Musician finds local inspiration

Central Oregon singer-songwriter Victor Johnson has released a new CD titled "Beautiful Things," and it's inspired by the many beautiful things that surround us in the region.

"When I lived in Atlanta, I had written about seven songs in seven years," Johnson told The Nugget. "Once I moved to Bend, I wrote 10 songs in just over two months. I think largely, a lot of my inspiration was due to being surrounded by mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and forests instead of so much pavement and traffic. When I moved here in July 2014, I had no idea I would start writing again and embark on this musical journey. In one year, I far exceeded my expectations by writing, recording, and releasing a full-length CD, that contains my best work yet, and received phenomenal production."

The album was recorded at Soundsmith Studios in Bend, and co-produced by Clay Smith and Johnson. There are 14 original songs.

"I teach music full-time at Crawmers Critterz, a nonprofit preschool," Johnson said. "When I was watching the children play outside, ideas would come to me for these songs and I would write them down; seeing the children play provided much inspiration."

Johnson also found inspiration in tragedy.

"The title track, "The Road to Savannah,' was inspired by Frank Barham, an Atlanta-based musician/activist, who died tragically while attempting to travel from Atlanta to Savannah by wheelchair, 30 miles away from his destination. On his journey, he was raising money and awareness for the disabled," Johnson said.

"When I wrote this song, I had already begun the process of recording. Two other times during that period, songs came to me. One, "Rain Makes the Flowers Grow,' was inspired by a child who died at Sandy Hook School. Her father, a jazz saxophone player, had released an album, dedicated to her memory. I had also been following a website, created by her mother, for the past couple of years. Blown away by the love they have for their daughter, I wrote the song from the perspective of her mother. Grammy-winning sax player Mace Hibbard plays beautiful tenor sax on this song."

The cover image for "Beautiful Things" is a photograph Johnson took on the Metolius River last Easter Sunday.

Johnson will bring his songs to Sisters twice this month. He plays on November 7 at Cork Cellars Wine Bar from 7 to 9 p.m. and later at The Open Door on November 30, 6 to 8 p.m.

For more information, visit http://victorsings.com.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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