter Johnny Irion is busy working in his studio in Washington.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ALAN KOZLOWSKI VIA JOHNNY IRION