By Brian Rock
Country crooner, Pug Johnson contemplates love, and loss from the vantage point of a barstool on his third album, From A Beaumont Bar. It is a tribute to the tear-jerking country albums of the 70’s by Merle Haggard, George Jones, and Jerry Lee Lewis, among others. Johnson describes the album as, “a record about heartbreak, hindsight, and realizing that none of us are as alone in those moments as we think we are.” In addition to helping people feel comfort in their sorrow, Johnson also hopes to, “get people to look back at our heroes and then our heroes’ heroes.” In short, he wants people to get back in touch with what made country music so impactful and memorable in the first place.
“Where Dowlen Meets Phelan,” is pure tear-in-my-beer country pathos. The intersection marks the site of an actual Beaumont, TX bar; it also marks the intersection between Johnson’s past and present. Having worn out his welcome at his previous favorite bar for moping too much about a lost love, Johnson moves to a more secluded venue. Weepy pedal steel notes set the tone as he sings about a, “dim lit atmosphere, somewhere I can hide my tears behind a smile.” Johnson is as heartbroken about leaving his old bar as he is about losing his old love. But today he, “found a new home and they don’t turn us losers down.” Surrounded by other broken-hearted souls, he may still be lonely, but at least he’s not alone.
Johnson keeps the lugubrious lyrics and melodies rolling along with his cover of Bob Wills’, “Bubbles in my Beer.” He gives a lo-flo southern funk interpretation of the classic about watching your past mistakes rise up like bubbles in your beer. “Can’t Fall in Love with You,” adds accordion flavored Cajun flair to his heartbreak. Even with a woman offering her heart, he still can’t enjoy the fruits of love because his heart still belongs to the one who got away. “The Closest Thing to You,” is another pedal steel pouter about trying to settle for a close imitation of the real thing. “Just to Love You,” sees Johnson ignore reality to still be with his love in his dreams. ‘Tucson,’ blames a failed relationship on the weather. “Shukin’ and Jivin’,” finds Johnson reaping the bitter fruits of his own infidelity. With a lilting Cajun backbeat, he sings, “I know you’ve taken other lovers. Truth be told, I’ve had some of my own… It’s plain as grain I ain’t your man no more.” ‘Second Chances,” again finds Johnson addressing the root cause of his problems. With a surprisingly lively honky-tonk rhythm, he confesses, “Well I was fond of strangers and she forgave my sin. But the nightlife of the local bar made me break her heart again.” “If I Told You,” is a devastatingly earnest plea of regret. Too little, too late, he repents of his wild ways. But sadly, his pleas are made to an empty room.
Drowning his sorrows again at the local watering hole, Pug Johnson transforms into Pub Johnson on the tongue in cheek barroom anthem, “Lowering the Bar.” After years of mistakes, Johnson finds himself middle aged and alone. Singing to a ¾ time waltz beat, he admits, “Once upon a time I was handsome with the body of Adonis or Brad. Back then every ten, I would chance ‘em. But now I look more like my dad.” Surrounded by fellow broken hearts, he finally gives up on true love and adopts a new strategy. Serenading his new bar buddies, he sings, “So friends don’t go spending your evenings alone with your standards and pride… the name of the game is having no shame when we’re lowering the bar.” Realizing there’s nothing he can do to change the past, he decides to make the most of his present, and present company. Pug Johnson is the musical patron saint of lovable losers. With his signature mix of Cajun, Texan, and Mexican musical traditions, he proves that good music can always ease bad times.
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Brian Rock
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