Johnny Chops and His Stories of Redemption

 

All photos taken at the Post on River East in Fort Worth by Alan Mercer

Johnny Chops has been writing and performing music since his uncle gave him a battered acoustic guitar at age 16. Coming from a musical family, it wasn’t a big stretch for him to begin walking down a path searching for songs. His grandfather, a Lubbock, Texas carpenter with no musical training, played fiddle and guitar to entertain his 11 children. His father recently retired from a 40-year career as a choir director and music educator. 

Since 2002, Johnny has spent a large part of his career as bass player and songwriting contributor in the Randy Rogers Band. Together they have recorded 8 studio and 2 live albums on both major and independent labels, as well as extensively toured the United States more than 100 dates a year.  With solo albums in 2013 (Sticks & Stones) and 2018 (Johnny Chops & The Razors) he began charting his own path as an independent songwriter, while also holding steady with his band mates in RRB.

During extensive touring throughout 2018 and 2019, Johnny continued his daily and weekly habit of songwriting, amassing a mountain of new material to choose from for his next release.  2020 obviously had other plans. In the face of the global pandemic and virtual shutdown of the live music industry, Johnny and his wife, Andy, channeled their creative energies to confront this new reality with a positive new single, titled simply, “Hope is Contagious Too.”

To finish out 2020 with another good note, he released his single “My Own Piece of Heaven” and an accompanying video which has quickly gained thousands of views in its first week of release. In March of 2021 his single and video “Trouble with the Truth” premiered on the Bluegrass Situation and showcased his video production and directing talents. 

In 2023 Johnny finds himself following another of his dreams by acting in the Western movie titled 'Killin' Jim Kelly'. 

Alan Mercer:  I love all your music and I was wondering what your general message is?

Johnny Chops:  I like to tell stories. First and foremost, for me, it’s about the story. I like stories about redemption.

AM:  I did notice that theme.

JC:  Not from an organized religion point of view, but there is a spirituality that is interesting to me. I like to tell the story of the struggle between right and wrong inside people. I think it’s a compelling story to tell.

AM:  Would you say you have experienced these kinds of struggles?

JC:  For sure, absolutely. In my younger days I was much wilder and after whatever the shiniest thing was at the time. As I’ve aged, I find myself searching for things with more meaning.

AM:  Your latest songs are less bluesy and have all had a "pretty" quality. Is that a conscious choice you’ve been making?

JC:  I will say I’ve focused more on lyrics. I don’t want to say positive, but I found a couple of songs on my last full-length album that resonated more than others and I wanted to explore that. I don’t know that it was conscious that I wanted to make a happier, nicer sound. I think they were just the three best songs I had written by that point. They said the most of what I wanted to say most truthfully.

AM:  Do you write by yourself?

JC:  Mostly, I do co-write occasionally but it’s not my go to.

AM:  Talk to me about your song, ‘Ten Cent Talkers’.

JC:  I was watching the news a lot. That is my commentary on the world at the time. I wrote that in 2016.

AM:  The world has gotten even more that way since.

JC:  It did. They didn’t listen to my song, apparently. (Laughter)

AM:  You do have a good sense of humor that comes through.

JC:  Good, I’m glad about that.

AM:  Where did you film the video for ‘My Own Piece of Heaven’?

JC:  We filmed that in my Austin neighborhood. My wife drove my truck with my DP in the back and I followed them around. We did plan the route out and I did time it with the song. I looked for places that wouldn’t have too much traffic.

AM:  You have 2 jobs because you are the bass player for Randy Rogers. How long have you been playing with that band?

JC: I started in 2002 so it’s been 21 years.

AM:  I guess that’s your full-time job.

JC:  Yes, there are definitely more Randy Rogers followers on Spotify than Johnny Chops, which is fine. That job pays my mortgage and keeps my dogs fed.

AM:  Your Bassett Hounds are famous.

JC:  They deserve it.

AM:  I love dogs, so I love them.

JC:  It’s kind of a cheap shot, right? You got me with the cute dogs.

AM:  I don’t think it is because there are so many of us that genuinely like seeing them. Do you work more with Randy Rogers or by yourself?

JC:  Right now, we play between 70 and 90 shows a year, so that’s probably the lion’s share of my year performance wise. As we’ve gotten older, and we have some security in the markets we play, we’ve been able to maintain. We have our markets that we do OK in. That sustains us and allows everybody to either have a family and kids or in my case to do other projects. I’m OK with that. I don’t know how much I want to do this solo gig because life on the road is hard. It’s a grind and that might take the fun out of it.

AM:  As a solo artist to you stay in Texas?

JC:  Mostly. I did do a run out in California a couple years ago. I also did a brief little run on the East coast with an artist by the name of Kevin Daniel. He’s out of Nashville now. I supported him because he came and did some shows with me here in Texas. I went to the Carolinas and Georgia. Mostly I stick to Texas and play in Austin, Houston, and the panhandle.

AM:  Have you ever done anything solo in a Randy Rogers show?

JC:  Not really. I opened a couple of shows here and there back when I put that full length record out. He was kind enough to let me open a few shows. It’s a lot of work for me to do in one day. I didn’t love it. Generally, they like to put someone on support who can draw a big crowd.

AM:  Let’s talk about your song, ‘Only When You’re Breathing’.

JC:  That song went through a lot of different identities in pre-production. I wasn’t sure where it was going to go. It’s a stream of consciousness about my feelings toward the lack of concern for what’s really happening. When people in general can go no, no. no, this is the story I want to tell, whether it’s true or not. It started out as one thing but then when we got in the studio, we started having fun with it and it became this cool jam thing. A lot of that has to do with David Abeyta who helped me produce that record, as well as the band. Everybody chipped in for the arrangement of that song. It started as a simple stripped down repetitive Blues riff, and I feel like it became something bigger.

AM:  Blues seems to be the basis of your music.

JC:  Definitely for me. When I was 16 and 17, my mom was into these bar blues bands and I snuck in a few times. The music just resonated with me. I certainly haven’t had a hard enough life to deserve real blues, but I think blues speaks to everyone.

AM:  What do you see in your future? Are you going to continue releasing singles?

JC:   Probably, right now I’m doing something completely different. I’m acting in a Western movie. It’s really fun.

AM:  How did you get cast in the movie?

JC:  I did acting and theater in high school. I actually went to college to be a director, but I started picking up gigs as a bass player. I decided to just do that. I lost interest in the college thing. I had totally forgotten about acting and I didn’t know how to pursue it as a 19-year-old. It didn’t seem like a thing I could pursue in real life. So, during covid I set up a profile on a casting web site, just as kind of a lark. I thought maybe I would get a commercial. It was just something fun to do.

AM:  Did you get cast in anything else?

JC:  I did. I got a political ad in Austin and I got another commercial. I did a short film last year in Houston and another short film in Austin. I auditioned for the Western and I got the part. I’m loving it. It’s really fun.

AM:  I have a feeling you are a good actor. Many musicians are good actors because you have to act your music and lyrics.

JC:  Absolutely. They are related art forms with the performance part. I’m excited about this new chapter of my life.

To learn more about johnny Chops visit his web site https://johnnychopsmusic.com/

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