Gatlin Johnson
Aledo High School alum Gatlin Johnson might just have the perfect name for a country music singer and songwriter.
A former running back on the Aledo Bearcats football team, Johnson now makes his home in Lubbock where he attends Texas Tech University and pursues a career in country music.
Johnson, 21, said his hometown is still a major part of who he is today.
"I'm very proud to be from Aledo," Johnson said. "It feels like all I did was focus on football and school. A lot of people were really surprised by the whole music thing when I got to college, like, 'What the heck? I didn't know you did that.' But I've come to realize that growing up in Aledo was very special."
Johnson said that he first became interested in Country music when he was still a boy.
Getting experience
When Johnson returned to college, he started playing some open mic nights in Amarillo until a friend of his helped him find a place to play, and got his first gigs set up there.
"I just played at different places in Amarillo after I stopped playing football," Johnson said. "Then I transferred to Texas Tech this past year. I've been in Lubbock since January, and it's starting to pick up.
"It's been really cool to meet a lot of new people. They take care of me and each other. If they need an opener, they will ask me to do it, and while I've been up here I have met some amazing musicians that I have been playing some full band gigs with, which has been really fun."
Influences
Johnson counts Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson as a songwriter, and Sturgill Simpson among his influences, and said his favorite part of performing is seeing the crowd's reaction to his work.
"I love it that music connects with people," Johnson said. "I think it's really cool to see how it can move people. I'll write a song, and it may hit somebody in a totally different way than I meant to or maybe exactly the way I meant to. And just the fact that somebody can connect to words that I came up with is exciting."
Johnson has written several songs, and when it comes to which he prefers out of singing or songwriting, he said it is a difficult choice
"I like to do them both," Johnson said. "Part of performing is trying to find the balance between your own songs and covers. Everybody wants to hear George Strait, for instance. So I guess the best part for me would be writing songs that people like and performing them. I've gotten to the point at a few places around here where people know my songs, and I think that is the best part is just performing one of my own songs and having people enjoy it."
Challenges/revelations
Johnson added that his musical career has not been without its challenges, saying there were a few things he did not anticipate.
"One of the tougher parts of the business right now is getting booked at places you want to get booked," Johnson said. "I'll play wherever, really, as long as I have a crowd. The cool thing about Lubbock is that you can really play at any restaurant in town and somebody in there will end up listening to you and maybe staying the whole time.
“Finding full band gigs is my challenge right now because at the end of the day, everybody's got to get paid. I could ask people to play for free, but I don't want to. So finding a place that will pay enough where I can pay everybody is a challenge."
Johnson said there has also been a rather pleasant revelation that really motivates him to keep writing.
"The biggest surprise to me so far is how many people enjoy my songs and are really engaged supporters,” Johnson said. “It has been really cool to see folks responding to my tunes and hitting me up.”
The 2021 AHS graduate plays an average of five gigs a month and is able to cover his expenses by performing.
Growing up with all genres
Johnson said while his focus is Country music, he grew up in a household where all genres were welcome.
"I was exposed to all kinds of music growing up," Johnson said. "My dad was into old Country and would listen to Bon Jovi and other bands. My sister is older than me and she liked new Country, so I was exposed to both of those.
But I really wasn't exposed to Texas Country until I was in high school. And what's kind of funny is that a lot of those songs I didn't hear except for at football practice.”
The right choice
With being a part of the tradition of football excellence at Aledo High School, Johnson said quitting football to focus his efforts on music and school was difficult to do.
"It was a really tough decision," Johnson said. "I still sometimes think I could have done this or done that, but at the end of the day, nobody knows when the right time to stop playing football is except you.
"It was the right decision at that time. I spent two semesters playing football and got hurt both semesters. I had my first surgery ever, and playing running back on a broken foot was not ideal.
“But I really don't think it was all the injuries for me. Growing up playing high school football in Aledo — it's really tough to match that energy and competitiveness and the camaraderie that existed in the locker room. You kind of find a lot of guys doing it for themselves at the next level, and I wasn't really into that."
But the Parker County man has discovered his true passion, and for that, he is truly grateful.
"I just want to keep gigging and writing," Johnson said. "I have another song coming out and then I have some more projects that I'm really excited about at the beginning of 2024. One is a video and recording project I have planned for early January that should be released no later than March, which I am super pumped about. It's to just kind of show everybody what it's like to do music in Lubbock, Texas."
