It might come as a surprise to anyone who’s listened to his music, but Royce Johns decided after 2018 that he’s not a country singer.
“Country has changed so much,” said Johns, who lives in Polk City. “I remember when I got into it in 2016-2017, you know, all the pop country was just huge, right? And when I did a record in 2018, we were kind of on the cusp of that. It was more like ‘neo-traditional,’ but it could fit into some FM radio slots.”
“I haven't listened to anything on country radio since probably 2017-2018,” Johns continued
. “There just isn't anything new, and it's just so pop and commercial. So I wanted to make a record, you know, that wasn't in that vein anymore. And that's what this became.”
That record is Thank Ya Kindly, Johns’ second album and one he believes pays homage to two of his biggest influences.
“I was trying to make a ‘John Prine Beatles record’ in a weird way,“ said Johns. “Like John Prine songwriting, with the sense of humor, and some more classical arrangements in the background, and more melodic parts and pieces.”
Johns wrote almost all of the songs on Thank Ya Kindly during a two-week period in November of 2021. The album was produced by musician and songwriter Caleb Elliott, who also did all of the string arrangements on the album. They recorded the album in Muscle Shoals, AL, a city with a rich musical history.
“It's a beautiful town. It's like a small town energy,” said Johns. “But you have players there that are just as good as in Nashville, or like in the Wrecking Crew. I can't imagine going anywhere else for the time being to record than there. It has so much history and it's just so much more laid back.”
The record was made "the old school way" where everybody gets in one room, "and they hit 'go' on the tape machine."
Since he wrote the songs that make up Thank Ya Kindly, Johns hasn’t written any new music. “If something tickles my fancy, I guess I'll make another record, but I just haven't had any good ideas lately,” said Johns. “I've had kids screaming at me all day, and it takes it all out of you. My wife and I are just brain scrambled all day.”
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t keep busy, though: summer will be here before we know it, and that’s the busy time of year for Johns. He’s almost fully booked from May through July already! How did that happen? It’s a mystery to him.
“It's all word of mouth to my understanding,” said Johns. “I quit reaching out to book stuff about three years ago, and the less that I reach out the more opportunities arise. It doesn't make any sense because I'm a very proactive, ‘go hard’ kind of dude. But every year it seems like January, February maybe like early April, it's like the floodgates open, and I get a million inquiries.”
When I spoke to Johns, he was planning a trip to visit Elliott in Muscle Shoals again. I asked if they were going to be playing any shows, or writing any music, but Johns had an entirely different agenda in mind.
“He's from Louisiana, so he knows how to make a gumbo. Like a really good gumbo,” said Johns. “And I'm going to coerce him into doing that.”
Royce Johns is Studio One’s Artist of the Month for January. Both of his albums are available on major streaming services, and vinyl & CD copies of Thank Ya Kindly can be purchased at his website.
