Paralleling the heart ache of break-ups with video games and fast food is something that Hamilton-based musician B.A. Johnston has mastered.
“It really depends who I’m talking to,” said Johnston when asked to describe his music. “Like at Christmas I tell my cousins I’m a comedian because it just seems really easy. If I were to describe it I would describe it as a low-rent Vegas floor show. That’s kind of what I wish I was doing. And I guess it’s a really sad version of it, like a really untalented Sammy Davis Jr. show.”
Johnston’s music combines comedy with realities that most of his audience can identify.
On his latest album Hi Dudes! Johnston even incorporates references to MTV’s The Jersey Shore in the song Douchestorm.
“The records have definitely changed since my first one but I find since I started getting a bit more serious the records have been a bit more similar,” he said. “I try not to evolve as an artist or a person. I’m basically just like AC/DC I keep writing Thunderstruck over and over.”
It was always a goal for Johnston to mix comedy with his music.
“I find if you are dealing with dark subject matter or painful realities it’s better to sugar coat that with a bit of humour because then it becomes less horrifying,” he said. “When your girlfriend leaves you it’s a bit easier to compare it to a video game than the horrifying reality of you being alone for ever.”
A horrifying reality that Johnston faces on the road is fast food, which makes appearances throughout his music.
“When I am on tour that’s when I tend to eat the more horrible foods,” he said. “When I’m at home especially getting ready to leave I cook a lot and I get excited because I know in two days it will be a never ending source of junior chickens which is depressing. Although Nelson has really good food and I’m always excited to eat there. Fast food is an easy crutch when you’re on tour.”
When {vurb} caught up with Johnston, he wasn’t cleaning up the wrappers from a Whopper feast, he had cooked a homemade lentil stew.
“I made my own sausage last week, which was totally crazy, I’ve never done that before,” he said. “Someone in Nelson actually taught me how to make it. I think it was Doug Falconer, he used to work at the fish market.”
B.A. Johnston plays The Royal on March 16.