{"title":"Dean Johnson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"nothing-for-me-please-lyyyuy","title":"Nothing for Me, Please","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor over a decade, Dean Johnson's rustic tenor and simply strummed acoustic guitar have been perking up ears around the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Johnson has gradually built a devoted fan base - strictly through live performances and word of mouth - singing existential cowboy waltzes, ballads about wishing one could find a way out of heaven, honest confessionals, and other heartbreakers from a unique perspective.  The phrase \"hidden gem\" would seem appropriate here, but it's a misnomer when talking about Dean Johnson. He shines bright, in plain sight, and it was only a matter of time before people stopped to take a look. Dean's gentle and passionate approach to songwriting has inspired many, and his work provides the listener the opportunity to believe once more that a song can be more than the sum of its parts. If you catch even a phrase of his melodies or the sobering tone of his voice, it waltzes its way into your heart like a letter written, signed, sealed, and delivered just for you.  His debut album \u003ci\u003eNothing for Me, Please (\u003c\/i\u003eMama Bird Recording Co.) was recorded at Mashed Potato Records in New Orleans with the help of Sam Gelband and Charlie Meyer, Dean's bandmates in The Sons of Rainier; as well as Mashed Potato regulars Sam Doores (The Deslondes), Duff Thompson and Steph Green. The record is a hazy, relaxed daydream - anthems for those who know the sweetness and coldness of quiet moments, the power and the pain of love. Whether you've been waiting patiently these many for Dean to release these songs, or you're just now coming across his work for the first time, the name Dean Johnson, much like his songs, won't soon leave your mind.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":50384479551819,"sku":"2143742","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP - Blue","offer_id":50384480338251,"sku":"2150111","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50384480239947,"sku":"2143743","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - Oxblood","offer_id":51428022583627,"sku":"R1989-8038","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/product_id._a7cbec0a_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726299970"},{"product_id":"blue-moon-b-w-lake-charles","title":"Blue Moon \/  Lake Charles","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 20th installment of Saddle Creek’s Document series features Dean Johnson, the Seattle-based singer\/songwriter whose heartfelt storytelling and undeniable charm have been quietly building a devoted fanbase across the globe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor years regulars at Al’s Tavern might murmur to each other about Dean Johnson behind the bar. There were nudges and whispers that he might just be the best songwriter in town. They spoke of his talent like a family secret –Seattle folklore. How many times, and for how many years, did Dean elusively reply to some variation of the question, “When will there be a record?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn May of 2023, there finally was. \u003cem\u003eNothing For Me, Please\u003c\/em\u003e, Dean Johnson’s debut album, was released on his 50th birthday.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCalling him a “hidden gem” doesn’t quite fit, because there’s nothing hidden about him—he shines in plain sight. It was only a matter of time before people stopped to take notice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDean’s music feels like a conversation with an old friend—warm, honest, and deeply human. His songs bridge the past and present, weaving modern sensibilities with a timeless appeal. With razor-sharp wit and an uncanny ability to make you laugh and cry in the same breath, Dean’s songwriting reminds us why music matters, offering proof that a song can be more than the sum of it’s parts. Hear just a phrase of his melody, catch even a moment of the sobering depth in his voice, and you’ll feel it—like a letter written, signed, sealed, and delivered just for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGo see him live, and you’ll understand. That’s how he won us over—one song, one story, one unforgettable moment at a time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Saddle Creek","offers":[{"title":"7\" - Black","offer_id":51388100673867,"sku":"R2074-2270","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/201375020100.jpg?v=1741123692"},{"product_id":"i-hope-we-can-still-be-friends","title":"I Hope We Can Still Be Friends","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith \u003cem\u003eI Hope We Can Still Be Friends\u003c\/em\u003e, his debut for Saddle Creek, Dean Johnson makes a pact with the listener: He will sing you his truth in the most heartfelt and charming way possible, if you promise to keep an open mind. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe title partly stems from the playful way the Seattle-based singer, songwriter and guitarist communes with his audiences at concerts. “I hope you’re not afraid to talk to me after the show,” he’ll say, sweetly, before launching into “Death of the Party,” the album’s seventh song. Centered on the “energy vampire” archetype — the exasperating windbag we’ve all encountered at some point — its lyrics are at once intellectually biting and unmistakably hilarious. His tender voice rings out like the ghost of Roy Orbison or a misfit Everly brother.   \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohnson spent years tending bar at Al’s Tavern in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. There, he encountered folks of all stripes; and regulars enthusiastically murmured about his budding musical greatness — There’s the best songwriter in town! Johnson was a kind of local lore, a long-held family secret, before the singer finally broke out in 2023 with his debut album, Nothing For Me Please, at age 50. \u003cem\u003eI Hope We Can Still Be Friends\u003c\/em\u003e is essentially an anthology that bridges Johnson’s earliest days as a songwriter with his present-day outlook and abilities. There are songs that have been in his setlists for years, and others that will be new to fans. Each of its 11 tracks contains jocular social commentary or lovingly rendered affairs of the heart. The album’s songs about love and relationships offer another way to interpret its title: as a parting thought to an ex.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike all of Johnson’s cable-knit writing, the title is a clever banner for the album’s dual nature, the thing that binds its tragedy and comedy masks. Johnson explains that he didn’t set out to make a concept album. It’s a coincidence that about half of the album’s songs are a bit sardonic, and the other half are more lighthearted. The singer playfully refers to the former as his “mean” songs, which is why the album’s back cover is adorned with a warning that says “Beware of Dean.” \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike John Prine or Kris Kristofferson’s country-adjacent sound, devastating humor and economical profundity refracted through a barroom’s haze, the album is filled with easygoing twang, sad characters, universal truths and the absurdity of everyday life. “Carol” recounts the numb consumption and dissipating cultural attention that is besieging America. There’s a search for optimism amid meditations on dying in a plane crash in “Before You Hit the Ground.” Romance that is best forgotten steers “So Much Better” — only Johnson could weave electroconvulsive therapy into a gentle, chuckle-inducing missive on unbearable heartbreak. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI Hope We Can Still Be Friends\u003c\/em\u003e floats in a liminal plane between timely and timeless, its minimalist instrumentation elevating Johnson’s affecting voice to new heights. Recorded at Unknown Studio in Anacortes, Washington, the record was produced by Sera Cahoone — the Seattle-based singer-songwriter Johnson describes as a “soulmate sibling.” Overdubbing took place at Seattle’s Crackle \u0026amp; Pop! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the sessions, Johnson assembled a small band of friends including Abbey Blackwell (bass, backing vocals), multi-instrumentalist Sam Peterson and Cahoone (drums, backing vocals), who created a familial tone on the already intimate album. \u003cem\u003eI Hope We Can Still Be Friends\u003c\/em\u003e, with its sharp observations and stirring personal insights, holds space for both intense reflection and emotional release. You may laugh, or cry or both. In this sense, the album is powerful medicine — a way to both expose yourself to and inoculate yourself against the ugly, absurd, existential and heartbreaking. At its core rests a basic truth that is often difficult to remember or accept: Happiness wouldn’t exist without sadness as its counterpart. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn his uncanny ability to so clearly see and then encapsulate humanity in all its messy glory, Johnson offers this core memory, drawn from his childhood on Camano Island in the Puget Sound. “I was raised on a bluff,” he says. “I’m not trying to make it sound dramatic, but I did have a sweeping view.” \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Saddle Creek","offers":[{"title":"LP - Sunset Cream Cake","offer_id":52305983439179,"sku":"R8233-0841","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - So Much Better Now Blue","offer_id":52305983406411,"sku":"R8233-9918","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52305983373643,"sku":"R8233-2299","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/unnamed-2025-06-18T210722.729.jpg?v=1750277253"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/dean-johnson.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}