This is Ozarks at large. Fayetteville based Gar Hole Records is again this weekend, presenting a two night winter musical showcase at George's Majestic Lounge. It's called Gar Holeidays. Like previous incarnations of Gar Holeidays, artists with the label will perform on stage this year. Nick Shoulders, Angela Autumn and many others including Jonny Fritz. Fritz. Born in Montana, raised in Virginia and now residing in Los Angeles, he possesses a keen songwriter's ear. His lyrics can simultaneously be funny, poignant and shrewdly observant. Take, for example, his song “Happy in Hindsight.”
(“Happy in Hindsight” by Jonny Fritz plays.)
Fritz: I'll never forget writing that song. I'm so glad that you pointed that song out because that was a tricky one, man. I don't know what it was. I think it was, I know what it was. I think it was like early thirties self doubt. Just really overwhelming self-doubt that left me like this. I felt crippled by this writer's block and for four years, I was just like, I can't write a song, I can't write a song. I got in my head about it, you know, the worst thing to do. I made a practice of every day waking up and just writing, writing, writing. And I probably wrote, I'm not exaggerating, I probably wrote like two hundred verses to that song, and they were all trash.
I even experimented with Adderall. That was the first time I ever. You know, I know Roger Miller wrote everything on speed. And I was like, well, maybe it'll work for me. I took half an Adderall somebody gave me and wrote two hundred of the most bland- they weren't bad, you know, they really weren't bad, but they were just mediocre as hell. Very basic. I just, I got to the point where I was like, man, I can't write this song. I said, well, I completely have to scrap it and redo it.
The only way I could actually write that song was through vulnerability. Just get into the heart of what the problem is. And the problem was well, just my own questioning of the music business and my whatever success and everything that's wrapped up in self-worth. That's exactly what happened.
Hindsight was about God, I'm only happy afterwards. Like, oh, damn, that was actually really fun. You know, I'm only happy in hindsight. I only want what's not in store. It's not going to happen. Well, that's what I want, you know? I wanted one like the one he had. But then the lady said they don't make them anymore, you know? The nightmare of trying to fly a plane and being at the end of the runway- pedal stuck to the floor- like I'm out running out of runway with my pedal stuck to the floor. I don't know what else to do here.
Kellams: You know, there's the line in there that you got to get out of your own way. And that's something I think we all relate to and something we a lot of people think about. But that's easier said than done.
Fritz: Oh, yeah.
Kellams: Do you find that when you're creative, you are whatever any of us mean by that? You're getting out of your own way. You're just letting something I don't know what just happen.
Fritz: I think I am always in my own way. And that is the problem. You know the problem is, oh if I could just not have this ego. If I could just not think about what this song will be heard; how this song will be perceived. If I could just… It's like, well, the best songwriters on the planet- Shel Silverstein and stuff- they're like, ‘I'm not going to sing it. You're gonna sing it.’
This song's for Tammy Wynette, or this song is for George Jones or whatever Johnny Cash is going to sing. I'm not going to sing this. So he's detaching himself from it and being able to say, here's just a perfect song. This is just for the sake of the song. Here is this, and presenting it in the most perfect way.
And I do find that songwriters themselves, just by design, are the ones in the way. I mean, myself, I have a songwriting thing that's just me and myself in a room in a basement, just writing. But then there's so much more. Like, how is this going to be played on stage? It's like, oh, get out of there. Just forget it all. Who cares? Just write the song. And I think that's me getting can't not being able to get out of my own way is being wrapped up in the monkey wheel of it all.
Kellams: So we've talked about “Happy in Hindsight.” So let's look in hindsight. Do you now see another one of your songs where you go, ‘yeah, that one worked that I got it.’
Fritz: Well, I'm not a perfectionist, but I have a pretty high standard for myself. So nearly everything I've recorded I feel really proud of.
That's why it takes me so long to make something. I mean, this record that's coming out next in a couple days is nine years. It's nine songs and nine years since the last one came out. And the last one came out a year after we recorded it. So it's really like it's a good decade between albums. I just know how hard on myself I would be if I released something I wasn't absolutely proud of. Looking back on the last album, I'm so proud of that record, Sweet Creep, and every one of those songs. I just love them to death. I really, I really do. I really cherish them. I'm really proud of them. “Are you thirsty?” is a big one. That's one of my favorites.
“Are you Thirsty” plays
I hear them and I even think about them. I remember everything about that. I remember everything about where the song came from and what it was about and who it was about. And I just, I get so offended by songwriting sometimes. I find that it's- I really think it's like a life source. Music in general is a really important thing. When it's bad, it feels like poison in a well. You're like, no, you know, like, almost like this has got to be stopped. You shouldn't release that. And so I certainly am saying that to myself.
Kellams: I was introduced to you as a singer, as a songwriter through that record you just mentioned. But I also want to let people know you're creative in other ways, especially with leather.
Fritz: Yeah, I've been making leather work since 2008. I got into hand-tooled leather when I moved to Nashville the first time, and I just love it so much, you know? I mean, there's a number of things about leather that's just fantastic. I mean, one, it only looks better with age, which you kind of can't say about really anything else these days.
I mean, if you have a Tesla that's eight months old, people are going, I'm sorry. You're poor. That looks bad. Or an iPhone that's two generations back, people are like, I'm sorry. Do you need- is there a homeless shelter I can take you to?
You know, it's just like, this stuff looks so bad when it ages. And I think leather is kind of one of the only things left that we have. I mean, I have a jacket that I made fourteen years ago out of elk skin. It's my motorcycle jacket. And it used to be yellow, and now it's black, and it just is darkened and darkened and darkened as I oil it in, the sun burns it and it cooks. It looks so amazing. I just love it so much. I got started doing it because the music industry is, really difficult out there for touring. I don't know if you've heard.
I thought, well, I love being on tour, but I also really love being at home. And one of the things that's really scary for a touring musician is going home because when you go home as a touring musician, you have no money. The money stops coming in. You have no resources. You're not going to get a job. Nobody's going to hire you. They really shouldn't. And you also need to rest.
You know, you need to ground yourself at home. And it's extremely difficult to ground yourself at home when home is the inverse of stability., I think this is, this is something I don't think people really consider, but imagine when you go on vacation for a couple weeks, a break from your routine. Imagine trying to find your stability there. Like, okay, I'm here for two weeks. I'm going to I'm going to try to really I'm going to try to really settle in and get some projects going. And anyway, it's hard to really wrap your head around it.
But what was amazing about leather work was that I could go on tour and promote my leather work and say, hey, when I get off of tour, I've got six weeks or I got nothing to do, and it's kind of scary and I need some money, ‘Can I make you a guitar strap?’
So I'd get all these orders while I was on the road. And then when I got home, I had all this work lined up for me and it was just fantastic. It was a really good way to to supplement that incredibly uncomfortable thing of being at home and feeling rocked and unstable. And it was really grounding. I knew that I was making something that was custom. It wasn't going to just be in a landfill. It was. And it's going to last and heal. Fifteen years later. People show me all the time like- you made this belt for me and like- wow, man, that's amazing. Still holding up. That's really beautiful. It's wonderful.
Kellams: I'm probably grasping the obvious here, but leatherwork sounds a lot like songwriting. You want to build something that lasts, that's appreciated.
Fritz: Yeah. That's right, that's absolutely right. You know, I have such an appreciation for just things that last, things that are worth putting the time and energy and effort into. And yeah, songwriting, leatherwork, woodworking, cooking- you know, these things that just require knowledge and patience and skill and care.
My favorite filmmaker is Pedro Almodovar. Do you know Almodovar? Spanish filmmaker. I got really, really obsessed with him five years ago. I was watching everything I could find on him, interviews and stuff. Somebody asked him a question that I think really resonates with music as well. They said, well, how do you know? How do you make a movie? How do you do it?
And he said, listen, if you love cinema and I mean really love cinema, you can do it. You just have to you have to really, really love it. And you have to really, really focus. And it takes a lot of care and it takes a lot of time. And I watch his movies and I'm like, this is like the best song I've ever heard watching this movie. You know? It'd be impossible to improve upon any scene or any lines, anything that any of the characters say, any of the character development. I mean, they're absolutely perfect. You can tell just because of how much he cared about that.
And I think the same thing about songwriting. whenever anybody- which it's rare- if anybody asks me what should I tell them about songwriting? You just have to care. Stay far away from cliches. Don't ever, ever, ever say a cliche. Never say it. It means nothing. Never say anything about going down a whiskey soaked highway. Ever. Don't you know nobody cares. Nobody knows. You're talking about nobody also says bar room. You know, like nobody says bar room. This is not 1890, you know. What are you doing,
Jonny Fritz is part of this weekend's Gar Holeidays event at George's Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville. It's a Friday night, Saturday night, two night extravaganza. Jonny Fritz is part of Saturday night’s Gar Holeidays lineup along with Nick Shoulders that night, Ken Pomeroy and Roy Pilgrim. Gar Holeidays is presented by Fayetteville based record label Gar Hole Records.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
